Highlighting NFC West blockbuster games of 2024 season

The NFL released its complete schedule for the 2024 season on Wednesday. Here is the blockbuster game (and another intriguing matchup) for every team in the NFC West: 

Arizona Cardinals | Complete schedule 

BLOCKBUSTER | At Buffalo, Sunday, Sept. 8: Although the Bills are a tough draw for Arizona, especially on the road, facing a perennial Super Bowl contender is a great opportunity to see where the team stands in its rebuilding process. The Cardinals finished 4-13 in their last season, their first under the current regime, and made strides once QB Kyler Murray returned from his 2022 ACL injury. Arizona didn't spend heavily during free agency but added a solid amount of talent in the NFL Draft, selecting 12 players, the most of any team.

While it remains to be seen whether the new additions can become effective contributors immediately, this will be a worthwhile learning experience for a young roster. And who knows, maybe this game will have a similar outcome to these teams' last matchup, when Arizona executed the infamous "Hail Murray."

ALSO INTRIGUING | vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Monday, Oct. 21: Arizona is back in the spotlight, with this contest representing its first "Monday Night Football" game since 2022. The Cardinals will face an old division rival in Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco's coach from 2011-14. Despite the fact that Harbaugh is 6-2 against Arizona in his head-coaching career, the Chargers gutted their wide receiver room this offseason, which should be a massive advantage for Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon's frisky defense. 

Los Angeles Rams | Complete schedule

BLOCKBUSTER | At Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 8: The first game of the post-Aaron Donald era will be held at the same venue where the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle's historic career ended. The Rams will take on the Lions in the first "Sunday Night Football" game of 2024 and hope to avenge their crushing 24-23 wild-card loss.

Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff, who were traded for one another in 2021, put on one of the better quarterback duels of the playoffs in the first bout, and the second act shouldn't disappoint either. Stafford arguably outplayed Goff (22-of-27 passing for 277 yards and one touchdown), completing 69.4% of his passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns, but he'd definitely prefer a win against his former team over a solid statistical performance. 

ALSO INTRIGUING | vs. Green Bay, Sunday, Oct. 6: These teams squared off in Week 9 of last season, with Green Bay securing a 20-3 victory. However, Brett Rypien, a journeyman who was on three different teams' rosters last season, started that game, as Stafford didn't play due to a sprained thumb. Although Stafford's availability might not have dictated the outcome, it's impossible to ignore how much of an upgrade he is over Rypien.

In all likelihood, this will be one of Los Angeles' most important games of the season for seeding purposes, considering both teams should be firmly in the mix for a playoff spot. Stafford has thrown for more yards (5,976) and touchdowns (40) against Green Bay than any other team he's faced in his career. Perhaps he can deliver a vintage outing to give the Rams some momentum heading into their Week 6 bye. 

San Francisco 49ers | Complete schedule 

BLOCKBUSTER | vs. Kansas City, Sunday, Oct. 20: To the surprise of no one, the rematch of Super Bowl LVIII (and Super Bowl LIV, of course) is the biggest game of San Francisco's season. These teams gave us one of the most dramatic Super Bowls in years last season when Kansas City knocked off the 49ers 25-22 in overtime. While it's unlikely this installment of 49ers-Chiefs will exceed the 123.4M viewers who tuned into Super Bowl LVIII, it has the potential to be the most watched game of the regular season — and, more importantly, another thriller. 

In theory, Kansas City should have the upper hand in this heavyweight clash despite the 49ers having a home-field advantage since it has a bye the week before. This is particularly noteworthy since Chiefs HC Andy Reid is 27-4 after a bye in his career. Nonetheless, Kansas City could easily come out sluggish, and the 49ers will likely be hitting their stride at that point in the season, as they'll face New England, Arizona and Seattle in the three games before this matchup. 

ALSO INTRIGUING | vs. Detroit, Monday, Dec. 30:  The 49ers have a brutal schedule following their Week 9 bye, and Detroit will likely be its most formidable opponent during their difficult stretch of games to end the season. The Lions surely have this game marked on their calendar already, seeing as they choked a 17-point second-half lead against San Francisco to lose last season’s NFC Championship game.

Even though the 49ers have as much talent as any team in the NFL, there's little chance Detroit will cough up another big lead if it gets out to one. It wouldn't be surprising if the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs is at stake in this game, either. San Francisco will have to hope it starts this meeting with the Lions as strongly as it finished the last one. 

Seattle Seahawks | Complete schedule 

BLOCKBUSTER | vs. San Francisco, Thursday, Oct. 10: Any opening game against an NFC West opponent carries a great deal of significance for Seattle, even more so when it's against the reigning division and conference champion. The Seahawks desperately need to make this series a real rivalry again, and if they can pull off an upset, they'd snap two unglamorous streaks. Not only is Seattle 0-5 over its last five contests against San Francisco, but it has also dropped its last four Thursday games. 

ALSO INTRIGUING | vs. Denver, Sunday, Sept. 8: For the first time since 2009, Pete Carroll won't be chewing a stick of Bubble Yum on the Seahawks sideline. Seattle fired the 72-year-old earlier this offseason after finishing with the 25th-ranked defense in terms of points allowed in each of the last two seasons.

To remedy the situation, the Seahawks hired former Ravens DC Mike Macdonald to replace Carroll and spent four of their eight 2024 draft picks on defensive players. The revamped defense is well-positioned to start the season on a high note, given that it will likely face rookie QB Bo Nix.