The Time is Now for Cardinals to Establish Home-Field Advantage

State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, has not historically carried the reputation for being an unfriendly place to play, especially in some of the Cardinals' recent seasons.

Seemingly every Sunday, opposing colors pervade the stands, as transplant fans and out-of-state travelers come to support their home team — but not Arizona's home team.

Sure, it's easy to call out some of that fan behavior, but that responsibility ultimately does fall on the Cardinals. Arizona has simply not performed well enough at home to warrant claims that State Farm Stadium is a tough place to play — fan demographics notwithstanding.

But something has begun to change for Jonathan Gannon's squad. There has been a noticeable shift in the Cardinals' record at home in the past few seasons.

2025 is Year Cardinals Can Change Narrative

Under Kliff Kingsbury, the Cardinals went 3-5 at home in 2021 — the most successful season since the Bruce Arians era. They went a dismal 1-8 at home in a poor 2022.

Then, under the first year of Gannon, they went 2-6. Considering both the 2022 and 2023 squad won only four games, a one-game improvement is at least worth noting. But once Arizona rounded into a more competitive NFL team, the difference was stark.

In 2024, despite ending with an 8-9 record, the Cardinals finished 6-3 at State Farm Stadium. In fact, home games accounted for 75% of their wins. Granted, that said something different about their proficiency on the road, but Arizona needed to establish a home field advantage, and that was on display the prior season.

Now, headed into 2025, they'll face the Panthers, Titans, Packers, Jaguars and Falcons — as well as, of course, their divisional opponents once each. They'll have a critical primetime matchup at home against the Seahawks, a team that has swept Arizona in three straight season.

Otherwise, it's a mix of beatable and challenging opponents. The Cardinals should be able to reasonably play above-.500 at home and continue to draw in home fans.

Enough is enough. It's time for State Farm Stadium to offer a distinct home-field advantage