Blue Devils beat Cardinals 35-7 in an NFL regular-season match on Saturday, 19 September 2026. The hosts made light work of a side that had looked vulnerable all week. To be fair, the visitors carried noticeable baggage into this fixture.
Cardinals came in with mixed recent form. They had beaten Rainbow Warriors 37-27 on 29 August, but that momentum vanished in a 6-45 hammering by Hurricanes on 5 September. Blue Devils, meanwhile, were riding a two-game winning streak, having taken 31-27 against Fighting Illini and 17-3 over Green Wave in successive weeks.
The gap in confidence showed through. By then, the visitors were already playing with backs against the walls, and the home side's attack found plenty of space. Blue Devils never let up, stringing together scores that left the opposition chasing shadows from the opening exchanges.
What struck me watching this was the contrast between expectation and reality. A team that had looked competitive just weeks earlier suddenly looked exposed. The high line was picked apart with ease, and every turnover seemed to find its way back the other way.
And here's the thing about results like this — they tell you more than the scoreboard alone. Blue Devils are now unbeaten in five across their last outings, while Cardinals have lost two of their last three. The scoreline was never going to be close once the visitors lost their composure.
This was a match where one side had everything to prove and the other had nothing left to lose. The home crowd sensed it early and stayed until the final whistle. Sometimes you know before kickoff which way it's heading.
