Historical Moments:
1988: After owner Bill Bidwell's demands for a new stadium preferably domed were ignored,
and years of dwindling attendance in the city of St. Louis, the Cards were on
the move again. After considering Baltimore, and Jacksonville Bill Bidwell decided
the Cardinals future was best served in the Arizona desert and elected to
move the team to Phoenix. On March 15th NFL owners reluctantly, but overwhelmingly
approved the move. Bidwell, who had lost 100 lbs and plenty of money since
announcing his plans to relocate a year earlier, tearfully described his feelings
as "mixed up," as the Cardinals landed in their new nest Phoenix, Arizona.
After a 21-14 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati on September 4th the Cardinals
prepared for the first home game in the desert. On September 12th a franchise record
crowd of 67,139 showed up to watch a Monday Night match up with the Dallas
Cowboys. The new fans would wind up going home disappointed as Dallas beat Phoenix
17-14. The Cardinals first win in Phoenix would come 13 days later against
the Washington Redskins, as the Cardinals won 7 of 9 after a 0-2 start to stand
at 7-4 and in a 1st place tie. However the Cards would go on one of their traditional
nosedives, and would lose heir final 5 games to finish at 7-9.
1989: After a 5-6 start the Cardinals are stunned as coach Gene Stallings departs to take
over at the head-coaching job at Alabama. The Cardinals would lose their final
5 games under interim coach Hank Kuhlmann to finish at 5-11. The news for the
Cards would get worse when QB Neil Lomax is forced to retire due to degenerative
hip condition.
1990: During an unspectacular 5-11 season with new Head Coach Joe Bugel the Cardinals play
the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants tough in both games. In the
first meeting on October 21st the Cards hold a lead most the game until the Giants
hit a FG with no time left to pull out a 20-19 victory in the Meadowlands.
In the December 23rd rematch at Sun Devil Stadium the Cards would only lose by
3 points.
1991: After starting the season 3-2 to give faint hope to long suffering Cardinals fans,
the Cards land in their familiar last place territory by losing 10 of their final
11 games.
1992: Another awful 4-12 season is highlighted by a 24-14 upset of the San Francisco 49ers,
one of the elite teams in the NFL.
1993: After a 3-8 start the Cardinals win 4 of their final 5 games to wind up with a respectable
7-9 record. However, it does not save Coach Joe Bugle's job as he fired
after the season.
1994: The Cardinals undergo another name change becoming the Arizona Cardinals to sell
themselves to the entire state instead of just the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Changes
were also made at the top as defensive mastermind Buddy Ryan assumed the
coaching reigns. Combined with a strong finish the previous year, and a big named
coach excitement filled the Valley of the sun as Cardinal fans anticipated
a bright future under "Buddy Ball". However in typical Cardinals fashion
the team gets off to a slow 3-6 start, but the Cards would then catch fire winning
5 of their next 6 to stand at 8-7 with an outside chance of the playoffs heading
into the final week of the season. However before even taking the field for
their last game the Cards were eliminated, and played a lackluster game losing
10-6 to the Atlanta Flacons to finish up with an 8-8 record.
1995: The excitement is all but gone by the start of year 2 of "Buddy Ball", and fans even
began to call it "Cruddy Ball", as the Cards continued to flounder in the NFC
East cellar finishing with a woeful 4-12 record that would lead to the departure
of Buddy Ryan.
1996: Under new head coach Vince Tobin the Cardinals get off to their traditional bad start
and stand at 3-6 after 9 games. The Cardinals would then go on a 3 game winning
streak thanks to 3 outstanding performances by QB Boomer Esaison, but the
Cards would come crashing down to earth losing 3 of their final 4 to finish at
7-9.
1997: While the Cards were on their way to another mediocre season in 1996, the Arizona
State Sun Devils were making a run for the National Championship. Led by QB Jake
"The Snake" Plummer the Sun Devils easily ran through the PAC- 10 and entered
the Rose Bowl with a shot at the National Title. However, and last minute drive
by Ohio State ended ASU's Championship dreams. When the NFL draft rolled around,
it was only natural that the Cardinals select Plummer to be the QB of the
future. However, the Cardinals would struggle again with a woeful 4-12 season,
while Plummer experienced growing pains in his first preseason at Sun Devil Stadium.
The lone highlight of the season comes during the home opener when the Cardinals
end a 13 game losing streak to the Dallas Cowboys with a 25-22 win OT.
1998: The Cardinals stumble out of the gate losing their first 2 games on the road. However,
they would bounce back to win their next 2 including a win in their return
trip to St. Louis to take on the Rams. Over the next 2 months the Cards would
alternate wins and losses along the way the pulling out games in the 4th Quarter
that they normally lost. With 3 weeks left the Cardinals stood at 6-7, and were
looking in the face at mediocrity once again. However, this year would
be different. Down 17-10 in the final minutes of a game at Philadelphia against
the Eagles the Cards score in the finals minutes to force OT, where the Cardinals
pull out the game on a last minute FG to keep their playoff hopes alive.
One week later the Cardinals were trailing again in the 4th Quarter before Jake
Plummer drove the Cardinals down the field for a game winning FG beat the New
Orleans Saints to improve the Cardinals to 8-7. While the Cards were beating
the Saints other teams in contention for a playoff spot were falling opening
the door for the Cards to make the playoffs with a win in their final game. 71,670
Cardinals fans would show up for their December 27th game against the San
Diego Chargers hungry for a playoff spot. The Cardinals would make their fans
sweat but PK Chris Jacke would knock home a 52-yard FG with no time remaining to
clinch their first playoff spot in 16 years. Going into their Wild Card Playoff
game against the Dallas Cowboys nobody gave them a shot, as the Cardinals were
listed as a double-digit underdog. Considering recent history it was hard to
argue since the Cards had lost 16 of their last 17 in against their division rivals.
Meanwhile The Cards were fighting history, the franchise had not won a single
playoff game since the 1947 NFL Championship cumulating in the longest drought
in pro-sports history. However magic was in the air that Saturday afternoon
in Dallas, and the Cards jumped out to a 10-0 halftime lead. The Cards would
then pad the lead to 20-0 in the finals minutes of the 4th quarter. The Cowboys
would manage to score a TD late in the 4th quarter, but the Cardinals
held on for the stunning upset. The Cardinals who had suffered for 51 years
as the NFL's doormat finally had a playoff win. However, the dream would only
last 1 more week as the Cardinals fell to the high-powered Vikings 41-21 in Minnesota.
However the game was close than the score shows, as the Cardinals were
with in 10 points midway through the 3rd Quarter.
1999: Coming of their great playoff run in 1998, the Cardinals were expected to do bigger
and better things in 1999, but instead returned to their losing ways getting
off to a 2-6 start. However the Cards would make another run winning 4 straight
to get back into the playoff chase, but this year it was not meant to be as Arizona
lost their last 4 to finish with a disappointing 6-10 record.
2000: The Cardinals return to dreadful ways of old going trough a horrific 3-13 season,
their worst since moving to Arizona. However, the Cardinals would emerge victorious
in their most important contest of the season winning a bond for the building
of a new stadium in Maricopa County. Had the voters rejected the bond issue
the Cardinals could have been forced to relocate again. The new stadium, which
will feature a retraceable roof as well as a retractable field, is scheduled
for competition in 2005.
2001: The Cardinals get off to a miserable 2-6 start, as their offense only manages to
score 20 points twice; in fact it was the 2 games they won. The highlight of the
season's first half was their stunning come behind win in Philadelphia against
the Eagles, which was capped by a Hail Mary pass from Jake Plummer to MarTay
Jenkins. However the second half would be a different story as the Cards played
well and their offense began to click. The Cards ran out 3 straight wins highlighted
by a stunning OT win in Oakland vs. the Raiders. The Cards would win 5 of
7 and would enter their final game with a crack at the .500 mark, but a loss
in Washington to the Redskins would end the Cards season at 7-9. Feeling patriotic
Safety Pat Tillman would leave behind the Cardinals to sign up with the US
Army Special Forces, to help fight the war on terror, sadly on April 22, 2004;
Tillman would be killed in a fire fight near the Afghan-Pakistan border.
2002: Under NFL realignment the Cardinals are finally moved to the NFC West, 15 years after
they moved to Arizona. At first the Cardinals took a liking to their new surroundings
as they stood in first place after a 4-2 start. However, reality would
slap the Cardinals again as they lost their next 6 games while winning just
1 game the rest of the season to finish in last place again with a terrible record
of 5-11. Following the season the Cardinals would be hit hard by free agency
as several top players bolted the team including QB Jake Plummer and WR David
Boston.
2003: Though the team was not very good the Cardinals had some reason for excitement with
the signing of All-Time leading rusher Emmitt Smith. However, truthfully Smith
was well past his prime and he struggled all year rushing for just 256 yards
in an injury plagued year. The Cardinals again were bottom feeders losing 5 of
their first 6 games. After 2 straight wins improved them to 3-5 the Cardinals
struggled again losing their next 7 games as they entered the final game of the
season against the Minnesota Vikings with a 3-12 record. Trailing late in the
4th Quarter 17-6 late in the 4th Quarter the Cards looked like they were heading
for another loss. However, QB Josh McCown who established himself as the QB of
the future at the end of the season led an amazing comeback hitting Nathan Poole
on a 28-yard game winning TD pass on the final play of the game to give the
Cards a 18-17 win on the final play of the game to knock the Vikings out of the
playoffs. Despite the win it was not enough to save Coach Dave McGinnis's job
as he was fired after a 4-12 season. However one bright spot would be Rookie WR
Anquan Boldin who captured the offensive rookie of the year award with 1,377
receiving yards.
2004: Under mew Coach Dennis Green the Cardinals would stumble out of the gate losing their
first 3 games, including a Week 2 game against the New England Patriots where
the honored their fallen hero Pat Tillman who was killed while fighting near
the Afghan-Pakistan border with his Army Ranger unit. The Cards would finally
get their first win for Coach Green in Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints.
With a chance for 2 wins in a row the Cardinals saw a 16-point 4th Quarter lead
vanish in 31-28 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Cardinals would
bounce back and would show some promise winning 3 of their next 4 games, but it
would be short-lived, as QB Josh McCown was benched as the Cardinals went on a
4-game losing streak which included a 2nd overtime loss to the 49ers, becoming
the only team the 2-14 team would beat during the season. The Cardinals would
go on to finish the season strong winning 2 of their last 3 games to finish with
a 6-10 record, as their were slight signs of improvement all around, as Rookie
WR Larry Fitzgerald had 8 TDs with 780 yards receiving to give them a sold duo
at wideout. Meanwhile the Cardinals saw the end of a legend as Emmitt Smith rushed
937 yards with a team high 9 TDs before retiring.
2005: The Cardinals began the season hoping to take a step forward as they played their
final season in Sun Devil Stadium with former two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl
XXIV MVP Kurt Warner as their new Quarterback. However, as their 42-19 opening
week loss to the New York Giants showed the Cardinals where still miles away from
having a contender. The Cardinals would lose their first three games as Warner
suffered a groin injury. In Week 4 the Cardinals made history as they played
a home game against the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City. With Josh McCown
playing for Warner the Cardinals overcame an early 14-0 deficit to win the game
31-14 as Neil Rackers made 6 Field Goals four of which were longer than 40 yards,
as McCown passed for 385 yards. the following week McCown looked strong again
passing for 398 yards. However, 3 costly Interceptions would allow the Carolina
Panthers to have a come from behind 24-20 win. Following a bye week the Cardinals
would beat the Tennessee Titans. Following a loss to the Dallas Cowboys,
Kurt Warner would return and would play well passing over 300 yards 4 of the next
5 games. However, the Cardinals would win just twice as their running game
was stuck in the mud all season, with no individual performance better than 59
yards over the entire season as the Cardinals as a team rushed for just a NFL worse
1138 yards, as the Cardinals suffered another awful 5-11 season. Hoping to
final turn things around the Cardinals made a big splash on the Free Agency market
signing Indianapolis Colts All-Pro RB Edgerrin James, while drafting USC QB
and 2004 Heisman Trophy Winner Matt Leinart tenth overall.
2006: After 18 years in Sun Devil Stadium, the Arizona Cardinals finally had a stadium
to call their own, as the University of Phoenix Stadium opened in Glendale, with
much fanfare, as it was the first stadium built in North America with both a
retractable roof and a retractable field. Playing to a sold out stadium the Cardinals
got off to a strong start beating the San Francisco 49ers 34-27 with Kurt
Warner passing for 301 yards with three touchdown passes. However, the Cardinals
offense sputtered in the next three games as Free Agent acquisition Edgerrin
James had trouble finding running room and ended the season with a disappointing
1,159 rushing yards and a mere 6 TDs. In Week 5 the Cardinals made a change
at QB starting rookie Matt Leinart against the Kansas City Chiefs, who would play
well with 253 yards and 2 TD passes, as the Cards held a 20-10 lead in the
4th Quarter. However, the Chiefs would score 13 unanswered points for a 23-20 win.
A week later Leinart was even better in a Monday Night Start, passing for 232
yards and tow touchdowns as the Cardinals jumped out to a 23-3 lead against
the unbeaten Chicago Bears. However, the Bears would make a stunning comeback returning
fumbles by Edgerrin James and Matt Leinart for touchdowns, before taking
the lead for good on an 83-yard punt return by Devin Hester. Following the stunning
24-23 loss, Coach Dennis Green exploded in a post game tirade that would
become a popular video on YouTube. Still reeling following their Monday Night
Collapse the Cardinals were hammered by the winless Oakland Raiders 22-9. The
Cardinals struggled would continue the next two games as they entered Week 10 with
a 1-8 record, before Leinart finally earned his first win beating the Detroit
Lions 17-10. A week later Matt Leinart would pass for 405 yards in a 31-26 loss
to the Minnesota Vikings. The following week with Edgerrin James finally topping
100 yards in rushing the Cardinals would earn their first road win stunning
the St. Louis Rams 34-20. James would equal his 115 yard output the following
week as the Cards stunned the first place Seattle Seahawks 27-21. Following a
road loss to the Denver Broncos, James would rush for 105 yards leading the way
as the Cardinals ended the 49ers playoff hopes in a 26-20 win. The Cardinals
would close the season with a loss to the San Diego Chargers as they finished in
last place with a record of 5-11. Following the season the Cardinals would fire
Coach Dennis Green, as the Cardinals were quite who their fans, and ownership
thought they were when the season began. To replace Green, the Cardinals would
hire Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.
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