The Arizona Cardinals, or as they were previously known as, the Chicago Cardinals and then the St. Louis Cardinals, have enjoyed their fair share of success ever since they were officially deemed a professional football franchise back in 1960.
While their current roster boasts some superstars like wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and DeAndre Hopkins, as well as quarterback Kyler Murray, the history of their team has set the table for their current success as well.
But which moments in their history have stood out the most? Look no further, as this list will dive into three of the greatest moments in the history of the Cardinals football franchise.
Their lone championship — two states ago
Currently, the Cardinals franchise holds the record for being the professional sports team with the longest ongoing drought between championships, which is a feat that no team wants to hold, regardless of which sport it is in. So, instead of looking back at how bad the drought has been, let us instead look at how bright that lone moment has been for this franchise.
It was 1947, which coincidentally is one year prior to when the dry spell for the MLB’s Cleveland Indians began, so while the Cardinals do have company, they still get to hold onto the very heavy crown for this lackluster achievement.
This season was a year of great achievement, as the Cardinals, in Chicago at the time and playing their home games at Comiskey Park, only lost three games on their way to winning a championship. Having averaged 25.5 points per game in the regular season, they were able to beat their in-state rivals, the Chicago Bears, on two separate occasions. This was quite the feat, especially since the Bears entered the 1947 season as defending champions.
At this time, the playoffs were a lone game contested between the winners of the NFL East and West divisions, which happened to be the Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles. Having squeaked out a 28-21 win by putting up a touchdown in every quarter (the Eagles failed to score in the first quarter), the Cardinals came out victorious and capped off the best season (so far) of their time as a professional team.
In the championship game, they relied heavily on their ground game, to the tune of 39 carries for 282 yards and three touchdowns. The running back duo of Elmer Angsman (10 carries, 159 yards, two touchdowns) and Charley Trippi (11 carries, 84 yards, one score) was all the offense that they needed. The only touchdown not scored on offense was on Trippi's 75-yard third-quarter punt return to the house, giving both running backs two total scores on the day.
1998 was the year of “no, they should not be here”
Football Outsiders dubbed the 1998 Cardinals to be “one of the greatest flukes of all time,” when speaking about how this 9-7 team that produced a 25th-ranked DVOA (behind three 4-12 teams) and was outscored by its opponents 378-325. Additionally, Football Outsiders also gave the 1998 Cardinals the distinction of being the third-worst playoff team since they had begun to calculate those rankings. But to Arizona, this was a season of destiny and not fluke.
Coming into the final game of the 1998 season, the Cardinals needed to beat the San Diego Chargers in order to secure the team’s first playoff appearance since 1982 and its first since moving from St. Louis to Arizona in 1988. Their postseason dreams rested on the leg of kicker Chris Jacke, whose 52-yard boot went through the uprights and caused the Cardinal faithful to lose their minds.
Not wanting to be one-and-done, however, the Cardinals continued to shock the league, as they recorded an upset of the Dallas Cowboys by holding Dallas to only seven points while they put up 20 of their own in the Wild Card round. Their jaunt through the postseason ended the next week, but the Cardinals can look back at their 1998 season and feel a sense of pride for what they had accomplished, seeing as how they were not even supposed to be there in general.
2008 — the year of what could have been
This season represents the most-recent chance that the franchise has had in winning a Super Bowl, and only due to a tiptoeing Santonio Holmes in the back corner of the end zone, that realization did not come true.
But for the Cardinals to make it all the way to the playoffs, they had a lot of work to do. They proved that they were serious about earning a Super Bowl berth, and it did not matter who or what was in their way.
This 9-7 team was able to capitalize upon a weak NFC West division to win the division without double-digit victories. They then needed to run through three rounds of NFC competition before making it to the Super Bowl, but that did not seem to faze them at all.
The Wild Card round placed the Cardinals against the Atlanta Falcons, and their 30-24 home victory catapulted them into the Divisional round, where they faced off with the Carolina Panthers.
This away game had a lot going against the Cardinals, especially since they had lost five games on the East Coast already that season (including one in Carolina), while the Panthers were undefeated at home. Nonetheless, the Cardinals went into Bank of America Stadium and put up a 20-point victory over the home team, led by Fitzgerald’s eight-catch, 166-yard, one-touchdown performance.
In the NFC Championship, it was up to the Eagles to stop the Cardinals' runaway train. It was the first-ever home conference championship game for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals looked to Fitzgerald to lead them to the promised land, and he came through in a big way, to the tune of nine catches, 152 yards and three touchdowns, including a long of 62 yards. Having just run through the toughest competition that the NFC could offer, the Cardinals had become just the second team in NFL history to advance to the Super Bowl following a 9-7 regular-season record.
While their Cinderella run was cut short by the heroics of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cardinals truly had a lot to be proud of from this season. While it did not end the way that they had wanted, they were able to turn doubters into truthers, making this their most-recent season of actual positive results on the gridiron.
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