The
2014 season was the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
' 95th in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL), their 27th in
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
and their second under
head coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
Bruce Arians
Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the h ...
. Following an explosive 9–1 start to the regular season, they finished at 11–5, achieving their highest win total since
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
when they were still in St. Louis (also their highest total in a 16-game season). The Cardinals clinched their first playoff berth since
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, and had a chance to become the first team to play the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
on their own home field,
University of Phoenix Stadium
State Farm Stadium is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Glendale, Arizona, United States, west of Phoenix. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl. It replaced Sun Devi ...
. However, after season-ending injuries to
Carson Palmer
Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy as ...
and
Drew Stanton
Drew Emeric Stanton (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft ...
, they were forced to start third-string quarterback
Ryan Lindley in the wild-card round, losing to the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
, 27–16, which was the first time since
1982
Events
January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
when they were in St. Louis that the Cardinals went one-and-done.
Draft
* Note: The Cardinals traded their original first-round selection (No. 20 overall) to the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
in exchange for the Saints' first- (No. 27 overall) and third- (No. 91 overall) round selections.
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
Schedule
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Regular season
Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 2: at New York Giants
Week 3: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 5: at Denver Broncos
Week 6: vs. Washington Redskins
Week 7: at Oakland Raiders
Week 8: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 9: at Dallas Cowboys
Week 10: vs. St. Louis Rams
Carson Palmer
Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy as ...
would suffer a season-ending injury on his left-knee.
Drew Stanton
Drew Emeric Stanton (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft ...
would take over as quarterback for the rest of the game. Thanks to the efforts of the defense during the fourth quarter, the Cardinals rallied to beat the Rams 31-14.
Week 11: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 12: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 13: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 14: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 15: at St. Louis Rams
Week 16: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers
This would snap the 49ers' 4-game losing streak in Levi's Stadium. With the loss, the Cardinals finished their season to 11-5.
Postseason
NFC Wild Card Playoffs: at #4 Carolina Panthers
The Cardinals' offensive performance was historically bad as the team lost to the 7-8-1 Panthers, by a final score of 27-16, and were eliminated from the postseason. They committed three turnovers (two of them being red zone interceptions), gained only 8 first downs (and only 2 first downs in the second half) and recorded 78 net yards of offense, the fewest yards gained in a playoff game by any team in NFL postseason history. After a 9-1 start, the Cardinals went 2-5 in their final seven games. Because both QB Carson Palmer and QB Drew Stanton went down with injuries during regular Season Games. Cardinals were forced to use 3rd string QB Ryan Lindley for the last 2 regular season Games and Lindley had to start for the Cardinals in the Wild Card game at Carolina.
Standings
Division
Conference
References
External links
*
{{2014 NFL season by team
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
Arizona Cardinals seasons
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...