The 2020 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 ...

' 101st 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 33rd 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 ...

Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played c ...

. It was also the first full season since

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

without the ownership of

Bill Bidwill William Vogel Bidwill (July 31, 1931 – October 2, 2019) was an American businessman and the owner of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He had co-owned the team from 1962 for ten seasons with his brother Charles Jr. ...

, who died during the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

season. The team improved on their 5–10–1 record from the previous year beginning the season 6–3; however, the Cardinals suffered a late season collapse, losing five of their last seven games and missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season after losing to the

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in Week 17. The Cardinals finished tied with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

for the last Wild Card spot, but lost the tiebreaker. The 2020 season featured the Hail Murray, as during Week 10 on November 15, trailing the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

30–26 with eleven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter,

Kyler Murray Kyler Cole Murray (born August 7, 1997) is an American professional football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following one season of college football with the Texas A&M Aggies, Murray played for the ...

completed a 43-yard

Hail Mary The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...

touchdown pass to

DeAndre Hopkins DeAndre Rashaun Hopkins (born June 6, 1992), nicknamed "DHop" and "Nuk", is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cle ...

with one second remaining to lift the Cardinals over the Bills in a miraculous 32–30 victory.

Roster changes

Free agents

Signings

Trades

* March 20: The Cardinals traded a second-round pick in the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

, a fourth-round pick in the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

and RB David Johnson to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

for WR

Draft

Notes * The Cardinals will forfeit their fifth-round selection after selecting

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

Jalen Thompson Jalen Thompson (born July 18, 1998) is an American professional football safety for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington State Cougars and was selected by the Cardinals in the ...

in the 2019 supplemental draft. * The Cardinals traded their sixth-round selection to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in exchange for

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Jamar Taylor. * The Cardinals acquired a 2020 sixth-round pick from the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in exchange for

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Korey Cunningham Korey Cunningham (May 17, 1995 – April 25, 2024) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) from 2018 to 2022. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was ...

. * The Cardinals traded their

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

second-round selection, as well as a fourth-round selection in the

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

David Johnson to the

in exchange for

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and a 2020 fourth-round selection.

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

The Cardinals' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Regular season

Schedule

The Cardinals'

schedule was announced on May 7. Notes * Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers

With the win, the Cardinals won their first game of the season for the first time since 2015 and the first time in an away game since 2010.

Week 2: vs. Washington Football Team

With this win, the Cardinals started 2-0 for the first time since

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions

The Cardinals were seeking their win over the Lions since 2015.

Week 4: at Carolina Panthers

Week 5: at New York Jets

Week 6: at Dallas Cowboys

With the win, the Cardinals not only advanced to 4–2, they also won their first road MNF game since 1977.

Week 7: vs. Seattle Seahawks

This was the Cardinals' first Sunday Night Football appearance since

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, which was also against the Seahawks at home. This was the Cardinals' first home win over the Seahawks since

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins

Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a game-tying 49-yard field goal.

Week 10: vs. Buffalo Bills

In the final seconds of game,

threw a game winning touchdown pass to wide receiver

with two seconds left after he leaped over three defenders in the end zone to make the catch. The play came at the end of a game in which the Cardinals rallied from a 23–9 deficit early in the third quarter, and from a 30–26 deficit after Bills quarterback

Josh Allen Joshua Patrick Allen (born May 21, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys football, Wyoming Cow ...

threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver

Stefon Diggs Stefon Marsean Diggs (born November 29, 1993) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins footbal ...

with less than 40 seconds left. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 6–3. This was the first time a successful game-winning Hail Mary catch in the fourth quarter was made since

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears foo ...

threw one in a 2015 game against the Detroit Lions.

Week 11: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 12: at New England Patriots

Week 13: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 14: at New York Giants

Week 15: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 17: at Los Angeles Rams

With the loss, the Cardinals went 3–6 in their last 9 games after starting 5–2.

Roster changes

Free agents

Signings

Trades

Draft

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 2: vs. Washington Football Team

Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 4: at Carolina Panthers

Week 5: at New York Jets

Week 6: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 7: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 10: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 11: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 12: at New England Patriots

Week 13: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 14: at New York Giants

Week 15: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 17: at Los Angeles Rams

Standings

Division

Conference

Notes

References

External links