August 13, 2026
August 13, 2026
For most of their history, the Arizona Cardinals had been the NFL’s answer to a trivia question rather than a threat to win it all. The franchise dates back to 1898 and won an NFL Championship as the Chicago Cardinals in 1947, but the decades that followed brought little to celebrate. During the club’s run in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, the team made just three playoff appearances and never won a postseason game, and for most of its time in the desert, Arizona was viewed as one of the NFL’s perennial afterthoughts. Then came the 2008 season, when everything about the Cardinals changed for the better.
Arizona finished 2008 at 9-7, winning the NFC West by two games over the San Francisco 49ers. The Cardinals were a perfect 6-0 within the division and went 7-5 in conference play. At home in University of Phoenix Stadium they went 6-2, though they managed just a 3-5 mark on the road. Behind those numbers was a season, detailed on the 2008 Arizona Cardinals season page, unlike any other in franchise history.
Throughout the year, the Cardinals rallied around a catchy slogan: “Shock the World.” No player embodied that spirit more than quarterback Kurt Warner, who had once run the “Greatest Show on Turf” offense with the St. Louis Rams. That nickname, immortalized on The Greatest Show on Turf Wikipedia page, described the record-setting Rams attack Warner led from 1998 to 2003 before he spent 2004 mentoring a young Eli Manning with the New York Giants.
Having joined the Cardinals in 2005, Warner was 37 years old in 2008, but he finally had the offense to match his talent. He completed 401 of 598 passes for 4,583 yards and 30 touchdowns, good for a 67.1 completion percentage, while throwing 14 interceptions. Kurt Warner turned in one of the finest seasons of his career at an age when most quarterbacks are winding down.
Running back Tim Hightower started seven games, carrying 143 times for 399 yards and 10 touchdowns while catching 34 passes for 237 yards. Edgerrin James also started seven games, rushing 133 times for 514 yards and three touchdowns. Jonathan Jerone “J.J.” Arrington started three games, adding 31 carries for 187 yards and a touchdown along with 29 receptions for 255 yards and another score. Arrington also made his mark on special teams, returning 36 kickoffs for 923 yards and a touchdown.
Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald quickly proved he was among the best in the league, hauling in 96 receptions for 1,431 yards and 12 touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald had help, too: Anquan Boldin started 11 games and posted 89 receptions for 1,038 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Steve Breaston started nine games and added 77 catches for 1,006 yards and three touchdowns. Breaston also contributed on special teams, with 33 punt returns for 237 yards and 33 kick returns for 667 yards. Jerheme Urban chipped in 34 receptions for 448 yards and four touchdowns.
Arizona’s kicking game was steady all year, as Neil Rackers made 25 of 28 field goal attempts for an 89.3 field goal percentage. The defense, meanwhile, made key plays whenever the Cardinals needed them most.
Middle linebacker Karlos Dansby recorded 95 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Free safety Antrel Rolle added 78 tackles and an interception, while fellow middle linebacker Gerald Hayes had 67 tackles, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Strong safety Adrian Wilson contributed 60 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
Linebacker Chike Okeafor had 50 tackles, 4.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble, and safety Aaron Francisco added 48 tackles. Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett recorded four sacks, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries for 24 yards and a touchdown. Left cornerback Roderick Hood had an interception and a forced fumble, and rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, taken 16th overall out of Tennessee State University in the 2008 NFL Draft, started 11 games and posted four interceptions for 157 yards and a touchdown along with a fumble recovery. Defensive end Antonio Smith added two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, defensive end Travis LaBoy had four sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and defensive end Bertrand Berry closed the season with five sacks.
On January 3, the Cardinals hosted the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card Round and won 30-24. Warner completed 19 of 32 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns, throwing one interception, and Fitzgerald caught six passes for 101 yards and a score. Fitzgerald opened the scoring with a 42-yard touchdown reception with 10:28 left in the first quarter. Atlanta answered with a 30-yard Jason Elam field goal at the 10:00 mark of the second quarter before Boldin broke off a 71-yard touchdown catch at 8:58. Michael Turner then scored on a 7-yard run for the Falcons, and tight end Justin Peelle added a 2-yard touchdown catch with 0:23 left in the half. Arizona pulled away in the third quarter when Rolle returned a fumble 27 yards for a touchdown at 14:08, and Hightower punched in a 4-yard score at 2:48. Early in the fourth quarter, Antonio Smith sacked quarterback Matt Ryan in the end zone for a safety, and a late 5-yard touchdown catch by Roddy White wasn’t enough for Atlanta.
The Cardinals traveled to Bank of America Stadium on January 10 and beat the Carolina Panthers 33-13. Warner completed 21 of 32 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception and one sack taken, while Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Carolina’s Jonathan Stewart opened the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run, but Hightower answered with a 3-yard touchdown catch, and Edgerrin James added a 4-yard rushing score. Neil Rackers hit field goals of 49 and 30 yards in the second quarter before Fitzgerald hauled in a 29-yard touchdown. Rackers added field goals of 33 and 20 yards in the second half, and an 8-yard touchdown catch by Panthers receiver Steve Smith late in the game proved meaningless.
Arizona then defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25 in the NFC Championship Game on January 18. Warner completed 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns while taking two sacks, and Fitzgerald caught nine passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Fitzgerald opened the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown catch, and Eagles kicker David Akers answered with a 45-yard field goal. Fitzgerald added touchdown catches of 62 and one yard around another Akers field goal, and Rackers closed out the half with a 49-yard field goal as time expired. Philadelphia tight end Brent Celek then caught touchdown passes of six and 31 yards in the third quarter, and DeSean Jackson’s 62-yard touchdown catch gave the Eagles a 25-24 lead in the fourth quarter. But with 2:53 left, Hightower caught an 8-yard touchdown pass to send Arizona to its first Super Bowl.
Arizona’s improbable run didn’t end the way the Cardinals had hoped. They fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1 in Super Bowl XLIII. The Cardinals led 23-20 late in the fourth quarter before a late touchdown catch swung the game to Pittsburgh. Even in defeat, the Arizona Cardinals had gone further than anyone expected, proving that their season-long promise to shock the world was no empty slogan.
7th February, 2017
17th June, 2026
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29th March, 2016
17th April, 2016
August 13th, 2026 24
August 13th, 2026 24
August 13th, 2026 24
