2020 Arizona Cardinals season

Last updated

2020 Arizona Cardinals season
Owner Michael Bidwill
General manager Steve Keim
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury
Home stadium State Farm Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place3rd NFC West
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers QB Kyler Murray
WR DeAndre Hopkins
SS Budda Baker
Team MVPDeAndre Hopkins
Team ROY Isaiah Simmons
Uniform
Arizona Cardinals Uniforms 2017-2021.png

The 2020 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 101st in the National Football League (NFL), their 33rd in Arizona and their second under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. It was also the first full season since 1971 without the ownership of Bill Bidwill, who died during the 2019 season.

Contents

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 Los Angeles Rams in Week 17. The Cardinals finished tied with the Chicago Bears 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 30–26 with eleven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Kyler Murray completed a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins with one second remaining to lift the Cardinals over the Bills in a miraculous 32–30 victory. [1] [2]

Roster changes

Free agents

PositionPlayerTag2020 teamNotes
WR Larry Fitzgerald UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
OT Marcus Gilbert UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
OT D. J. Humphries UFA Arizona Cardinals 3 years
OG Max Garcia UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
TE Charles Clay UFATBDTBD
QB Brett Hundley UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
DE Rodney Gunter UFA Jacksonville Jaguars 3 years
LB Brooks Reed UFA Tennessee Titans 1 year
C A.Q. Shipley UFA Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 year
OT Jordan Mills UFATBDTBD
DE Clinton McDonald UFATBDTBD
DT Cassius Marsh UFA Jacksonville Jaguars 1 year
CB Josh Shaw UFATBDTBD
DT Jonathan Bullard UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
RB Kenyan Drake UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
NT Zach Kerr UFA Carolina Panthers 2 years
NT Caraun Reid UFA Jacksonville Jaguars 1 year
S Chris Banjo UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
CB Brandon Williams UFA New York Giants 4 years
WR Pharoh Cooper UFA Carolina Panthers 1 year
WR Damiere Byrd UFA New England Patriots 1 year
S Charles Washington UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
RB D. J. Foster UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
LB Keishawn Bierria UFATBDTBD
LB Joe Walker UFA San Francisco 49ers 1 year
K Zane Gonzalez UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
OT William SweetUFA San Francisco 49ers 1 year
OT Justin Murray UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
CB Kevin Peterson UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
Player re-signed by the CardinalsPlayer not re-signed by the Cardinals

Signings

PositionPlayerTag2019 teamDate signedNotes
DT Jordan Phillips UFA Buffalo Bills March 193 years, $30 million
LB Devon Kennard UFA Detroit Lions March 193 years, $20 million
LB De'Vondre Campbell UFA Atlanta Falcons March 191 year, $6 million
DT Trevon Coley UFA Indianapolis Colts March 251 year, $825,000

Trades

Draft

2020 Arizona Cardinals Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
1 8 Isaiah Simmons OLB Clemson
372 Josh Jones OT Houston
4114 Leki Fotu DT Utah
131 Rashard Lawrence DT LSU from Houston
6202 Evan Weaver LB California from New England
7222 Eno Benjamin RB Arizona State

Notes

Undrafted free agents
PlayerPositionCollege
Ryan Becker TE SMU
Jake Benzinger OT Wake Forest
Jermiah Braswell WR Youngstown State
T.J. Carter DT Kentucky
Jackson Dennis OT Holy Cross
Drew Dickinson OG Findlay
Reggie Floyd DB Virginia Tech
Steven Gonzalez OT Penn State
Parker Houston TE San Diego State
Noah Togiai TE Oregon State
Shane Leatherbury WR Towson
Zane Lewis DB Air Force
Rashad Medaris WR Cincinnati
Devin Phelps WR Shepherd
Adam Shuler DT Florida
Reggie Walker LB Kansas State
JoJo Ward WR Hawaii
Jonathan Ward RB Central Michigan
Jace Whittaker DB Arizona
Jarren Williams DB Albany
Bejour Wilson DB Liberty

Staff

2020 Arizona Cardinals staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Buddy Morris
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Mark Naylor

Final roster

2020 Arizona Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
52 active, 12 reserve, 15 practice squad (1 exempt)

Preseason

The Cardinals' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]

WeekDateOpponentVenueResult
1August 15at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2August 22 Kansas City Chiefs State Farm Stadium
3August 27at Las Vegas Raiders Allegiant Stadium
4September 3 Denver Broncos State Farm Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

The Cardinals' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7. [8]

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1 September 13at San Francisco 49ers W 24–201–0 Levi's Stadium Recap
2 September 20 Washington Football Team W 30–152–0 State Farm Stadium Recap
3 September 27 Detroit Lions L 23–262–1State Farm Stadium Recap
4 October 4at Carolina Panthers L 21–312–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap
5 October 11at New York Jets W 30–103–2 MetLife Stadium Recap
6 October 19at Dallas Cowboys W 38–104–2 AT&T Stadium Recap
7 October 25 Seattle Seahawks W 37–34 (OT)5–2State Farm Stadium Recap
8 Bye
9 November 8 Miami Dolphins L 31–345–3State Farm Stadium Recap
10 November 15 Buffalo Bills W 32–30 6–3State Farm Stadium Recap
11 November 19at Seattle Seahawks L 21–286–4 Lumen Field Recap
12 November 29at New England Patriots L 17–206–5 Gillette Stadium Recap
13 December 6 Los Angeles Rams L 28–386–6State Farm Stadium Recap
14 December 13at New York Giants W 26–77–6MetLife Stadium Recap
15 December 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 33–268–6State Farm Stadium Recap
16 December 26 San Francisco 49ers L 12–208–7State Farm Stadium Recap
17 January 3at Los Angeles Rams L 7–188–8 SoFi Stadium Recap

Notes

Game summaries

Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 1: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals7301424
49ers1030720

at Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

Game information

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

Week 2: Washington Football Team at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Washington0031215
Cardinals14601030

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

With this win, the Cardinals started 2-0 for the first time since 2015.

Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 3: Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Lions3143626
Cardinals7610023

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: September 27
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Scott Novak
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, Brady Quinn and Sara Walsh
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

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

Week 4: at Carolina Panthers

Week 4: Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals077721
Panthers1477331

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Date: October 4
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/10:00 a.m. MST
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
  • Game attendance: 5,120
  • Referee: Ronald Torbert
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Kugler, Chris Spielman and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 5: at New York Jets

Week 5: Arizona Cardinals at New York Jets – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals7107630
Jets037010

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: October 11
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/10:00 a.m. MST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Adrian Hill
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Kugler, Chris Spielman and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 6: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 6: Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals02171038
Cowboys030710

at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Game information

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

Week 7: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter1234OTTotal
Seahawks101707034
Cardinals710710337

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

This was the Cardinals' first Sunday Night Football appearance since 2016, which was also against the Seahawks at home. This was the Cardinals' first home win over the Seahawks since 2012.

Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 9: Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Dolphins141001034
Cardinals71014031

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

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

Week 10: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 10: Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Bills797730
Cardinals3617632

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

In the final seconds of game, Kyler Murray threw a game winning touchdown pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins 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 threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Stefon Diggs 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 threw one in a 2015 game against the Detroit Lions. [9]

Week 11: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 11: Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals077721
Seahawks797528

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: November 19
  • Game time: 6:20 p.m. MST/5:20 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 48 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (Fox/NFLN/Amazon Prime): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews and Kristina Pink
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 12: at New England Patriots

Week 12: Arizona Cardinals at New England Patriots – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals1000717
Patriots0710320

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Game information

Week 13: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 13: Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Rams01432138
Cardinals7071428

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Week 14: at New York Giants

Week 14: Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals3107626
Giants00707

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: December 13
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. MST
  • Game weather: Fair, 59 °F (15 °C)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Ronald Torbert
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma and Shannon Spake
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 15: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 15: Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Eagles0206026
Cardinals16100733

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 16: San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
49ers707620
Cardinals330612

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: December 26
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 69 °F (21 °C) (retractable roof open)
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Referee: Clete Blakeman
  • TV announcers (Prime Video/Twitch): Andrew Catalon, James Lofton and Sherree Burruss
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 17: at Los Angeles Rams

Week 17: Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals70007
Rams0123318

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

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

Standings

Division

NFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(3) Seattle Seahawks 1240.7504–29–3459371W4
(6) Los Angeles Rams 1060.6253–39–3372296W1
Arizona Cardinals 880.5002–46–6410367L2
San Francisco 49ers 6100.3753–34–8376390L1

Conference

#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOVSTK
Division leaders
1 Green Bay Packers North1330.8135–110–2.428.387W6
2 [a] New Orleans Saints South1240.7506–010–2.459.406W2
3 [a] Seattle Seahawks West1240.7504–29–3.447.404W4
4 Washington Football Team East790.4384–25–7.459.388W1
Wild cards
5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers South1150.6884–28–4.488.392W4
6 Los Angeles Rams West1060.6253–39–3.494.484W1
7 [b] Chicago Bears North880.5002–46–6.488.336L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8 [b] Arizona Cardinals West880.5002–46–6.475.441L2
9 Minnesota Vikings North790.4384–25–7.504.366W1
10 [c] San Francisco 49ers West6100.3753–34–8.549.448L1
11 [c] [d] New York Giants East6100.3754–25–7.502.427W1
12 [d] Dallas Cowboys East6100.3752–45–7.471.333L1
13 [e] Carolina Panthers South5110.3131–54–8.531.388L1
14 [e] Detroit Lions North5110.3131–54–8.508.350L4
15 Philadelphia Eagles East4111.2812–44–8.537.469L3
16 Atlanta Falcons South4120.2501–52–10.551.391L5
Tiebreakers [f]
  1. 1 2 New Orleans finished ahead of Seattle based on conference record.
  2. 1 2 Chicago finished and clinched the 7th and final playoff spot ahead of Arizona based on better win percentage in common games (against Detroit, the NY Giants, Carolina, and the LA Rams, Chicago finished 3–2, while Arizona finished 1–4).
  3. 1 2 San Francisco finished ahead of the NY Giants based on head-to-head victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Dallas (see below).
  4. 1 2 NY Giants won tiebreaker over Dallas based on division record.
  5. 1 2 Carolina finished ahead of Detroit based on head-to-head victory.
  6. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

Notes

    References

    1. "Hail Murray: Cardinals stun Bills 32–30 in final seconds". USA TODAY. Associated Press. November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
    2. "Twitter Reacts to 'Hail Murray'". FOX Sports. November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
    3. Urban, Darren (March 20, 2020). "DeAndre Hopkins Deal Another Big Trade For Cardinals, Steve Keim". Arizona Cardinals. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
    4. Patra, Kevin (July 10, 2019). "Cards take Jalen Thompson in supplemental draft". NFL. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
    5. "Cardinals acquire Jamar Taylor in trade with Browns". ESPN. May 18, 2018. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
    6. "Cardinals trade Korey Cunningham to Patriots – ProFootballTalk". Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
    7. Cox, Seth (March 20, 2020). "Arizona Cardinals officially announce trade for DeAndre Hopkins". revengeofthebirds.com. Vox. Archived from the original on March 21, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
    8. 1 2 Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
    9. @espnstatsinfo (November 16, 2020). "Kyler Murray's Hail Mary to DeAndre Hopkins was the first go-ahead Hail Mary in the 4th quarter since 2015, when Aaron Rodgers hit Richard Rodgers to beat the Lions" (Tweet). Retrieved November 16, 2020 via Twitter.
    10. Football Zebras Week 13 referee assignments