The Arizona Cardinals season was the franchise's 100th season, 79th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 11th in Arizona. The club posted its first winning record since 1984, appeared in the postseason for the first time since 1982, its first postseason appearance in a non-strike season since 1975, and won its first postseason game since 1947 (it was also their first ever playoff win on the road). It was the Cardinals' first playoff appearance in the franchise's tenure in Arizona. After shocking the 10–6 Dallas Cowboys in the opening round in which the Cardinals won 20–7, Arizona ended up losing to the 15–1 Minnesota Vikings, 41–21 in the Divisional round. Over the next ten seasons, the Cardinals fell out of contention. They returned to the playoffs following the 2008 season, including a Super Bowl appearance despite a similarly mediocre 9–7 record. As such, this was the only playoff appearance for the Cardinals during their stay in Tempe. By 2008, they had moved west to Glendale.
Statistics site Football Outsiders states that the 1998 Arizona Cardinals are the third-worst team behind the 2004 Rams and 2010 Seahawks to qualify for the NFL playoffs since they began calculating ratings.Football Outsiders: Final 2010 DVOA Ratings “The Seahawks do pass the 1998 Cardinals as the second-worst playoff team in DVOA history.” Ironically, all three of those teams won their first playoff games before falling in the divisional round.
The Cardinals benefited from a weak schedule which allowed them to avoid the eventual two-time Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos from the AFC West. The other four teams in the division failed to post a winning record. Arizona also faced four of the NFC worst team's from the Central (Bears, Lions) and West (Rams, Saints) divisions.
The season also marked the Cardinals' first game in St. Louis since re-locating to Arizona after the season. The Cardinals defeated the St. Louis Rams 20–17. Prior to the season, the Cardinals would be realigned to the NFC West, thus becoming divisional rivals to the Rams, and from then would play a regular season game in their former city every year until the Rams' return to the Los Angeles metropolitan area after the season.
Offseason NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1998 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeCory SauterQuarterbackMinnesotaCory WedelKickerWyoming
Personnel
Roster
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 6 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–38 0–1 Texas Stadium 63,602 2 September 13 at Seattle Seahawks L 14–33 0–2 Kingdome 57,678 3 September 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–3 1–2 Sun Devil Stadium 39,782 4 September 27 at St. Louis Rams W 20–17 2–2 Trans World Dome 55,832 5 October 4 Oakland Raiders L 20–23 2–3 Sun Devil Stadium 53,240 6 October 11 Chicago Bears W 20–7 3–3 Sun Devil Stadium 50,495 7 October 18 at New York Giants L 7–34 3–4 Giants Stadium 70,456 8 Bye 9 November 1 at Detroit Lions W 17–15 4–4 Pontiac Silverdome 66,087 10 November 8 Washington Redskins W 29–27 5–4 Sun Devil Stadium 45,950 11 November 15 Dallas Cowboys L 28–35 5–5 Sun Devil Stadium 71,670 12 November 22 at Washington Redskins W 45–42 6–5 Jack Kent Cooke Stadium 63,435 13 November 29 at Kansas City Chiefs L 24–34 6–6 Arrowhead Stadium 69,613 14 December 6 New York Giants L 19–23 6–7 Sun Devil Stadium 46,128 15 December 13 at Philadelphia Eagles W 20–17 7–7 Veterans Stadium 62,176 16 December 20 New Orleans Saints W 19–17 8–7 Sun Devil Stadium 51,617 17 December 27 San Diego Chargers W 16–13 9–7 Sun Devil Stadium 71,670 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at Dallas Cowboys
Week 2: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 3: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 4: at St. Louis Rams
Week 5: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 6: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 7: at New York Giants
Week 9: at Detroit Lions
Week 10: vs. Washington Redskins
Week 11: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 12: at Washington Redskins
Week 13: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 14: vs. New York Giants
Week 15: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 16: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 17: vs. San Diego Chargers
Standings
Postseason
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Wild Card January 2, 1999 at Dallas Cowboys (3) W 20–7 1–0 Texas Stadium Divisional January 10, 1999 at Minnesota Vikings (1) L 21–41 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
NFC Wild Card Round: at (3) Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback Jake Plummer passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns as he led the Cardinals to their first playoff victory since 1947.
NFC Divisional Round: at (1) Minnesota Vikings
Awards and records Kwamie Lassiter, NFC Leader in Interceptions, 8 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 452 Kwamie Lassiter, Tied NFL Record, Most Interceptions in One Game, 4 (Achieved on December 27)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 94 Frank Sanders, Led NFC in Receptions, 89 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 451
References
Cardinals on Pro Football Reference Cardinals on jt-sw.com