The 1994 Arizona Cardinals season was the franchise's 75th season with the National Football League (NFL), the seventh season in Arizona and the first season as the "Arizona Cardinals". Buddy Ryan became the 32nd head coach in Cardinals history. After being given a large share of the credit for the success of the Houston Oilers in 1993, Ryan was named head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 1994. Also named general manager of the Cardinals, Ryan went 8–8 his first year, the Cardinals’ first non-losing season since 1984.
The Cardinals finished the season ranked third in the NFL in total defense, although it allowed only two fewer points in 1994 than they had in 1993. An anemic offense, one which saw three quarterbacks start at least one game, held the team back. Arizona scored 89 points fewer in 1994 than it did in 1993, and it finished with a minus-32-point differential after finishing at plus-57 in 1993.
Arizona lost its first two games by a combined five points, then were shut out 32–0 by the Cleveland Browns. The Cardinals recovered to enter the final week of the season with a shot at the playoffs, but those hopes were ended by a 10–6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4 at Los Angeles Rams L 12–14 0–1 Anaheim Stadium 32,969 2 September 11 New York Giants L 17–20 0–2 Sun Devil Stadium 60,066 3 September 18 at Cleveland Browns L 0–32 0–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 62,818 4 Bye 5 October 2 Minnesota Vikings W 17–7 1–3 Sun Devil Stadium 67,950 6 October 9 at Dallas Cowboys L 3–38 1–4 Texas Stadium 64,518 7 October 16 at Washington Redskins W 19–16 2–4 RFK Stadium 50,019 8 October 23 Dallas Cowboys L 21–28 2–5 Sun Devil Stadium 71,023 9 October 30 Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–17 3–5 Sun Devil Stadium 65,690 10 November 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–17 3–6 Veterans Stadium 64,952 11 November 13 at New York Giants W 10–9 4–6 Giants Stadium 71,719 12 November 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 12–6 5–6 Sun Devil Stadium 62,779 13 November 27 Chicago Bears L 16–19 5–7 Sun Devil Stadium 65,922 14 December 4 at Houston Oilers W 30–12 6–7 Houston Astrodome 39,821 15 December 11 Washington Redskins W 17–15 7–7 Sun Devil Stadium 53,790 16 December 18 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–7 8–7 Sun Devil Stadium 50,110 17 at Atlanta Falcons L 6–10 8–8 Georgia Dome 35,311 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams – September 4th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-15.
Week 2
New York Giants at Arizona Cardinals – September 11th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-15.
Week 3
Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns – September 18th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-15.
Week 5
Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals – October 2nd, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-15.
Week 6
Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys – October 9th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-11.
Week 7
Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins – October 16th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-11.
Week 8
Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals – October 23rd, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-11.
Week 9
Pittsburgh Steelers at Arizona Cardinals – October 30th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-11.
Week 10
Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles – November 6th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-11.
Week 11
Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants – November 13th, 1994. Retrieved 2014-May-18.
Week 12
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals – November 20th, 1994. Retrieved 2014-Jul-06.
Week 13
Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals – November 27th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-10.
Week 14
Arizona Cardinals at Houston Oilers – December 4th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-10.
This ninth successive defeat for the Oilers has the unusual distinction of being the most recent NFL game as of 2017 during which both teams scored a safety, and one of only eight since at least 1940.Pro Football Reference; In a single game, from 1940 to 2017, requiring opp Safeties >= 1 and Safeties >= 1, sorted by ascending Date
Week 15
Washington Redskins at Arizona Cardinals – December 11th, 1994. Retrieved 2014-Jul-06.
Week 16
Cincinnati Bengals at Arizona Cardinals – December 18th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-15.
Week 17
Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons – December 24th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-15.
Standings
NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 291
Awards and records Aeneas Williams, NFL Leader, Interceptions (9)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 453
References
External links 1994 Arizona Cardinals at Pro Football Reference