Cardinals vs Packers
The 2015 Arizona Cardinals: a franchise-best 13 wins, a first-round bye, and a playoff win that remains their most recent as of 2025.
The 2015 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 96th overall (including pre-NFL years), their 28th in Arizona, their 10th playing home games at University of Phoenix Stadium and their third under head coach Bruce Arians. The Cardinals clinched their first NFC West title since 2009, in addition to a franchise best 13 wins. They also clinched a first round bye for the second time in franchise history, having previously done so in 2009 as NFC West champions.
Quick Facts
- Conference alignment
- NFC West vs. NFC North
- Historical context
- One of the oldest rivalries in NFL history
- Notable era
- Vince Lombardi and Frank Gifford eras through modern times
- Stadium venues
- Soldier Field, Lambeau Field, Sun Devil Stadium, State Farm Stadium
- Key dynamic
- Cross-conference playoff implications
Lore & Background
The second-seeded Cardinals began their playoff run by defeating the fifth-seeded Green Bay Packers 26–20 in overtime in the divisional round, giving quarterback Carson Palmer his first career playoff win. However, they were defeated by the top-seeded 15-1 Carolina Panthers in the NFC championship by a score of 49–15, played in Bank of America Stadium, in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the Cardinals committing seven turnovers, tied for the most turnovers in a conference championship game since the Los Angeles Rams were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys abruptly in the 1978 season by a score of 28–0. The 2015 NFC Championship Game was a rematch of the 2008 NFC Divisional Round, which saw the 9–7 fourth-seeded Cardinals upset the 12–4 second-seeded Panthers in their home stadium.
Reader's Guide
The Cardinals played (as of 2026) their last game in St. Louis, which had been home to the Cardinals from 1960 until 1987 and the Rams since 1995, with the latter team becoming the Cardinals' divisional rivals in 2002. The Rams returned to the Los Angeles metropolitan area after the 2015 season. Until 2021, this was the last season in which the Cardinals would have a winning season or postseason appearance. Also as of 2025, this remains the most recent season the Cardinals have won a playoff game, having gone 0–2 (including the NFC Championship Game loss) since.
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