Cardinals vs Rams

Lore & Background

The Cardinals slogan for the season was 'Shock The World!' Benefiting from franchise quarterback Kurt Warner, who had gone from being the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams in 1999, leading the Greatest Show on Turf to a Super Bowl XXXIV victory, franchise strong safety Adrian Wilson, and franchise wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, the Cardinals performed extremely well in the playoffs. Despite having won just one playoff game in the last sixty years, Warner once again led the team to their first winning record in 10 years, and the first franchise Super Bowl ever.

Reader's Guide

The Cardinals began their season by compiling a 7–3 record by Week 11. Although they went 2–4 the rest of the way, Arizona still finished with a 9–7 record (their first winning season in 10 years), which was good enough to win the NFC West. The Cardinals also swept their division for the first time in franchise history, and for the first time since 1947, hosted a playoff game. In that wild card game, the Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Falcons.

The next week, for the Divisional round of the playoffs, the Cardinals traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, where they upset the number 2 seeded Carolina Panthers. Then, because the Philadelphia Eagles also achieved an upset the same week (against the top-seeded New York Giants), the number-four seed Cardinals hosted the NFC Championship game, where they defeated the Eagles and qualified for the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

In Super Bowl XLIII, the Cardinals' winning streak ended. Though they led the Pittsburgh Steelers with less than a minute left to play in the game, they lost, 27–23.

Did You Know?

• The 2008 Cardinals were the second 9–7 team to reach the Super Bowl, joining the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV, who also lost to the Steelers.
• Three years later in Super Bowl XLVI, the New York Giants would become the first 9–7 team to win, overshadowing the Cardinals' achievement.
• In 2014, Athlon Sports ranked the 2008 Cardinals as the fourth-worst team to ever make the Super Bowl.