Wikipedia

2020 Arizona Cardinals season

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.

2020 Arizona Cardinals season
OwnerMichael Bidwill
General managerSteve Keim
Head coachKliff Kingsbury
Home fieldState Farm Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersQB Kyler Murray
WR DeAndre Hopkins
SS Budda Baker
Team MVPDeAndre Hopkins
Team ROYIsaiah Simmons
Uniform

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

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Free agents

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Position Player Tag 2020 team Notes
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 UFA TBD TBD
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 UFA TBD TBD
DE Clinton McDonald UFA TBD TBD
DT Cassius Marsh UFA Jacksonville Jaguars 1 year
CB Josh Shaw UFA TBD TBD
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 UFA TBD TBD
LB Joe Walker UFA San Francisco 49ers 1 year
K Zane Gonzalez UFA Arizona Cardinals 1 year
OT William Sweet UFA 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 Cardinals Player not re-signed by the Cardinals

Signings

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Position Player Tag 2019 team Date signed Notes
DT Jordan Phillips UFA Buffalo Bills March 19 3 years, $30 million
LB Devon Kennard UFA Detroit Lions March 19 3 years, $20 million
LB De'Vondre Campbell UFA Atlanta Falcons March 19 1 year, $6 million
DT Trevon Coley UFA Indianapolis Colts March 25 1 year, $825,000

Trades

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Draft

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Main article: 2020 NFL draft
2020 Arizona Cardinals Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 8 Isaiah Simmons OLB Clemson
3 72 Josh Jones OT Houston
4 114 Leki Fotu DT Utah
131 Rashard Lawrence DT LSU from Houston
6 202 Evan Weaver LB California from New England
7 222 Eno Benjamin RB Arizona State

Notes

Undrafted free agents
Player Position College
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

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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

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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

Practice squad

Reserve

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

Preseason

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

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

Regular season

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Schedule

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

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 13 at San Francisco 49ers W 24–20 1–0 Levi's Stadium Recap
2 September 20 Washington Football Team W 30–15 2–0 State Farm Stadium Recap
3 September 27 Detroit Lions L 23–26 2–1 State Farm Stadium Recap
4 October 4 at Carolina Panthers L 21–31 2–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap
5 October 11 at New York Jets W 30–10 3–2 MetLife Stadium Recap
6 October 19 at Dallas Cowboys W 38–10 4–2 AT&T Stadium Recap
7 October 25 Seattle Seahawks W 37–34 (OT) 5–2 State Farm Stadium Recap
8 Bye
9 November 8 Miami Dolphins L 31–34 5–3 State Farm Stadium Recap
10 November 15 Buffalo Bills W 32–30 6–3 State Farm Stadium Recap
11 November 19 at Seattle Seahawks L 21–28 6–4 Lumen Field Recap
12 November 29 at New England Patriots L 17–20 6–5 Gillette Stadium Recap
13 December 6 Los Angeles Rams L 28–38 6–6 State Farm Stadium Recap
14 December 13 at New York Giants W 26–7 7–6 MetLife Stadium Recap
15 December 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 33–26 8–6 State Farm Stadium Recap
16 December 26 San Francisco 49ers L 12–20 8–7 State Farm Stadium Recap
17 January 3 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–18 8–8 SoFi Stadium Recap

Notes

  • Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers

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Week 1: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 3 01424
49ers 10 3 0720

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

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Week 2: Washington Football Team at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Washington 0 0 31215
Cardinals 14 6 01030

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

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Week 3: Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 3 14 3626
Cardinals 7 6 10023

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

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Week 4: Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 7721
Panthers 14 7 7331

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

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Week 5: Arizona Cardinals at New York Jets – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 10 7630
Jets 0 3 7010

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

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Week 6: Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 21 71038
Cowboys 0 3 0710

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

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Week 7: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Seahawks 10 17 07034
Cardinals 7 10 710337

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

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Week 9: Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 14 10 01034
Cardinals 7 10 14031

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

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Main article: Hail Murray
Week 10: Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bills 7 9 7730
Cardinals 3 6 17632

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

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Week 11: Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 7721
Seahawks 7 9 7528

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

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Week 12: Arizona Cardinals at New England Patriots – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 10 0 0717
Patriots 0 7 10320

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Game information

Week 13: vs. Los Angeles Rams

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Week 13: Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rams 0 14 32138
Cardinals 7 0 71428

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Week 14: at New York Giants

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Week 14: Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 3 10 7626
Giants 0 0 707

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

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Week 15: Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 20 6026
Cardinals 16 10 0733

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers

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Week 16: San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers 7 0 7620
Cardinals 3 3 0612

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

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Week 17: Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 0 007
Rams 0 12 3318

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

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Division

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NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) Seattle Seahawks 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 459 371 W4
(6) Los Angeles Rams 10 6 0 .625 3–3 9–3 372 296 W1
Arizona Cardinals 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 410 367 L2
San Francisco 49ers 6 10 0 .375 3–3 4–8 376 390 L1

Conference

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NFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1 Green Bay Packers North 13 3 0 .813 5–1 10–2 .428 .387 W6
2[a] New Orleans Saints South 12 4 0 .750 6–0 10–2 .459 .406 W2
3[a] Seattle Seahawks West 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 .447 .404 W4
4 Washington Football Team East 7 9 0 .438 4–2 5–7 .459 .388 W1
Wild cards
5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 .488 .392 W4
6 Los Angeles Rams West 10 6 0 .625 3–3 9–3 .494 .484 W1
7[b] Chicago Bears North 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 .488 .336 L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8[b] Arizona Cardinals West 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 .475 .441 L2
9 Minnesota Vikings North 7 9 0 .438 4–2 5–7 .504 .366 W1
10[c] San Francisco 49ers West 6 10 0 .375 3–3 4–8 .549 .448 L1
11[c][d] New York Giants East 6 10 0 .375 4–2 5–7 .502 .427 W1
12[d] Dallas Cowboys East 6 10 0 .375 2–4 5–7 .471 .333 L1
13[e] Carolina Panthers South 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .531 .388 L1
14[e] Detroit Lions North 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .508 .350 L4
15 Philadelphia Eagles East 4 11 1 .281 2–4 4–8 .537 .469 L3
16 Atlanta Falcons South 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 .551 .391 L5
Tiebreakers[f]
  1. ^ a b New Orleans finished ahead of Seattle based on conference record.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b NY Giants won tiebreaker over Dallas based on division record.
  5. ^ a b 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

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References

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  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. ^ a b 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
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