2018 Arizona Cardinals season

The 2018 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 99th in the National Football League (NFL), their 31st in Arizona, and their only season under head coach Steve Wilks. During the off-season, State Farm purchased the naming rights to the Cardinals' home stadium and it was renamed from University of Phoenix Stadium to State Farm Stadium. Although former head coach Bruce Arians retired before the season began, he came out of retirement on January 8, 2019 to become the new coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

2018 Arizona Cardinals season
OwnerBill Bidwill
General managerSteve Keim
Head coachSteve Wilks
Home fieldState Farm Stadium
Results
Record3–13
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersCB Patrick Peterson
Team MVPLarry Fitzgerald
Team ROYChristian Kirk
Uniform

Carson Palmer, the starting quarterback for the previous five seasons, retired in the offseason. To replace him, the Cardinals signed veteran quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon, also selecting Josh Rosen in the first round of the draft. While Rosen took over the starting job by week 4, he and Bradford struggled throughout the season with Glennon only playing sparingly. All three quarterbacks were released or traded by the Cardinals during or after the season.

With a Week 14 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Cardinals had their first double digit loss season since 2012 and were eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season. One highlight of the Cardinals' 2018 season was their first ever victory against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, which also resulted in the firing of Packers head coach Mike McCarthy after a nearly 13-year tenure. They finished the season 3–13, their worst record since 2000. The Cardinals also tallied a 1–7 record at home, the worst in franchise history until it was tied by four years later. Head coach Steve Wilks was fired the day after the season ended.

This was also the last full season under the ownership of Bill Bidwill, who died during the 2019 season.

Draft

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2018 Arizona Cardinals Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 10 Josh Rosen QB UCLA From Oakland
2 47 Christian Kirk WR Texas A&M
3 97 Mason Cole C Michigan Compensatory pick
4 134 Chase Edmonds RB Fordham Compensatory pick
6 182 Chris Campbell CB Penn State
7 254 Korey Cunningham G Cincinnati Compensatory pick

Draft trades

  • The Cardinals traded their fourth-round selection (115th overall), and their second-, fourth- and sixth-round selections in 2017 (45th, 119th and 197th overall) to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's second-round selection in 2017 (36th overall).
  • The Cardinals were awarded one third-, one fourth- and one fifth-round compensatory pick (97th, 134th and 254th overall).[1]
  • The Cardinals traded their sixth-round selection (189th overall) to New Orleans in exchange for running back Adrian Peterson.[2]
  • The Cardinals traded their seventh-round selection (233rd overall) to Kansas City in exchange for cornerback Marcus Cooper.[3]
  • The Cardinals traded center Tony Bergstrom to Baltimore in exchange for Baltimore's seventh-round selection (238th overall). However, the trade was voided as the result of Bergstrom not meeting playing time conditions with the Ravens.[4]

Undrafted free agents

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2018 Arizona Cardinals Undrafted Free Agents
Position Player College Notes
DT Hastin Adams Mary Hardin-Baylor
CB Elijah Battle West Virginia
P Joe Davidson Bowling Green
OLB Dennis Gardeck Sioux Falls
LB Frank Ginda San Jose State
DB AJ Howard Appalachian State
DE Alec James Wisconsin
QB Chad Kanoff Princeton
K Matthew McCrane Kansas State
OL Brant Morris Toledo
LB Mike Needham Southern Utah
CB Deatrick Nichols South Florida
T Austin Olsen Southern Illinois
LB Matt Oplinger Yale
S Jonathan Owens Missouri Western
FB Austin Ramesh Wisconsin
WR Trent Sherfield Vanderbilt
S Andy Smigiera Robert Morris
DB Tavierre Thomas Ferris State
WR Jalen Tolliver Arkansas-Monticello
WR Jonah Trinnaman BYU
S Ezekiel Turner Washington
TE Andrew Vollert Weber State
DB Malcolm Washington Northern Iowa
WR Corey Willis Central Michigan

Staff

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2018 Arizona Cardinals staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning


Final roster

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2018 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
  • 71 Justin Evans T
  • 66 Will House G

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 18 reserve, 8 practice squad

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 11 Los Angeles Chargers W 24–17 1–0 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap
2 August 17 at New Orleans Saints W 20–15 2–0 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap
3 August 26 at Dallas Cowboys W 27–3 3–0 AT&T Stadium Recap
4 August 30 Denver Broncos L 10–21 3–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 9 Washington Redskins L 6–24 0–1 State Farm Stadium Recap
2 September 16 at Los Angeles Rams L 0–34 0–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
3 September 23 Chicago Bears L 14–16 0–3 State Farm Stadium Recap
4 September 30 Seattle Seahawks L 17–20 0–4 State Farm Stadium Recap
5 October 7 at San Francisco 49ers W 28–18 1–4 Levi's Stadium Recap
6 October 14 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–27 1–5 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap
7 October 18 Denver Broncos L 10–45 1–6 State Farm Stadium Recap
8 October 28 San Francisco 49ers W 18–15 2–6 State Farm Stadium Recap
9 Bye
10 November 11 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–26 2–7 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
11 November 18 Oakland Raiders L 21–23 2–8 State Farm Stadium Recap
12 November 25 at Los Angeles Chargers L 10–45 2–9 StubHub Center Recap
13 December 2 at Green Bay Packers W 20–17 3–9 Lambeau Field Recap
14 December 9 Detroit Lions L 3–17 3–10 State Farm Stadium Recap
15 December 16 at Atlanta Falcons L 14–40 3–11 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
16 December 23 Los Angeles Rams L 9–31 3–12 State Farm Stadium Recap
17 December 30 at Seattle Seahawks L 24–27 3–13 CenturyLink Field Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: vs. Washington Redskins

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Week One: Washington Redskins at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Redskins 0 21 0324
Cardinals 0 0 066

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Week 2: at Los Angeles Rams

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Week Two: Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 0 000
Rams 0 19 8734

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Game information

Week 3: vs. Chicago Bears

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Week Three: Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 3 10316
Cardinals 14 0 0014

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: September 23
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 62,163
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth and Jennifer Hale
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 4: vs. Seattle Seahawks

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Week Four: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 7 0 10320
Cardinals 0 10 0717

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: September 30
  • Game time: 1:05 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 61,845
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth and Jennifer Hale
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Rosen's first start was a loss as the Seahawks kicked a game-winning field goal. The Cardinals started 0–4 for the first time since 1986 when they were in St. Louis. Coupled with wins by the Raiders and Texans, the Cardinals became the only winless team in the NFL.

Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers

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Week Five: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 7 01428
49ers 6 0 01218

at Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

  • Date: October 7
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. MST & PDT
  • Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C), clear
  • Game attendance: 68,337
  • Referee: Shawn Smith
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth and Jennifer Hale
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 6: at Minnesota Vikings

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Week Six: Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 3 7 0717
Vikings 10 3 14027

at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos

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Week Seven: Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Broncos 21 14 7345
Cardinals 3 0 7010

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Week 8: vs. San Francisco 49ers

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Week Eight: San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers 2 3 7315
Cardinals 0 3 01518

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: October 28
  • Game time: 1:25 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 61,923
  • Referee: Brad Allen
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth and Jennifer Hale
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

The Cardinals swept the 49ers for the fourth consecutive season.

Week 10: at Kansas City Chiefs

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Week Ten: Arizona Cardinals at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 0 7014
Chiefs 10 10 0626

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 11: vs. Oakland Raiders

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Week Eleven: Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 7 6323
Cardinals 14 0 0721

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

  • Date: November 18
  • Game time: 2:05 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), sunny — retractable roof open
  • Game attendance: 62,435
  • Referee: Jerome Boger
  • TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 12: at Los Angeles Chargers

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Week Twelve: Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 10 0 0010
Chargers 0 28 14345

at StubHub Center, Carson, California

Game information

Week 13: at Green Bay Packers

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Week Thirteen: Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 10320
Packers 0 10 0717

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: December 2
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST/11:00 a.m. MST
  • Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C), snow
  • Game attendance: 77,234
  • Referee: Pete Morelli
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston, and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

This was the first time the Cardinals defeated the Packers on the road since 1949 when the team was based in Chicago. It was also the first time they did so at Lambeau Field. After 12 years as head coach, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was fired following this game.

Week 14: vs. Detroit Lions

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Week Fourteen: Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 3 7717
Cardinals 0 0 033

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

Larry Fitzgerald passed Jerry Rice for most receptions with a single team in NFL history with 1,282 receptions.[5]

This was the Cardinals first home loss to the Lions since 1993.

Week 15: at Atlanta Falcons

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Week Fifteen: Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 0 0714
Falcons 10 16 7740

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Rams

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Week Sixteen: Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rams 7 14 3731
Cardinals 3 6 009

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Game information

With the loss, the Cardinals fell to 3–12 and finished 1–7 at home, their worst in franchise history

Week 17: at Seattle Seahawks

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Week Seventeen: Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 3 10 8324
Seahawks 7 7 7627

at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: December 30
  • Game time: 2:25 p.m. MST/1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 68,990
  • Referee: Ronald Torbert
  • TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, Brady Quinn and Lisa Byington
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

With the loss, the Cardinals ended their season at 3–13 and were swept by the Seahawks for the first time since 2014.

Standings

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Division

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NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(2) Los Angeles Rams 13 3 0 .813 6–0 9–3 527 384 W2
(5) Seattle Seahawks 10 6 0 .625 3–3 8–4 428 347 W2
San Francisco 49ers 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 342 435 L2
Arizona Cardinals 3 13 0 .188 2–4 3–9 225 425 L4

Conference

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# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1[a] New Orleans Saints South 13 3 0 .813 4–2 9–3 .482 .488 L1
2[a] Los Angeles Rams West 13 3 0 .813 6–0 9–3 .480 .428 W2
3 Chicago Bears North 12 4 0 .750 5–1 10–2 .430 .419 W4
4 Dallas Cowboys East 10 6 0 .625 5–1 9–3 .488 .444 W2
Wild Cards
5 Seattle Seahawks West 10 6 0 .625 3–3 8–4 .484 .400 W2
6 Philadelphia Eagles East 9 7 0 .563 4–2 6–6 .518 .486 W3
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 Minnesota Vikings North 8 7 1 .531 3–2–1 6–5–1 .504 .355 L1
8[b] Atlanta Falcons South 7 9 0 .438 4–2 7–5 .482 .348 W3
9[b] Washington Redskins East 7 9 0 .438 2–4 6–6 .486 .371 L2
10[b] Carolina Panthers South 7 9 0 .438 2–4 5–7 .508 .518 W1
11 Green Bay Packers North 6 9 1 .406 1–4–1 3–8–1 .488 .417 L1
12 Detroit Lions North 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 .504 .427 W1
13[c] New York Giants East 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .527 .487 L3
14[c] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 5 11 0 .313 2–4 4–8 .523 .506 L4
15 San Francisco 49ers West 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 .504 .406 L2
16 Arizona Cardinals West 3 13 0 .188 2–4 3–9 .527 .302 L4
Tiebreakers[d]
  1. ^ a b New Orleans finished ahead of LA Rams based on head-to-head victory.
  2. ^ a b c Atlanta finished ahead of Washington based on head-to-head victory. Atlanta finished ahead of Carolina based on head-to-head sweep. Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on head-to-head victory.
  3. ^ a b NY Giants finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on head-to-head victory.
  4. ^ 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.

References

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  1. ^ "2018 NFL Draft trade tracker: Details of all the moves". NFL. April 24, 2018. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  2. ^ Orr, Conor (October 10, 2017). "Saints trade RB Adrian Peterson to Cardinals". NFL. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  3. ^ Sessler, Marc (September 2, 2016). "Cardinals acquire CB Marcus Cooper from Chiefs". NFL. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  4. ^ Root, Jess (March 2, 2018). "Cardinals don't get 7th-round draft pick in trade with Ravens for Tony Bergstrom". USA Today. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  5. ^ Weinfuss, Jerry (December 9, 2018). "Cardinals' Fitzgerald passes Rice's catch mark". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
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