| Team: | Arizona Cardinals |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Record: | 11–5 |
| Division Place: | 2nd NFC West |
| Coach: | Bruce Arians |
| Owner: | Bill Bidwill |
| General Manager: | Steve Keim |
| Stadium: | University of Phoenix Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Panthers) 16–27 |
| Pro Bowlers: | Justin Bethel, ST Calais Campbell, DE Antonio Cromartie, CB Patrick Peterson, CB |
| Uniform: | File:Arizona Cardinals Uniforms 2010-2016.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Cardinals seasons |
The 2014 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 95th in the National Football League (NFL), their 27th in Arizona and their second under head coach Bruce Arians. Following an explosive 9–1 start to the regular season, they finished at 11–5, achieving their highest win total since 1975 when they were still in St. Louis (also their highest total in a 16-game season). The Cardinals clinched their first playoff berth since 2009, and had a chance to become the first team to try to play the Super Bowl on their own home field, University of Phoenix Stadium. However, after season-ending injuries to Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, they were forced to start third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley in the wild-card round, losing to the Carolina Panthers, 27–16, which was the first time since 1982 when they were in St. Louis that the Cardinals went one-and-done.
See main article: 2014 NFL draft.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 9 | Houston Texans | W 32–0 | 1–0 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | August 16 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 28–30 | 1–1 | TCF Bank Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | August 24 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–19 | 1–2 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | August 28 | at San Diego Chargers | L 9–12 | 1–3 | Qualcomm Stadium | Recap |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Chargers | W 18–17 | 1–0 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | ||
| 2 | September 14 | at New York Giants | W 25–14 | 2–0 | MetLife Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | September 21 | San Francisco 49ers | W 23–14 | 3–0 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | Bye | ||||||
| 5 | October 5 | at Denver Broncos | L 20–41 | 3–1 | Sports Authority Field at Mile High | Recap | |
| 6 | October 12 | Washington Redskins | W 30–20 | 4–1 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 7 | October 19 | at Oakland Raiders | W 24–13 | 5–1 | O.co Coliseum | Recap | |
| 8 | October 26 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–20 | 6–1 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | November 2 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 28–17 | 7–1 | AT&T Stadium | Recap | |
| 10 | November 9 | St. Louis Rams | W 31–14 | 8–1 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 16 | Detroit Lions | W 14–6 | 9–1 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 12 | November 23 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 3–19 | 9–2 | CenturyLink Field | Recap | |
| 13 | November 30 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 18–29 | 9–3 | Georgia Dome | Recap | |
| 14 | December 7 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–14 | 10–3 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 15 | at St. Louis Rams | W 12–6 | 11–3 | Edward Jones Dome | Recap | ||
| 16 | December 21 | Seattle Seahawks | L 6–35 | 11–4 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | |
| 17 | December 28 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–20 | 11–5 | Levi's Stadium | Recap | |
Carson Palmer would suffer a season-ending injury on his left-knee. Drew Stanton would take over as quarterback for the rest of the game. Thanks to the efforts of the defense during the fourth quarter, the Cardinals rallied to beat the Rams 31-14.[1]
This would snap the 49ers' 4-game losing streak in Levi's Stadium. With the loss, the Cardinals finished their season to 11-5.
See also: 2014–15 NFL playoffs.
The Cardinals' offensive performance was historically bad as the team lost to the 7-8-1 Panthers, by a final score of 27-16, and were eliminated from the postseason. They committed three turnovers (two of them being red zone interceptions), gained only 8 first downs (and only 2 first downs in the second half) and recorded 78 net yards of offense, the fewest yards gained in a playoff game by any team in NFL postseason history. After a 9-1 start, the Cardinals went 2-5 in their final seven games.