| Team: | Arizona Cardinals |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Record: | 8–8 |
| Division Place: | 3rd NFC West |
| Coach: | Kliff Kingsbury |
| Owner: | Michael Bidwill |
| General Manager: | Steve Keim |
| Stadium: | State Farm Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | QB Kyler Murray WR DeAndre Hopkins SS Budda Baker |
| Mvp: | DeAndre Hopkins |
| Roy: | Isaiah Simmons |
| Uniform: | File:Arizona Cardinals Uniforms 2017-2021.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Cardinals seasons |
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.
The team improved on their 5–10–1 record from the previous year beginning the season 6–3; however, despite that and acquiring All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins midway through the season, 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.
| Position | Player | 2020 team | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 3 years | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | TBD | TBD | |||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 3 years | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | TBD | TBD | |||
| UFA | TBD | TBD | |||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | TBD | TBD | |||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 2 years | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 4 years | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | TBD | TBD | |||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| William Sweet | UFA | 1 year | |||
| UFA | 1 year | ||||
| UFA | 1 year |
| Player re-signed by the Cardinals | Player not re-signed by the Cardinals |
| Position | Player | 2019 team | Date signed | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UFA | March 19 | 3 years, $30 million | ||||
| UFA | March 19 | 3 years, $20 million | ||||
| UFA | March 19 | 1 year, $6 million | ||||
| UFA | March 25 | 1 year, $825,000 |
See main article: 2020 NFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | ||||||
| 3 | 72 | |||||
| 4 | 114 | |||||
| 131 | from Houston | |||||
| 6 | 202 | from New England | ||||
| 7 | 222 |
The Cardinals' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at Green Bay Packers | Lambeau Field | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | State Farm Stadium | ||
| 3 | at Las Vegas Raiders | Allegiant Stadium | ||
| 4 | Denver Broncos | State Farm Stadium |
The Cardinals' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.[6]
| 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 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 38–10 | 4–2 | AT&T Stadium | Recap | ||
| 7 | October 25 | Seattle Seahawks | W 37–34 | 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 | 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 | 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 | |
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.
With this win, the Cardinals started 2-0 for the first time since 2015.
The Cardinals were seeking their win over the Lions since 2015.
With the win, the Cardinals not only advanced to 4–2, they also won their first road MNF game since 1977.
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.
Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a game-tying 49-yard field goal.
See main article: Hail Murray. 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.[7]
With the loss, the Cardinals went 3–6 in their last 9 games after starting 5–2.