The 2020 season was the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

' 101st in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), their 33rd in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and their second under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Kliff Kingsbury. It was also the first full season since

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

without the ownership of

Bill Bidwill William Vogel Bidwill (July 31, 1931 – October 2, 2019) was an American businessman and the owner of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He had co-owned the team from 1962 for ten seasons with his brother Charles Jr. ...

, who died during the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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 The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

in Week 17. The Cardinals finished tied with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

for the last Wild Card spot, but lost the tiebreaker.

Roster changes

Free agents

Signings

Trades

* March 20: The Cardinals traded a second-round pick in the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

, a fourth-round pick in the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

and RB David Johnson to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

for WR DeAndre Hopkins.

Draft

Notes * The Cardinals will forfeit their fifth-round selection after selecting

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

Jalen Thompson Jalen Thompson (born July 18, 1998) is an American football safety for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State. Early life and high school Thompson was born in Compton, Cali ...

in the 2019 supplemental draft. * The Cardinals traded their sixth-round selection to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in exchange for

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Jamar Taylor. * The Cardinals acquired a 2020 sixth-round pick from the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in exchange for

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Korey Cunningham Korey Cunningham (May 17, 1995 – April 25, 2024) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) from 2018 to 2022. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats and ...

. * The Cardinals traded their

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

second-round selection, as well as a fourth-round selection in the

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

David Johnson to the

in exchange for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round selection.

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

The Cardinals' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Regular season

Schedule

The Cardinals'

schedule was announced on May 7. Notes * Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers

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

With this win, the Cardinals started 2-0 for the first time since

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions

The Cardinals were seeking their win over the Lions since 2015.

Week 4: at Carolina Panthers

Week 5: at New York Jets

Week 6: at Dallas Cowboys

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

This was the Cardinals' first Sunday Night Football appearance since

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, which was also against the Seahawks at home. This was the Cardinals' first home win over the Seahawks since

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins

Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a game-tying 49-yard field goal.

Week 10: vs. Buffalo Bills

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 Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...

threw one in a 2015 game against the Detroit Lions.

Week 11: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 12: at New England Patriots

Week 13: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 14: at New York Giants

Week 15: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 17: at Los Angeles Rams

With the loss, the Cardinals went 3–6 in their last 9 games after starting 5–2.