Arizona's Road to the Super Bowl

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jan 21, 2009

Arizona's Road to the Super Bowl

Week 1

Kurt Warner led methodical, clock-eating drives, throwing for 197 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals defeated the 49ers in the opener, 23-13. Edgerrin James added 100 yards on 26 carries.

Week 2

Warner completed pass after pass in a flashback to his MVP days as the Cardinals beat the Dolphins 31-10. Warner completed passes of 79 and 75 yards, throwing for 361 yards and three scores. Larry Fitzgerald (pictured) and Anquan Boldin combined for 293 receiving yards and hauled in all three touchdown passes.

Week 3

Stingy with turnovers in their first two games, the Cardinals couldn't recover from a lost fumble and a late interception in their 24-17 loss at Washington. Warner threw two touchdowns; Fitzgerald picked up 109 yards receiving.

Week 4

Behind stellar play by Brett Favre, the Jets rolled out to a 34-0 halftime lead and never looked back. Favre set a career high and tied Joe Namath for the franchise record with six touchdown passes -- more than enough to overcome Warner's 472 passing yards -- in the 56-35 romp.

Week 5

Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards suffered a concussion on the third play of the game, and the Cardinals handed Buffalo its first loss of the season, 41-17. Warner spread the ball around, hitting nine receivers while throwing for 250 yards on 33-of-42 passing.

Week 6

J.J. Arrington got the Cardinals off to a quick start against the Cowboys, returning the opening kick 93 yards for a touchdown, but the finish was even more dramatic. After Dallas forced overtime, Arizona's Sean Morey blocked Mat Briar's punt, and Monty Beisel picked up the ball for the game-winning score in the 30-24 triumph. It was the first time in NFL history that a blocked punt for a touchdown ended an overtime game.

Week 8

Warner had another monster day, throwing for 381 yards and two touchdowns, but Jake Delhomme engineered a big comeback for the Panthers, who overcame a 17-3 deficit to win 27-23.

Week 9

On the shoulders of another Warner gem (343 yards and two touchdowns) and Tim Hightower's biggest game of the season (109 yards and one touchdown), the Cardinals picked up a big road win, topping the Rams 34-13 in St. Louis.

Week 10

The Cardinals picked up their first Monday Night win since moving to Arizona 20 years ago, beating the 49ers 29-24. Warner notched his third consecutive 300-yard game and threw three more touchdown passes, two to Boldin (pictured).

Week 11

Another 300-yard game for Warner and another win for the Cardinals. Boldin and Fitzgerald combined for 23 receptions and 337 yards in the 26-20 win -- the third time they recorded at least 100 receiving yards in the same game in 2008.

Week 12

The Cardinals became the first team to hold the Giants under 100 yards rushing in 2008, but behind Eli Manning's 240 yards and three touchdowns, New York pulled off a 37-29 win in its first game back at the site of last season's Super Bowl win.

Week 13

Donovan McNabb bounced back from two dreadful starts, throwing four touchdowns in the Eagles' 48-20 dismantling of the Cardinals. Meanwhile, Brian Westbrook (pictured) tied a team record, scoring four touchdowns -- two receiving and two rushing.

Week 14

Warner threw for 279 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals beat the Rams 34-10 to clinch their first division title in 33 years. With three carries for 11 yards, Edgerrin James became the 13th player in NFL history with at least 12,000 career rushing yards.

Week 15

Tarvaris Jackson threw four touchdown passes and Adrian Peterson rushed for 165 yards as the Vikings upended the Cardinals 35-14. Meanwhile, Arizona picked up fewer than 100 yards rushing for the sixth consecutive game.

Week 16

In a snow-covered Foxborough, the Cardinals endured a blizzard of points. Matt Cassel threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns, and the Patriots outgained Arizona 514 yards to 186 in the 47-7 shellacking.

Week 17

The Cardinals ran their record to 6-0 against the NFC West, beating Mike Holmgren's Seahawks 34-21 in the coach's last game with the team. Fitzgerald led the charge, catching five passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

Wild-Card Round

Warner threw touchdown passes of 71 and 42 yards as the Cardinals used three Atlanta turnovers (including two Matt Ryan interceptions) to seal a 30-24 win over the Falcons. Arizona's defense came up big all day, holding Michael Turner to just 42 yards on 18 carries.

Divisional Round

Warner threw two touchdown passes, Fitzgerald had 166 yards receiving and the Cardinals pounced on Delhomme's six turnovers to earn a berth in the NFC title game with a 33-13 win at Carolina. It was the Panthers' first loss at home.

NFC Championship

"I want to say Arizona Cardinals and Super Bowl in the same sentence," Warner said after helping the Cardinals to a 32-25 victory over the Eagles. "The Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl. How about it?" The Cardinals got there by building a 21-6 halftime lead on three Fitzgerald touchdown catches and then overcoming a 25-24 deficit with a clutch fourth-quarter drive.

Arizona's Road to the Super Bowl