Arizona Cardinals fans have been on something of a roller-coaster ride the last few years. In 2008, under the leadership of future Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, the Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl for the first time in the team’s history. There they lost a heart-breaking game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They made the playoffs the following year as well, but then Kurt Warner retired. In 2010 the Cardinals returned to their days of mediocrity, finishing with a record of 5-11, good for last place in the already lowly NFC West.
In 2011, Cardinals fans were hoping for a resurgence. The Cardinals brought in free agent quarterback Kevin Kolb from the Eagles in the hopes of finding someone to fill Warner’s shoes. Fans bought up Cardinals tickets with the thought that emerging running back Beanie Wells and superstar wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald would help Kolb lead a strong offensive attack.
In week one, the Cardinals faced the Carolina Panthers and highly touted rookie quarterback Cam Newton in his first start. Despite a spectacular first outing by Newton, the Cardinals rallied from a 7-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to win 28-21. Kolb had a great first game as a Cardinal, throwing for 2 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Beanie Wells rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown.
In week two, the Cardinals traveled to Landover, MD to face an upstart Washington Redskins team. The Redskins withstood another solid game by Kolb and a second consecutive 90+ rushing yard day by Beanie Wells to edge the Cardinals 22-21. The difference in the game was a 34 yard field goal with 1:45 remaining. Arizona fell to 1-1 on the season.
Arizona traveled to Seattle in week three to face the Seahawks. For the first half, Arizona looked like the stronger team. Larry Fitzgerald had 5 catches for 64 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone, and Arizona led 10-6 at half time. Seattle quarterback Tavaris Jackson struggled in the first half and went into the locker room being booed by the home field fans. In the second half, however, Seattle righted the ship and shut Larry Fitzgerald down completely. Kolb ended up throwing two interceptions in the game while Jackson put the Seahawks ahead 13-10 in the third quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run. That’s where the score would stay, and the Cardinals would drop to 1-2.
The Cardinals’ old foe, the New York Giants, came to town in week four. Beanie Wells had a tremendous game, rushing for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the Cardinals led 20-10 after three quarters. But Giants quarterback Eli Manning led his team back, and the Giants had the game-winning score with 2:39 left when Manning threw a 29 yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks.
The week four loss was a devastating one. The game seemed to be well in hand, and a win would have put the Cardinals at 2-2 and alone in second place in the NFC West. The loss dropped them to 1-3, but the good news is that they still share second place in what has been one of the weakest divisions in the league for the past several years. Thus, the Cardinals are still in the hunt for their division title. With a game against win-less Minnesota coming up, they still have time to get back on track for the season.
