1998 Arizona Cardinals season

1998 Arizona Cardinals season
Head coach Vince Tobin
Owner Bill Bidwill
Home field Sun Devil Stadium
Results
Record 9–7
Division place 2nd NFC East
Playoff finish Won NFC Wild Card (Cowboys) 20-7
Lost NFC Divisional Playoff (Vikings) 41-21

The 1998 Arizona Cardinals season was the franchise's 78th in the National Football League. It was the Cardinals' 11th season in Arizona. The club posted its first winning record since 1984, appeared in the postseason for the first time since 1982, its first postseason appearance in a non-strike season since 1975, and won its first postseason game since 1947. It was the Cardinals' first playoff appearance in its tenure in Arizona. (The team moved to Phoenix from St. Louis after the 1987 season.) Arizona ended up losing to the Minnesota Vikings, who won 15 games, 41-21 in the Divisional round. Over the next several years, the Cardinals fell out of contention. They returned to the playoffs following the 2008 season, including a Super Bowl appearance despite a mediocre 9-7 record.

Statistics site Football Outsiders calls the 1998 Cardinals "one of the greatest fluke teams of all time ... who went 9–7 despite getting outscored by their opponents 378–325. They rank[ed] 25th [statistically] below three different 4–12 teams. [T]hey were a colossal fluke, despite the fact that they managed to win a playoff game in a huge upset over Dallas. ... The Cardinals went 6–3 over their final nine games, but all six wins came against teams that were 6–10 or worse, and all six wins came by either two or three points. The next year, they were back to 6–10...."[1] Football Outsiders states that the 1998 Cardinals are the third-worst team (behind the 2004 Rams and 2010 Seahawks) to qualify for the NFL playoffs since they began calculating ratings.[2]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1998 NFL Draft
1998 Arizona Cardinals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 3 Andre Wadsworth  Defensive end Florida State
2 33 Corey Chavous *  Defensive back Vanderbilt
2 36 Anthony Clement  Offensive tackle Louisiana–Lafayette
4 95 Michael Pittman  Running back Fresno State
5 125 Terry Hardy  Tight end Southern Miss
6 158 Zack Walz  Linebacker Dartmouth
7 193 Phil Savoy  Wide receiver Colorado
7 209 Jomo Cousins  Defensive end Florida A&M
7 226 Pat Tillman  Defensive back Arizona State
7 233 Ron Janes  Running back Missouri
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[3]

Personnel

Staff

1998 Arizona Cardinals staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Al Everest

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Bob Rogucki

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date TV Time Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 6, 1998 FOX 1:05 pm MT at Dallas Cowboys L 38–10
63,602
2 September 13, 1998 FOX 1:15 pm MT at Seattle Seahawks L 33–14
57,678
3 September 20, 1998 ESPN 5:15 pm MT Philadelphia Eagles W 17–3
39,782
4 September 27, 1998 FOX 10:00 am MT at St. Louis Rams W 20–17
55,832
5 October 4, 1998 CBS 1:05 pm MT Oakland Raiders L 23–20
53,240
6 October 11, 1998 FOX 1:05 pm MT Chicago Bears W 20–7
50,495
7 October 18, 1998 FOX 10:00 am MT at New York Giants L 34–7
70,456
8 Bye
9 November 1, 1998 FOX 11:00 am MT at Detroit Lions W 17–15
66,087
10 November 8, 1998 FOX 2:15 pm MT Washington Redskins W 29–27
45,950
11 November 15, 1998 FOX 2:15 pm MT Dallas Cowboys L 35–28
71,670
12 November 22, 1998 FOX 11:00 am MT at Washington Redskins W 45–42
63,435
13 November 29, 1998 FOX 11:00 am MT at Kansas City Chiefs L 34–24
69,613
14 December 6, 1998 FOX 2:15 pm MT New York Giants L 23–19
46,128
15 December 13, 1998 FOX 11:00 am MT at Philadelphia Eagles W 20–17
62,176
16 December 20, 1998 FOX 2:05 pm MT New Orleans Saints W 19–17
51,617
17 December 27, 1998 CBS 2:05 pm MT San Diego Chargers W 16–13
71,670

Standings

NFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Dallas Cowboys 10 6 0 .625 381 275 W2
(6) Arizona Cardinals 9 7 0 .563 325 378 W3
New York Giants 8 8 0 .500 287 309 W4
Washington Redskins 6 10 0 .375 319 421 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 13 0 .188 161 344 L3

Playoffs

NFC Wildcard Game

Arizona Cardinals 20, Dallas Cowboys 7 [4]
1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 3 7320
Cowboys 0 0 077

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Quarterback Jake Plummer passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns as he led the Cardinals to their first playoff victory since 1947.[5]

NFC Divisional Playoff

Minnesota Vikings 41, Arizona Cardinals 21 [4]
1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 7721
Vikings 7 17 10741

at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Awards and records

References

  1. ↑ 1998 DVOA Ratings and Commentary
  2. ↑ Football Outsiders: Final 2010 DVOA Ratings "The Seahawks do pass the 1998 Cardinals as the second-worst playoff team in DVOA history."
  3. ↑ "1998 Arizona Cardinals Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  4. 1 2 1998 NFL Playoffs – www.football.com Archived February 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Arizona Cardinals (1988–Present)
  6. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 452
  7. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 94
  8. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
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