1998 Arizona Cardinals season

The 1998 Arizona Cardinals season was the franchise's 100th season, 79th season in the National Football League and the 11th 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 also their first ever playoff win on the road). It was the Cardinals' first playoff appearance in its tenure in Arizona. After shocking the 10–6 Dallas Cowboys in the opening round in which the Cardinals won 20–7, Arizona ended up losing to the 15–1 Minnesota Vikings, 41–21 in the Divisional round. Over the next ten seasons, the Cardinals fell out of contention. They returned to the playoffs following the 2008 season, including a Super Bowl appearance despite a similarly mediocre 9–7 record.

1998 Arizona Cardinals season
OwnerBill Bidwill
Head coachVince Tobin
Home fieldSun Devil Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(at Cowboys) 20–7
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Vikings) 21–41
Pro BowlersDB Aeneas Williams

Statistics site Football Outsiders states that the 1998 Arizona Cardinals are the third-worst team behind the 2004 Rams and 2010 Seahawks to qualify for the NFL playoffs since they began calculating ratings.[1] Ironically, all three of those teams won their first playoff games, before falling in the divisional round.

The season also marked the Cardinals' first game in St. Louis since re-locating to Arizona after the 1987 season. The Cardinals defeated the St. Louis Rams 20-17. Prior to the 2002 season, the Cardinals would be realigned to the NFC West, thus becoming divisional rivals to the Rams, and from then would play a regular season game in their former city every year until the Rams' return to the Los Angeles metropolitan area after the 2015 season.

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

[2]

Undrafted free agents
1998 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Cory Sauter Quarterback Minnesota

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

Roster
1998 Arizona Cardinals final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 12 Chad Carpenter WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 65 Anthony Clement T (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 76 Jerry Drake DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 83 Anthony Edwards WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 70 Thomas Guynes G/T (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  •  6 Joe Nedney K (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 96 Brad Ottis DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 45 Cedric Smith FB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 98 Eric Swann DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 9 inactive, 4 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue TV Attendance
1 September 6 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–38 0–1 Texas Stadium FOX 63,602
2 September 13 at Seattle Seahawks L 14–33 0–2 Kingdome FOX 57,678
3 September 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–3 1–2 Sun Devil Stadium ESPN 39,782
4 September 27 at St. Louis Rams W 20–17 2–2 Trans World Dome FOX 55,832
5 October 4 Oakland Raiders L 20–23 2–3 Sun Devil Stadium CBS 53,240
6 October 11 Chicago Bears W 20–7 3–3 Sun Devil Stadium FOX 50,495
7 October 18 at New York Giants L 7–34 3–4 Giants Stadium FOX 70,456
8 Bye
9 November 1 at Detroit Lions W 17–15 4–4 Pontiac Silverdome FOX 66,087
10 November 8 Washington Redskins W 29–27 5–4 Sun Devil Stadium FOX 45,950
11 November 15 Dallas Cowboys L 28–35 5–5 Sun Devil Stadium FOX 71,670
12 November 22 at Washington Redskins W 45–42 6–5 Jack Kent Cooke Stadium FOX 63,435
13 November 29 at Kansas City Chiefs L 24–34 6–6 Arrowhead Stadium FOX 69,613
14 December 6 New York Giants L 19–23 6–7 Sun Devil Stadium FOX 46,128
15 December 13 at Philadelphia Eagles W 20–17 (OT) 7–7 Veterans Stadium FOX 62,176
16 December 20 New Orleans Saints W 19–17 8–7 Sun Devil Stadium FOX 51,617
17 December 27 San Diego Chargers W 16–13 9–7 Sun Devil Stadium CBS 71,670
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

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 [3]
Period 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.[4]

NFC Divisional Playoff
Minnesota Vikings 41, Arizona Cardinals 21 [3]
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 7 7721
Vikings 7 17 10741

at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Awards and records
  • Kwamie Lassiter, NFC Leader in Interceptions, 8 [5]
  • Kwamie Lassiter, Tied NFL Record, Most Interceptions in One Game, 4 (Achieved on December 27) [6]
  • Frank Sanders, Led NFC in Receptions, 89 [7]

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