By the Numbers: Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have been around long enough to see the National Football League rise from nothing in 1920 to the most successful sports league in the United States today. From Chicago to Pittsburgh to St. Louis to Arizona, the Cardinals have a deep history. Here is a look at the Cardinals by the numbers before today’s game against Dallas.
2 – While the Cardinals franchise has been to just one Super Bowl, the have two championships and are an overall 2-2 in title game appearances. In just the fourth year of the NFL, and sixth of professional football, the Chicago Cardinals (11-2-1) defeated the Hammond Pros (1-4) 13-0 on Dec. 12, 1925, at Comiskey Park to win the franchise’s first title. The franchise added its second title when the Chicago Cardinals (9-3) beat the Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) 28-21 on Dec. 28, 1947, at Comiskey Park. The Chicago team lost the in the title game the following year. It would be the last time the franchise would make a championship game until the earned a berth in Super Bowl XLIII against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They lost a classic 28-27 on a TD pass with just 35 seconds left in the game.
11 – Today marks just the 11th start in the career of Arizona quarterback Joshua Dobbs. With Kyler Murray out a few more weeks, Dobbs makes his third straight start for the team. It is the second time in as many years that he makes a start against the Cowboys. He completed 20 of 39 passes for 232 yards, with one touchdown and an interception by Nahshon Wright in Dallas’ 27-13 win over Tennessee. Dallas got a pair of sacks from Dante Fowler Jr. and Donovan Wilson and ended Dobbs starting run in Tennessee with a 35.7 QBR score. The Cowboys defense should be licking their chops to get after a guy they have had success against in recent seasons.
22 – Cardinals running back James Connor will be the workhorse for Arizona on Sunday. It is not the first time the seven-year veteran has played against the Cowboys. He got the start and finished with 22 yards on nine carries in the Steelers 24-19 win in 2020. Since getting to the Cardinals in 2021, Connor has rushed for 1,702 yards on 422 carries and 683 yards receiving on 88 catches in 30 games. He has 27 total touchdowns, including just one this season on a 4-yard run last week against the Giants. For his career, Connor has 4,004 yards rushing, 1,646 yards receiving and 53 touchdowns.
102 – In 2012, Greg Toler added his name to the list of players in the NFL that have returned an interception over 100 yards. Toler’s 102-yard INT return came in the fourth quarter of a 38-10 win over Detroit. Toler picked off Matthew Stafford and his return is good enough to be tied for seventh longest in NFL history with Eddie Anderson (1992, Raiders), Gary Barbaro (1977, KC), Erich Barnes (1961, NYG), Louis Breeden (1981, CIN), Marcus Coleman (2004, HOU), Donald Frank (1993, SD), Artrell Hawkins (2002, CIN), Lito Sheppard (2006, PHI) and Bob Smith (1949, DET). The 38-man list is headed by Ed Reed, who owns the top two spots, with a 107-yard return in a 36-7 win over Philadelphia in 2008 and a 106-yard return in a 27-13 win over Cleveland in 2004.
581 – In 104 years of football, the Cardinals have managed to average just over 4 wins per season. At 581-790-41 as a franchise, the Cardinals win percentage of .462 is 30th out of 32 clubs, beating out just Jacksonville (.420) and Tampa Bay (.404). The franchise has played the third most games in pro football history, trailing only the Chicago Bears (1,452) and the Green Bay Packers (1,418). However, those 581 wins are good enough for just eighth on the all-time wins list, ahead of Detroit (579) and behind the Los Angeles Rams (604). As for the playoffs, they have played the third fewest games (17) and are just 7-10 overall. The only teams with less playoff games are Jacksonville (16) and the Houston Texans (10).
2011 – It has been 12 seasons since the Cardinals franchise has had a 1,000-plus yard running back. Beanie Wells was the last Arizona back to crack the 1,000-yard mark when he rushed for 1,047 yards on 245 carries in 14 games. Wells only played four seasons in the NFL, all with the Cardinals, and really never got close to going over the magical mark for running backs in his other three seasons. He had 793 yards in 2009, then followed that up with 397 yards in 2010 and 234 yards in 2012. Otis Anderson still owns the Cardinals franchise record for yards in a season with 1,605 yards on 331 carries in 1979. Anderson actually owns the top four spots with 1,376 yards in 1981, 1,352 yards in 1980 and 1,270 yards in 1983.