2011 Arizona Cardinals season
The 2011 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 92nd in the National Football League (NFL), their 24th in Arizona and their fifth under head coach Ken Whisenhunt. This was going to be the Cardinals first season with new starting quarterback Kevin Kolb, but he was injured and replaced by John Skelton. Despite a 1-6 start the Cardinals managed to win 7 out of 9 games, including a stunning upset against the San Francisco 49ers in week 14. The team improved on their 5–11 record from the 2010 season, but missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
2011 Arizona Cardinals season | |
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Owner | Bill Bidwill |
General manager | Rod Graves |
Head coach | Ken Whisenhunt |
Home field | University of Phoenix Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 8–8 |
Division place | 2nd NFC West |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | Larry Fitzgerald, WR Patrick Peterson, CB Adrian Wilson, SS |
Uniform | |
The 2011 Cardinals won four overtime games, an NFL record that would later be matched by the 2021 Las Vegas Raiders.[1]
Offseason
Signings
Pos. | Player | 2010 Team | Contract |
---|---|---|---|
G | Daryn Colledge | Green Bay Packers | 5 years, $27.5 million |
LB | Stewart Bradley | Philadelphia Eagles | 5 years, $25 million |
C | Lyle Sendlein | Arizona Cardinals | 5 years, $16 million |
TE | Jeff King | Carolina Panthers | 3 years, $5.5 million |
DE | Nick Eason | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2 years, $1.9 million |
S | Michael Adams | Arizona Cardinals | 2 years, $1.7 million |
G | Floyd Womack | Cleveland Browns | 1 year, $1.7 million |
RB | Chester Taylor | Chicago Bears | 1 year, $810,000 |
CB | Matt Ware | Arizona Cardinals | 1 year, $855,000 |
C | Ben Claxton | Arizona Cardinals | 1 year, $700,000 |
Departures
Pos. | Player | 2011 Team |
---|---|---|
WR | Steve Breaston | Kansas City Chiefs |
DT | Alan Branch | Seattle Seahawks |
G | Alan Faneca | |
2011 NFL Draft
Draft order | Player name | Position | Height | Weight | College | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Choice | Overall | |||||
1 | 5 | 5 | Patrick Peterson | CB | 6'0" | 219 lbs. | LSU |
2 | 6 | 38 | Ryan Williams | RB | 5'9" | 212 lbs. | VT |
3 | 5 | 69 | Rob Housler | TE | 6'5" | 215 lbs. | FAU |
4 | 6 | 103 | Sam Acho | OLB | 6'2" | 262 lbs. | Texas |
5 | 5 | 136 | Anthony Sherman | RB | 5'10" | 242 lbs. | UConn |
6 | 6 | 171 | Quan Sturdivant | ILB | 6'1" | 241 lbs. | UNC |
19 | 184[upper-alpha 1] | David Carter | DE | 6'5" | 297 lbs. | UCLA | |
7[upper-alpha 2] | 46 | 249[upper-alpha 3] | DeMarco Sampson | WR | 6'2" | 204 lbs. | SDSU |
Acquisitions
On July 28, 2011 the Cardinals acquired Kolb from the Philadelphia Eagles for CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2012 2nd-round pick. The next day they signed former Carolina Panthers starting CB Richard Marshall.[3]
Preseason
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 11 | at Oakland Raiders | W 24–18 | 1–0 | O.co Coliseum | Recap |
2 | August 19 | at Green Bay Packers | L 20–28 | 1–1 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
3 | August 27 | San Diego Chargers | L 31–34 | 1–2 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap |
4 | September 1 | Denver Broncos | W 26–7 | 2–2 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap |
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 11 | Carolina Panthers | W 28–21 | 1–0 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | ||
2 | September 18 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–22 | 1–1 | FedExField | Recap | ||
3 | September 25 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 10–13 | 1–2 | CenturyLink Field | Recap | ||
4 | October 2 | New York Giants | L 27–31 | 1–3 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | ||
5 | October 9 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–34 | 1–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Recap | ||
6 | Bye | |||||||
7 | October 23 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–32 | 1–5 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | ||
8 | October 30 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 27–30 | 1–6 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap | ||
9 | November 6 | St. Louis Rams | W 19–13 (OT) | 2–6 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | ||
10 | November 13 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–17 | 3–6 | Lincoln Financial Field | Recap | ||
11 | November 20 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 7–23 | 3–7 | Candlestick Park | Recap | ||
12 | November 27 | at St. Louis Rams | W 23–20 | 4–7 | Edward Jones Dome | Recap | ||
13 | December 4 | Dallas Cowboys | W 19–13 (OT) | 5–7 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | ||
14 | December 11 | San Francisco 49ers | W 21–19 | 6–7 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | ||
15 | December 18 | Cleveland Browns | W 20–17 (OT) | 7–7 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap | ||
16 | December 24 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 16–23 | 7–8 | Paul Brown Stadium | Recap | ||
17 | January 1 | Seattle Seahawks | W 23–20 (OT) | 8–8 | University of Phoenix Stadium | Recap |
Week 1: vs. Carolina Panthers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Panthers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: September 11
- Game time: 1:15 pm[upper-alpha 4]
- Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
- Game attendance: 60,627
- Referee: Carl Cheffers
- TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, Chad Pennington and Jody Jackson
Game information | ||
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Week 2: at Washington Redskins
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Redskins | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 22 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
- Date: September 18
- Game time: 1:00 pm. EDT/10:00 am[upper-alpha 4]
- Game weather: 66 °F (Cloudy)
- Game attendance: 76,330
- Referee: Pete Morelli
- TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers and Tim Ryan
Game information | ||
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Week 3: at Seattle Seahawks
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Seahawks | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
- Date: September 25
- Game time: 1:15 pm[upper-alpha 4]
- Game weather: 68 °F (Rain)
- Game attendance: 66,199
- Referee: Alberto Riveron
- TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Tim Ryan and Drea Avent
Game information | ||
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Week 4: vs. New York Giants
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giants | 0 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 31 |
Cardinals | 3 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 27 |
at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: October 2
- Game time: 1:05 pm[upper-alpha 4]
- Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
- Game attendance: 60,496
- Referee: Jerome Boger
- TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, & Tony Siragusa
Game information | ||
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Despite the Cardinals holding a 10-point lead twice in the fourth quarter, the Giants scored three touchdowns in the final frame as Arizona dropped its third straight game and fell to 1–3.
Week 5: at Minnesota Vikings
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
Vikings | 28 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 34 |
at Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Date: October 9
- Game time: 12:00 pm. CDT/10:00 am[upper-alpha 4]
- Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
- Game attendance: 62,479
- Referee: Scott Green
- TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers and Tim Ryan
Game information | ||
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Week 7: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 7 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 32 |
Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: October 23
- Game time: 1:05 pm[upper-alpha 4]
- Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
- Game attendance: 62,475
- Referee: John Parry
- TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel & Dan Dierdorf
Game information | ||
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Coming off their bye week, the Cardinals went home for a Week 7 interconference duel with the Pittsburgh Steelers, in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIII. Arizona trailed early in the first quarter as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller. Pittsburgh would add onto their lead in the second quarter as Roethlisberger completed a 95-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace. The Cardinals would answer with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Alfonso Smith. The Steelers would close out the half with kicker Shaun Suisham getting a 41-yard field goal.
Arizona opened the third quarter with quarterback Kevin Kolb finding running back LaRod Stephens-Howling on a 73-yard touchdown pass, but Pittsburgh struck back with Roethlisberger completing a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, along with Kolb's intentional grounding penalty in the endzone resulting in a safety. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers continued to pull away with Suisham making a 42-yard and a 39-yard field goal. The Cardinals tried to rally as Kolb found wide receiver Early Doucet on a 2-yard touchdown pass (with a failed two-point conversion), but Pittsburgh held on to preserve the victory.
With the loss, Arizona fell to 1–5.
Week 8: at Baltimore Ravens
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 3 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
Ravens | 0 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 30 |
at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
- Date: October 30
- Game time: 1:00 pm. EDT/10:00 am[upper-alpha 4]
- Game weather: 48 °F (Sunny)
- Game attendance: 71,022
- Referee: Jeff Triplette
- TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, Brian Billick and Laura Okmin
Game information | ||
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The Cardinals blew a 21-point first half lead and lost their sixth straight game to fall to 1–6.
Week 9: vs. St. Louis Rams
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rams | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: November 6
- Game time: 2:15 p.m. MST
- Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C), (retractable roof open)
- Game attendance: 60,628
- Referee: Ron Winter
- TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington
Game information | ||
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The Cardinals snapped their six-game losing streak as rookie Patrick Peterson returned a punt 98 yards for a game-winning touchdown in overtime. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 2–6. The game also featured the Rams' scoring the four points in the third quarter as the got two safeties on consecutive drives. This was first time in NFL history that a team had recorded four points in a quarter.
Week 10: at Philadelphia Eagles
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
Eagles | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Date: November 13
- Game time: 1:00 pm. EST/11:00 am. MST
- Game weather: 60 °F (Partly Cloudy)
- Game attendance: 69,144
- Referee: Walt Anderson
- TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, John Lynch and Jennifer Hale
Game information | ||
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Week 11: at San Francisco 49ers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
49ers | 6 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 23 |
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
- Date: November 20
- Game time: 2:05 pm. MST/1:05 pm. PST
- Game weather: 55 °F (Rain)
- Game attendance: 69,732
- Referee: Pete Morelli
- TV announcers (Fox): Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick and Laura Okmin
Game information | ||
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Week 12: at St. Louis Rams
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 23 |
Rams | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
at Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
- Date: November 27
- Game time: 12:00 pm. CST/11:00 am. MST
- Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
- Game attendance: 56,029
- Referee: Mike Carey
- TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen, Chad Pennington and Tina Cervasio
Game information | ||
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Week 13: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: December 4
- Game time: 2:15 pm. MST
- Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), (retractable roof open)
- Game attendance: 62,180
- Referee: Walt Coleman
- TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, John Lynch and Jennifer Hale
Game information | ||
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Week 14: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 3 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 19 |
Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: December 11
- Game time: 2:05 pm. MST
- Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), (retractable roof open)
- Game attendance: 60,808
- Referee: Alberto Riveron
- TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, John Lynch and Jennifer Hale
Game information | ||
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The Cardinals came back from 12-point halftime deficit to stun the 10–2 49ers. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 6–7.
Week 15: vs. Cleveland Browns
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Browns | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 20 |
at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: December 18
- Game time: 2:15 pm. MST
- Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
- Game attendance: 60,443
- Referee: Scott Green
- TV announcers (CBS): Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker
Game information | ||
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Head coach Ken Whisenhunt recorded his 43rd win as the Cardinals' head coach, and surpassed Don Coryell to become the winningest head coach in franchise history. Whisenhunt was the all-time leader in wins for Cardinals head coaches until his record was broken by Bruce Arians 5 years later.
Week 16: at Cincinnati Bengals
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 16 |
Bengals | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Date: December 24
- Game time: 1:00 pm. EST/11:00 am. MST
- Game weather: 38 °F (Fair)
- Game attendance: 41,273
- Referee: Terry McAulay
- TV announcers (Fox): Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick, & Laura Okmin
Game information | ||
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Week 17: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
Cardinals | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: January 1
- Game time: 2:15 pm. MST
- Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
- Game attendance: 61,798
- Referee: Gene Steratore
- TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen & Chad Pennington
Game information | ||
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Standings
NFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(2) San Francisco 49ers | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 5–1 | 10–2 | 380 | 229 | W3 |
Arizona Cardinals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 312 | 348 | W1 |
Seattle Seahawks | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 321 | 315 | L2 |
St. Louis Rams | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | 193 | 407 | L7 |
Coaching staff
Arizona Cardinals 2011 staff | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
|
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Footnotes
- The Cardinals acquired this sixth-round selection (No. 184 overall) in a trade that sent guard Reggie Wells to the Philadelphia Eagles.
- The Cardinals traded their original seventh-round selection (No. 208 overall) and a 2010 fourth-round selection to the New York Jets in exchange for safety Kerry Rhodes.
- Compensatory selection.
- The state of Arizona lies entirely within the Mountain Time Zone, but does not observe Daylight saving time (excluding the Navajo Nation), so it is effectively the same as Pacific Daylight Time from mid-March until the first Sunday of November. Therefore, all kickoffs during the preseason and from Weeks 1–8 during the regular season are listed as Pacific time, while kickoffs from Weeks 9–17 are listed as Mountain time.
References
- Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, team won game, Game went to overtime, sorted by descending Date.
- "2011 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- "2011 Arizona Cardinals Transactions". ESPN. Retrieved November 12, 2022.