1998 Arizona Cardinals season

1998 Arizona Cardinals season
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Head coach	Vince Tobin
Home field	Sun Devil Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Cowboys) 20–7 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Vikings) 21–41
Pro Bowlers	DB Aeneas Williams
← 1997 Cardinals seasons 1999 →

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.

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. 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 (by contrast, the 1993 Cardinals went 7–9 but outscored their opponents 326–269). They ranked 25th statistically below three different 4–12 teams. They were a colossal fluke, despite the fact that they won 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^[2]

Offseason[]

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]

Undrafted free agents[]

1998 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Cory Sauter	Quarterback	Minnesota

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1998 Arizona Cardinals staff

	Front office President – Bill Bidwill Vice President – Larry Wilson Vice President and General Counsel – Michael Bidwill Vice President of Player Personnel – Bob Ferguson Assistant to the President – Rod Graves Head coaches Head Coach – Vince Tobin Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Marc Trestman Quarterbacks – Geep Chryst Running Backs – Johnny Roland Wide Receivers – Vic Rapp Tight Ends – Hank Kuhlmann Offensive Line – George Warhop			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Dave McGinnis Defensive Line – Joe Greene Linebackers – Glenn Pires Defensive Backs – Larry Marmie Special teams coaches Special Teams – Al Everest Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Bob Rogucki

Roster[]

1998 Arizona Cardinals final roster

	Quarterbacks 17 Dave Brown 16 Jake Plummer Running backs 24 Mario Bates 37 Larry Centers FB 29 Adrian Murrell 32 Michael Pittman Sr. Wide receivers 82 Ronnie Anderson 89 Fred Brock 21 Eric Metcalf KR 85 Rob Moore 81 Frank Sanders Tight ends 84 Chris Gedney 48 Jarius Hayes 87 Johnny McWilliams		Offensive linemen 75 Lomas Brown LT 79 Jon Clark T 65 Anthony Clement T 72 Jerome Daniels LG 62 Mike Devlin C 64 James Dexter RT 67 Chris Dishman LG 54 Aaron Graham C 71 Lester Holmes RG 73 Matt Joyce LG Defensive linemen 76 Jerry Drake DT 74 DT 96 Brad Ottis DE 97 Simeon Rice DE 78 Carl Simpson DT 93 Mark Smith DT 98 Eric Swann DT 91 Rashod Swinger DT 90 Andre Wadsworth DE 94 Bernard Wilson DT		Linebackers 56 Terry Irving 53 Mark Maddox 50 Tony McCombs 57 Ronald McKinnon 95 Jamir Miller 55 Patrick Sapp 52 Zack Walz Defensive backs 28 Tommy Bennett SS 26 J. B. Brown RCB 25 Corey Chavous RCB 27 Ty Howard CB 22 Tom Knight RCB 42 Kwamie Lassiter FS 44 J. J. McCleskey CB 23 Dell McGee S 40 Pat Tillman SS 35 Aeneas Williams CB Special teams 13 Chris Jacke K 10 Scott Player P 86 Trey Junkin C/LS		Reserve lists 6 Joe Nedney K (IR) Practice squad -- Kevin Drake WR 69 OL 80 Terry Hardy WR Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

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

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings[]

NFC East
view talk	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[]

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[]

Awards and records[]

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

References[]

• Cardinals on Pro Football Reference
• Cardinals on jt-sw.com