2008 Arizona Cardinals Season

The 2008 Arizona Cardinals season was the 89th season for the team in the National Football League and their 21st season in Arizona. The season marked the Cardinals' first-ever Super Bowl appearance, coming as a result of their victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship.

The Cardinals began their season strong, compiling a 7–3 record by Week 11. However, they finished off the regular season struggling with a 9–7 record. This was still enough to win the NFC West, and the Cardinals, for the first time since 1947, hosted a playoff game. In that wild card game, the Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Falcons. The next week, for the Divisional round of the playoffs, the Cardinals traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, where they upset the heavily-favored Carolina Panthers. Then, because the Philadelphia Eagles also achieved an upset the same week (against the top-seeded New York Giants), the number-four seed Cardinals hosted the NFC Championship game, where they defeated the Eagles and qualified for the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XLIII, the Cardinals' winning streak ended. Though they led the Pittsburgh Steelers with less than a minute left to play in the game, in the end they were defeated, 27–23.

The 2008 Cardinals were just the second 9–7 team to reach the Super Bowl, joining the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV, who also lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers; however, the Rams had to win only two playoff games, rather than three, to reach the Super Bowl. Three years later in Super Bowl XLVI, the New York Giants would become the first 9–7 team to actually win, overshadowing the Cardinals' achievement.