Remembering the Arizona Cardinals 2008 playoff journey

Though they weren’t expected to go far in the playoffs the Arizona Cardinals rode a magic carpet all the way to the Super Bowl

It was January of 2009, and the Arizona Cardinals were ready to embark on their first playoff appearance in 10 years. Two blowout losses in two of their final three games had many thinking it would be an early postseason exit for the Cards. “One and done” is the term most commonly used for such a bow out.

Arizona’s first obstacle would be in the Wildcard Round, a home game against the 11-5 Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta was led by a rookie quarterback named Matt Ryan. Despite winning two more regular-season games than the Cards, the Falcons were on the road, due to Arizona being a division-winner.

Despite two first-half touchdown passes by quarterback Kurt Warner, the Cardinals trailed 17-14 at the half. Playoff star Larry Fitzgerald caught the first one from Warner, coming down with a 42-yard rainbow between two Falcons’ defenders. Warner’s second score went to another star receiver, Anquan Boldin, who raced 71 yards with his touchdown.

Arizona regained control of the contest in the third quarter when safety Antrel Rolle returned a fumble 27 yards for a touchdown. A bit later Tim Hightower scored from four yards out and the Cards were in command at 28-17.

After Arizona tacked on a safety, Ryan cut the Cardinals’ lead to 30-24 by hitting Roddy White for a score. But all hopes for a Falcons’ win ended when Warner led his team on a time-killing final drive. The final nail in Atlanta’s coffin was Warner hitting the seldom-used Stephen Spach for 23 yards on a crucial 3rd and 16 with only two minutes and change left.

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The Cardinals had to travel to Carolina to meet the heavily-favored Panthers the following week. Quarterback Jake Delhomme had guided his team to a 12-4 record during the regular season. But on this day the Arizona defense was all over Delhomme, harassing him into throwing five interceptions.

The Cards also excelled on the offensive side of the ball. Warner threw for 220 yards and the two scores, and Fitzgerald snagged eight balls for 166 yards and the touchdown. The final score after the thrashing was Arizona 33, Carolina 13.

Arizona would now be hosting the NFC Championship game, and the Valley was abuzz. The opponent would be Donovan McNabb’s Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles had finished the ’08 campaign a half of a game better than the Cards at 9-6-1.

Early on, it was all Cardinals. Three first-half Fitzgerald touchdowns had Arizona ahead 24-6 at the half. The Cards were well on their way to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

But three unanswered Philly touchdowns put Andy Reid’s team up 25-24, Suddenly, Arizona’s championship dreams seemed to be slipping away. They would need Warner to put the team on his back and lead them to victory.

He would go on to do just that. A beautifully orchestrated final drive by Warner and offensive coordinator Todd Haley had Arizona eight yards from pay dirt. Hightower did the rest, taking a screen pass and negotiating his way into the end zone for the winning score.

A strike from Warner to tight end Ben Patrick converted the two-point attempt, and the Cardinals had gone ahead for good, 32-25. The Super Bowl would be their next stop.

We all know what happened in that game, so there’s no need to bring up those painful memories again. Let’s instead remember the scintillating road the Cards took to get to the Super Bowl. And what a beautiful ride it was.

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