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.
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
Week Five: Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
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
Week Eight: Arizona Cardinals at Baltimore Ravens – Game summary
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
Week Ten: Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
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 Arians5 years later.
Week 16: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week Sixteen: Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
^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
safetyKerry Rhodes.
^
abcdefgThe 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.
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.
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
Week Five: Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
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
Week Eight: Arizona Cardinals at Baltimore Ravens – Game summary
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
Week Ten: Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
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 Arians5 years later.
Week 16: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week Sixteen: Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
^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
safetyKerry Rhodes.
^
abcdefgThe 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.