The Arizona Cardinals are one of 12 current NFL franchises that have yet to win a Super Bowl. Despite being one of the oldest professional football teams, tracing their origins back to 1898 in Chicago, the Cardinals are still chasing that elusive first championship of the Super Bowl era.
This historic franchise spent nearly 30 years in St. Louis before moving to Arizona in 1988. In their long history, they have won two NFL championships – in 1925 and 1947. However, those titles came before the AFL-NFL merger and the introduction of the Super Bowl in 1967. As such, the Cardinals have never claimed the ultimate prize since the advent of the single championship game.
In this article, we explore the Cardinals’ history in more depth and look at details about their Super Bowl-era postseason appearances. Has this long-suffering franchise ever come close to winning it all? Do they have what it takes to win a Super Bowl in the near future? Hopefully, this provides helpful background and context for NFL fans wondering about the Cardinals’ chase for that first Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Despite a remarkable career across three Super Bowl trips, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner retired with just one ring in hand. Check out How Many Super Bowls Did Kurt Warner Win
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Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl appearances
The Arizona Cardinals have only reached the Super Bowl stage once in the franchise’s long history. Their lone appearance came fairly recently, at Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.
Date
Game
Result
February 1, 2009
Super Bowl XLIII
Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23 Arizona Cardinals
Led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, the Cardinals finished the 2008 regular season with a 9-7 record. That was good enough to earn the NFC West division title. They then scored postseason wins over the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles en route to their first-ever Super Bowl berth.
In a thrilling Super Bowl matchup, the Cardinals came agonizingly close to pulling off the upset victory over the Steelers in Tampa. With just under 3 minutes left, Arizona took a 23-20 lead on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Warner to Larry Fitzgerald. However, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger engineered a dramatic game-winning drive in the final minutes. He connected with Santonio Holmes for the deciding touchdown with just 35 seconds on the clock, breaking Cardinals fans’ hearts.
Despite the disappointment, Arizona’s inspired run to Super Bowl XLIII marked by far the franchise’s greatest postseason success in their mostly frustrating NFL history. Bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy back to the desert, though, still remains an unrealized goal for the league’s perennial underdogs.
How many Super Bowls have the Arizona Cardinals won?
The disappointing answer for long-time Cardinals fans is zero. The franchise has never won a Super Bowl, despite appearing in the NFL’s championship game once.
That lone Super Bowl appearance for the Cardinals came at Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. Led by quarterback Kurt Warner, Arizona faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers but came up just short, losing a thrilling contest 27-23. It remains the Cardinals’ only Super Bowl berth thus far.
As of 2023, the Cardinals are one of 12 current NFL franchises that have failed to win a Super Bowl for the game’s 55+ year history. They have come painfully close, but have never secured that elusive Lombardi Trophy to bring back to their loyal fans in Arizona.
Interestingly, while the Cardinals have never won a Super Bowl, they were league champions twice in the pre-Super Bowl era. Back in 1925 as the Chicago Cardinals and again in 1947, the franchise was crowned NFL champs. However, those titles pre-dated the Super Bowl, which began in 1967 with the AFL-NFL merger.
So while they do technically have two NFL crowns in the early 20th century, the Cardinals and their fans continue anxiously waiting to celebrate that long-hoped-for first Super Bowl victory. But with rising stars like Kyler Murray on the roster, hopes remain that their next appearance could yield better results.
Despite originating in 1898, the Arizona Cardinals have never captured that elusive first Super Bowl win. Their lone appearance in 2009’s thrilling Super Bowl XLIII ended in narrow defeat. While the team did win two pre-Super Bowl era NFL championships in the 1920s-40s, the Cardinals and their loyal fans continue anxiously awaiting the franchise’s first modern-day championship after over half a century of frustration. Led by rising stars like Kyler Murray, can Arizona finally end its title drought soon?
Karishma Gupta
An experienced digital marketer, Karishma Gupta owns TeeAloha, selling stylish Hawaiian shirts for sports fans. This writer and social media manager fuels her passion for marketing through long walks with her dog, listening to podcasts, and running her niche e-commerce website.