2020 Arizona Cardinals season
The 2020 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 101st in the National Football League, their 33rd in Arizona and their second under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. It was also the first full season since 1971 without the ownership of Bill Bidwill, who died during the 2019 season.
The team improved on their 5–10–1 record from the previous year beginning the season 6–3; however, the Cardinals suffered a late season collapse, losing five of their last seven games and missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season after losing to the rival [2020 2020 Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams] in Week 17. The Cardinals finished tied with the Chicago Bears for the last Wild Card spot, but lost the tiebreaker.
The 2020 season featured the Hail Murray, as during Week 10 on November 15, trailing the Buffalo Bills 30–26 with eleven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Kyler Murray completed a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins with one second remaining to lift the Cardinals over the Bills in a miraculous 32–30 victory.
Roster changes
Trades
- March 20: The Cardinals traded a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft and RB David Johnson to the Houston Texans for WR DeAndre Hopkins.
Draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Isaiah Simmons | OLB | Clemson | |
| 3 | 72 | Josh Jones | OT | [2019 2019 Houston Cougars football team|Houston Cougars football team|Houston] | |
| 4 | 114 | Leki Fotu | DT | Utah | |
| 4 | 131 | Rashard Lawrence | DT | LSU | from Houston |
| 6 | 202 | Evan Weaver | LB | California | from New England |
| 7 | 222 | Eno Benjamin | RB | Arizona State |
Notes
- The Cardinals will forfeit their fifth-round selection after selecting safety Jalen Thompson in the 2019 supplemental draft.
- The Cardinals traded their sixth-round selection to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for cornerback Jamar Taylor.
- The Cardinals acquired a 2020 sixth-round pick from the New England Patriots in exchange for offensive tackle Korey Cunningham.
- The Cardinals traded their 2020 second-round selection, as well as a fourth-round selection in the 2021 NFL draft and running back David Johnson to the Houston Texans in exchange for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round selection.
| Player | Position | College |
| Ryan Becker | TE | SMU |
| Jake Benzinger | OT | Wake Forest |
| Jermiah Braswell | WR | Youngstown State |
| T.J. Carter | DT | Kentucky |
| Jackson Dennis | OT | Holy Cross |
| Drew Dickinson | OG | Findlay |
| Reggie Floyd | DB | Virginia Tech |
| Steven Gonzalez | OT | Penn State |
| Parker Houston | TE | San Diego State |
| Noah Togiai | TE | Oregon State |
| Shane Leatherbury | WR | Towson |
| Zane Lewis | DB | Air Force |
| Rashad Medaris | WR | Cincinnati |
| Devin Phelps | WR | Shepherd |
| Adam Shuler | DT | Florida |
| Reggie Walker | LB | Kansas State |
| JoJo Ward | WR | Hawaii |
| Jonathan Ward | RB | Central Michigan |
| Jace Whittaker | DB | Arizona |
| Jarren Williams | DB | Albany |
| Bejour Wilson | DB | Liberty |
Preseason
The Cardinals' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.| Week | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| 1 | at Green Bay Packers | Lambeau Field | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | State Farm Stadium | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 3 | at Las Vegas Raiders | Allegiant Stadium | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 4 | Denver Broncos | State Farm Stadium | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
Regular season
Schedule
The Cardinals' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.Notes
- Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers
With the win, the Cardinals won their first game of the season for the first time since 2015 and the first time in an away game since 2010.Week 2: vs. Washington Football Team
With this win, the Cardinals started 2-0 for the first time since 2015.Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions
The Cardinals attempted to win their game over the Lions since 2015, but instead with the upset loss, the Cardinals fell to 2–1 for the first time since 2010.Week 6: at Dallas Cowboys
With the win, the Cardinals not only advanced to 4–2, they also won their first road MNF game since 1977.Week 7: vs. Seattle Seahawks
This was the Cardinals' first Sunday Night Football appearance since 2016, which was also against the Seahawks at home. This was the Cardinals' first home win over the Seahawks since 2012.Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins
Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a game-tying 49-yard field goal.Week 10: vs. Buffalo Bills
In the final seconds of game, Kyler Murray threw a game winning touchdown pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins with two seconds left after he leaped over three defenders in the end zone to make the catch. The play came at the end of a game in which the Cardinals rallied from a 23–9 deficit early in the third quarter, and from a 30–26 deficit after Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Stefon Diggs with less than 40 seconds left.With the win, the Cardinals improved to 6–3. This was the first time a successful game-winning Hail Mary catch in the fourth quarter was made since Aaron Rodgers threw one in a 2015 game against the Detroit Lions.