Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Cardinals (1920–1959)

The franchise dates to 1898, when a neighborhood group gathered to play on the South Side of Chicago, calling themselves the Morgan Athletic Club. Chicago painting and building contractor Chris O'Brien acquired the team, which he moved to Normal Field on Racine Avenue. The team was known as the Racine Normals until 1901, when O'Brien bought used jerseys from the University of Chicago. After he described the faded maroon clothing as "Cardinal red", the team became the Racine Street Cardinals. Eventually in 1920, the team became a charter member of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which was rechristened the National Football League (NFL) two years later. The team entered the league as the Racine Cardinals, but changed their name to the Chicago Cardinals in 1922 to avoid confusion with the Horlick-Racine Legion, who entered the league the same year.

NFL champions (1925)

In 1925, the Cardinals were awarded the NFL Championship after the Pottsville Maroons were suspended for playing a game in what was deemed "another team's territory". Having beat the Cardinals in a head-to-head game earlier in the season, the Pottsville Maroons won their extra game against the University of Notre Dame, helping them finish the year with the same record as the Cardinals. The Cardinals were also guilty of breaking NFL rules by scheduling two additional games against the Hammond Pros and the Milwaukee Badgers, both of whom had already disbanded for the season. The game against the Badgers spurred a scandal when the Badgers filled out their roster with four high school players, in violation of NFL rules.

NFL Champions (1947)

During the post-World War II years, the team reached two straight NFL finals against the Philadelphia Eagles, winning in 1947 (eight months after Charles Bidwill's death) but losing the following year. In the late 1950s, after years of bad seasons and losing fans to their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Bears, the Cardinals were almost bankrupt, and owner Violet Bidwill Wolfner became interested in moving the team to a new city.

St. Louis Cardinals (1960–1987)

Due to the formation of the rival American Football League, the NFL allowed Bidwill to move the team to St. Louis, Missouri, where they became the St. Louis Cardinals. They were locally called the "Big Red", the "Gridbirds" or the "Football Cardinals" to avoid confusion with the local baseball team of the same name. During the Cardinals' 28-year stay in St. Louis, they advanced to the playoffs just three times (1974, 1975 and 1982), never hosting or winning. They did, however, win the Playoff Bowl, a now-defunct post-season game for third place, in 1964 against the Green Bay Packers by a score of 24–17. The overall mediocrity of the Cardinals, combined with a then-21-year-old stadium, caused game attendance to dwindle, and owner Bill Bidwill decided to move the team to Arizona.

Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals (1988–present)

Not long after the end of the 1987 NFL season, Bidwill agreed to move to Phoenix on a handshake deal with state and local officials, and the team became the Phoenix Cardinals. The team changed their name to the Arizona Cardinals on March 17, 1994.

The Cardinals hired Vince Tobin as head coach before the 1996 season. In his first season, he led the team to a 7–9 mark in the 1996 season. The team regressed in the 1997 season with a 4–12 record. The 1998 NFL season saw the Cardinals break two long droughts, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. The team got their first postseason win since 1947 by defeating the Dallas Cowboys 20–7 in the wild card round of the playoffs. The Cardinals saw their run end in the Divisional Round with a 41–21 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The Cardinals regressed to a 6–10 record in the 1999 season. In the 2000 season, Tobin was fired after a 2–5 start. Dave McGinnis finished the season out with a 1–8 record.

Before the 2001 season, the Cardinals named McGinnis as their head coach. He coached for three seasons, regressing each year record-wise. He was fired by the team after the 2003 season.

Before the 2004 season, the Cardinals hired Dennis Green as head coach. He coached the team to three consecutive losing seasons and was fired after the 2006 season.

The Cardinals hired Ken Whisenhunt as head coach before the 2007 season. In his first season with the team, Whisenhunt led the Cardinals to an 8–8 record in the 2007 season. In the 2008 postseason, the Cardinals, led by quarterback Kurt Warner, won the Wild Card Round over the Atlanta Falcons, the Divisional Round against the Carolina Panthers, and the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in their history. They lost Super Bowl XLIII 27–23 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final seconds of the game.

After their historic 2008 season, the Cardinals posted a 10–6 record in 2009, their first season with 10 wins in Arizona. The Cardinals clinched their second consecutive NFC West title but were defeated by eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, 45–14 in the divisional playoffs. After the 2012 season, the Cardinals fired Whisenhunt as head coach. Before the 2013 season, the team hired Bruce Arians as head coach. Arians' first season with the team saw the Cardinals go 10–6 but miss the postseason in 2013. The next time they would make the playoffs would be in 2014, as a wild card. They set the best regular season record in their history in Arizona at 11–5 but were defeated by the 7–8–1 NFC South champions, the Carolina Panthers.

The next year, the Cardinals set a franchise-best 13–3 record and clinched a first round bye as the NFC's second seed. They defeated the Green Bay Packers 26–20 in overtime, giving quarterback Carson Palmer his first playoff victory. The Cardinals then advanced to their second NFC Championship Game in their history but were blown out by the top-seeded 15–1 Panthers 49–15, committing seven turnovers.

The Cardinals then fell to 7–8–1 in 2016 and 8–8 in 2017. After the 2017 season, Arians retired as head coach. The Cardinals hired Steve Wilks to be the head coach before the 2018 season. The team dropped to a 3–13 record in 2018, tying the franchise record set in 2000 for the worst record in a 16-game season. Wilks was fired after the season. The Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury as head coach before the 2019 season. In the 2019 NFL draft, the Cardinals used the top overall pick in the draft on Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray. The team improved to 5–10–1 in 2019 and 8–8 in 2020. In 2021, the Cardinals went 11–6, posting a winning record and returning to the postseason for the first time since 2015, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round. They failed to improve their record in 2022, dropping to the bottom of NFC West at 4–13, and missing the playoffs. Kingsbury was fired as head coach after the 2022 season. Under first year head coach Jonathan Gannon, the Cardinals once again finished in fourth in the NFC West with a 4–13 record in 2023. In 2024, they finished with an 8–9 record. In 2025, the Arizona Cardinals set NFL history as the first team to lose three consecutive games by a last second game winning field goal.The Cardinals would finish the season with a 3-14 record, resulting in Gannon being fired on January 5, 2026. Less than a month later, Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur was hired as the team's next head coach.

Los Angeles Rams

Both the oldest and most intense divisional rivalry for the Cardinals, the matchup saw both teams first meet during the 1937 NFL season, while the Rams played in Cleveland, and the Cardinals were still originally located in Chicago. Both teams had played in St. Louis for a brief period in their histories, the Cardinals from 1960 to 1987 and the Rams from 1995 to 2015. Their rivalry with the Los Angeles Rams has resurged in recent years as both teams found playoff success, despite the Cardinals' best efforts; the Rams have been 15–3 since hiring head coach Sean McVay in 2017. The Week 17 matchup of the 2020 season saw both teams playing for a playoff berth; despite the injury to Rams quarterback Jared Goff, the Cardinals lost 18–7 and were eliminated from the postseason. The Cardinals' streak ended against the Rams the following season. They took the lead in the NFC over the Rams and started the season 7–0. In the following matchup, the Rams won on Monday Night Football; the Cardinals lost 6 of 10 games after their 7–0 start. The Cardinals would clinch a wild card berth after a week 17 win over the Dallas Cowboys. They played the Rams in Los Angeles and lost 34–11 as Kyler Murray threw 2 interceptions with one returned for a touchdown. The Rams lead the series 50–40–2 while leading the postseason series 2–0.

Seattle Seahawks

One of the newer rivalries in the NFL, the Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks became divisional rivals after both were moved to the NFC West as a result of the league's realignment in 2002. This rivalry has become one of the NFL's more bitter in recent years, as the mid-to-late 2010s often saw the Seahawks and Cardinals squaring off for NFC West supremacy. The rivalry featured such clashes between the likes of Carson Palmer or Kyler Murray for the Cardinals against Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson for the Seahawks during the era. Seattle leads the series 25–22–1, and the two teams have yet to meet in the playoffs.

San Francisco 49ers

Though they first met in 1951 and would meet occasionally until 2000, this would not become a full-fledged rivalry until both teams were placed in the NFC West division in 2002. While a close rivalry, it is often lopsided on both ends. After the 49ers won nine of ten meetings between 2009 and 2013, the Cardinals won eight straight meetings between 2014 and 2018. The 49ers lead the series 34–29.

The two teams have yet to meet in the playoffs.

Chicago Bears

The historic rivalry between the Cardinals and the Chicago Bears features the only two teams that remain from the league's inception in 1920. At that time, the Bears were known as the Decatur Staleys, and the Cardinals were the Racine Cardinals. In 1922, the matchup between the teams became known as "The Battle of Chicago" for 38 years, making it the first true rivalry in the league's history. The Bears lead the all-time series 59–29–6.

Kansas City Chiefs

Whilst the Cardinals were located in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987; the team took part in an instate rivalry with the Kansas City Chiefs, with a trophy being awarded to the winner of the matchup. The series ended after the Cardinals' move to Arizona in 1988. The Chiefs posted a 16–7–2 mark in its Governor's Cup series against the Cardinals from 1968 to 1987, going 3–1–1 in the regular season record and 13–6–1 in preseason play.