1996 Arizona Cardinals season

The 1996 Arizona Cardinals season was the franchise's 98th season, 77th season in the National Football League and the 9th in Arizona. The team improved upon their previous output of 4–12, winning seven games.[1] Despite this improvement, the Cardinals failed to qualify to the playoffs for the fourteenth consecutive season.

1996 Arizona Cardinals season
OwnerBill Bidwill
Head coachVince Tobin
Home fieldSun Devil Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place4th NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersFB Larry Centers
WR Rob Moore
CB Aeneas Williams

The low point of the season was providing a notorious New York Jets team with its only win in front of fewer than thirty thousand people. This was the first time the Cardinals had opposed the Jets since 1978.[2] The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team’s division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.[3]

This was Boomer Esiason's only season with the Cardinals as he would re-sign with the Cincinnati Bengals after this season.

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1996 NFL Draft
1996 Arizona Cardinals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 3 Simeon Rice *  Defensive end Illinois
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff
1996 Arizona Cardinals staff
Front office
  • President – Bill Bidwill
  • Vice President – Larry Wilson
  • Assistant General Manager – Joe Woolley
  • Assistant to the President – Bob Ferguson
  • Director of Pro Scouting – Keith Kidd
  • Director of College Scouting – Bo Bolinger

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Al Everest

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Bob Rogucki

Roster
1996 Arizona Cardinals final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Notes Attendance
1 September 1, 1996 at Indianapolis Colts L 13–20 Boomer Esiason ran in a two-yard touchdown
48,133
2 September 8, 1996 Miami Dolphins L 10–38 Kent Graham replaced Esiason
55,444
3 September 15, 1996 at New England Patriots L 0–31 Cardinals held to 170 yards
59,118
4 September 22, 1996 at New Orleans Saints W 28–14 LeShon Johnson rushes for franchise record 214 yards
34,316
5 September 29, 1996 St. Louis Rams W 31–28 (OT) First meeting with Rams since move to St. Louis
33,116
6 Bye
7 October 13, 1996 at Dallas Cowboys L 3–17 Graham sacked three times
64,096
8 October 20, 1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 13–9 Larry Centers caught a five-yard touchdown
27,738
9 October 27, 1996 New York Jets L 21–31 Only win of the season for the Jets
28,088
10 November 3, 1996 at New York Giants L 8–16 Boomer Esiason returned and threw two interceptions
68,262
11 November 10, 1996 at Washington Redskins W 37–34 Boomer Esiason broke 500 yards passing in the game
51,929
12 November 17, 1996 New York Giants W 31–23 Cardinals forced two fumbles and two interceptions
34,924
13 November 24, 1996 Philadelphia Eagles W 36–30 Esiason threw three touchdowns; both teams combined for 37 4th-quarter points
36,175
14 December 1, 1996 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–41 Esiason had two interceptions
45,767
15 December 8, 1996 Dallas Cowboys L 6–10 Leeland McElroy rushed for 90 yards
70,763
16 December 15, 1996 Washington Redskins W 27–26 Kevin Butler kicked game-winning field goal in final seconds
34,260
17 December 22, 1996 at Philadelphia Eagles L 19–29 Cardinals scored two 4th-quarter touchdowns
63,658

Standings
NFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Dallas Cowboys 10 6 0 .625 286 250 L1
(5) Philadelphia Eagles 10 6 0 .625 363 341 W2
Washington Redskins 9 7 0 .563 364 312 W1
Arizona Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 300 397 L1
New York Giants 6 10 0 .375 242 297 L2

References
  1. 1996 Arizona Cardinals
  2. Arizona Cardinals v New York Jets
  3. History of the NFL’s Structure and Formats
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