49ers–Cardinals rivalry - Misplaced Pages

National Football League rivalry

49ers–Cardinals rivalry
Statistics
49ers and Cardinals face off during the 2009 season.
San Francisco 49ers Arizona Cardinals
Location	San Francisco, Phoenix
First meeting	November 18, 1951 Cardinals 27, 49ers 21
Latest meeting	January 5, 2025 Cardinals 47, 49ers 24
Next meeting	2025
Stadiums	49ers: Levi's Stadium Cardinals: State Farm Stadium
Meetings total	67
All-time series	49ers: 36–31
Largest victory	49ers: 50–14 (2003) Cardinals: 47–7 (2015)
Longest win streak	49ers: 5 (1980–1987, 1993–2002, 2009–2011) Cardinals: 8 (2015–2018)
Current win streak	Cardinals: 2 (2024–present)

300km
200miles

Cardinals

49ers Locations of the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals

The 49ers–Cardinals rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.

After the AAFC-NFL merger, the 49ers and Cardinals faced off for the first time in the 1951 season, when the Cardinals were based in Chicago. Both teams engaged in sporadic matchups leading up to the 2000 season. During that period, the Cardinals relocated to St. Louis and subsequently, in the 1988 season, they relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, establishing themselves as a Western team. Following the NFL realignment in 2002, the Cardinals joined the NFC West, thus becoming divisional rivals with the 49ers. The rivalry is a closely contested series, particularly after the realignment. The Cardinals are the only team in the NFC the 49ers have not met in the playoffs.

The 49ers lead the overall series, 36–31. The two teams have not met in the playoffs.

History

The 49ers and Cardinals first met on November 18, 1951 at the former's home field, Kezar Stadium. Behind the performance of Charley Trippi, the then-Chicago Cardinals won the game 27–21. The Cardinals would lead the series prior to the arrival of Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, and Jerry Rice to the 49ers.

Following the 1987 season, the Cardinals relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. In the 49ers' first trip to Phoenix, they blundered a 23–0 lead. The Cardinals came back and won 24–23, scoring a touchdown in the final seconds of the game.

During a 1999 game between the two teams, Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams delivered a sack on 49ers quarterback Steve Young. Young was concussed on the play, with his injury ultimately being a career-ending one.

The two teams became division rivals when the Cardinals moved to the NFC West, as part of the NFL's 2002 realignment. In 2004, the 49ers finished with a dismal 2–14 record; both of their 2 wins, however, came against the Cardinals. The following season, the two teams played the first NFL regular season game held outside of the United States. Dubbed Fútbol Americano, the game was played at Estadio Azteca, in Mexico City; the Cardinals won 31–14.

To kick off their 2006 season, the Cardinals hosted the 49ers at the newly opened University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals won the game 34–27.

During the late 2000s and early 2010s, the 49ers and Cardinals were common Monday Night Football (MNF) opponents, having played each other five times in six years (from 2007 to 2012). In the 2007 matchup, quarterback Alex Smith led the 49ers to a comeback victory over the Cardinals to kick off the season. Also during this period, Cardinals and 49ers players were noted as often sharing hateful sentiments about the opposing side. 49ers tight end Vernon Davis and Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett were also noted exchanging barbs on Twitter. The results between the two teams were lopsided during this period, with the Cardinals winning one of ten matchups from 2009 to 2013. Then-Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians likened the rivalry to the Browns–Steelers rivalry. However, shifting into the mid-2010s, the Cardinals dominated the 49ers, winning eight straight games in the rivalry from 2015 to 2018.

The two teams once again met in Mexico for another Monday Night Football matchup in 2022. 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 4 touchdowns in the game, leading his team to a 38–10 victory.

Season-by-season results

San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals Season-by-Season Results

1950s (Cardinals, 2–0)

Season	Results	Location	Overall series	Notes
1951	Cardinals 27–21	Kezar Stadium (San Francisco)	Cardinals 1–0	As a result of the AAFC–NFL merger the previous season, the 49ers were placed in the NFL National Conference and the Cardinals were placed in the NFL American Conference (later renamed to the NFL Western Conference and the NFL Eastern Conference respectively in the 1953 season).
1957	Cardinals 20–10	Kezar Stadium (San Francisco)	Cardinals 2–0	Last game 49ers faced the Cardinals as a Chicago-based team, as the Cardinals relocated to St. Louis in the 1960 season. The two teams never faced off against each other in Chicago.

1960s (49ers, 2–1)

Season	Results	Location	Overall series	Notes
1962	49ers 24–17	Busch Stadium (St. Louis)	Cardinals 2–1	First meeting in St. Louis.
1964	Cardinals 23–13	Kezar Stadium (San Francisco)	Cardinals 3–1
1968	49ers 35–17	Kezar Stadium (San Francisco)	Cardinals 3–2	49ers record their first home win against the Cardinals.

1970s (Cardinals, 4–1)

Season	Results	Location	Overall series	Notes
1971	49ers 26–14	Busch Memorial Stadium (St. Louis)	Tied 3–3
1974	Cardinals 34–9	Candlestick Park (San Francisco)	Cardinals 4–3
1976	Cardinals 23–20 (OT)	Busch Memorial Stadium (St. Louis)	Cardinals 5–3	Cardinals record their first home win against the 49ers.
1978	Cardinals 16–10	Candlestick Park (San Francisco)	Cardinals 6–3
1979	Cardinals 13–10	Busch Memorial Stadium (St. Louis)	Cardinals 7–3

1980s (49ers, 5–1)

Season	Results	Location	Overall series	Notes
1980	49ers 24–21 (OT)	Candlestick Park (San Francisco)	Cardinals 7–4
1982	49ers 31–20	Busch Memorial Stadium (St. Louis)	Cardinals 7–5
1983	49ers 42–27	Busch Memorial Stadium (St. Louis)	Cardinals 7–6
1986	49ers 43–17	Candlestick Park (San Francisco)	Tied 7–7
1987	49ers 34–28	Candlestick Park (San Francisco)	49ers 8–7	Last season Cardinals played as a St. Louis-based team.
1988	Cardinals 24–23	Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe)	Tied 8–8	Cardinals relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. Cardinals overcame a 23–0 deficit. 49ers win Super Bowl XXIII.

1990s (49ers, 3–1)

Season	Results	Location	Overall series	Notes
1991	49ers 14–10	Candlestick Park (San Francisco)	49ers 9–8
1992	Cardinals 24–14	Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe)	Tied 9–9
1993	49ers 28–14	Candlestick Park (San Francisco)	49ers 10–9
1999	49ers 24–10	Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe)	49ers 11–9	In the 1994 season, the Phoenix Cardinals changed their name to the "Arizona Cardinals". Last start in the series for 49ers' QB Steve Young.

2000s (49ers, 10–7)

Season	Season series	at San Francisco 49ers	at Arizona Cardinals	Overall series	Notes
2000	49ers 1–0	49ers 27–20		49ers 12–9
2002	49ers 2–0	49ers 38–28	49ers 17–14	49ers 14–9	During the NFL realignment, Cardinals were moved to the NFC West, resulting in two meetings annually with the 49ers.
2003	Tie 1–1	49ers 50–14	Cardinals 16–13 (OT)	49ers 15–10	In San Francisco, 49ers record their largest victory over the Cardinals with a 36–point differential and scored their most points in a game against the Cardinals.
2004	49ers 2–0	49ers 31–28 (OT)	49ers 31–28 (OT)	49ers 17–10	49ers' victories against the Cardinals would be their only victories in their 2004 season.
2005	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 17–10	Cardinals 31–14	49ers 17–12	Cardinals' home game was played at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Monday Night Football in the first NFL regular season game played outside the United States, marketed as Fútbol Americano. The game drew a crowd of 103,467, setting an NFL regular-season attendance record (broken in 2009).
2006	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 26–20	Cardinals 34–27	49ers 17–14	Cardinals open University of Phoenix Stadium (now known as State Farm Stadium).
2007	49ers 2–0	49ers 20–17	49ers 37–31 (OT)	49ers 19–14
2008	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 23–13	Cardinals 29–24	49ers 19–16	Cardinals win all of their division games for the first time in franchise history. Cardinals lose Super Bowl XLIII.
2009	49ers 2–0	49ers 24–9	49ers 20–16	49ers 21–16

2010s (Tie, 10–10)

Season	Season series	at San Francisco 49ers	at Arizona Cardinals	Overall series	Notes
2010	49ers 2–0	49ers 38–7	49ers 27–6	49ers 23–16
2011	Tie 1–1	49ers 23–7	Cardinals 21–19	49ers 24–17
2012	49ers 2–0	49ers 27–13	49ers 24–3	49ers 26–17	49ers' home win clinched them the NFC West. 49ers lose Super Bowl XLVII.
2013	49ers 2–0	49ers 32–20	49ers 23–20	49ers 28–17
2014	Tie 1–1	49ers 20–17	Cardinals 23–14	49ers 29–18	49ers open Levi's Stadium.
2015	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 19–13	Cardinals 47–7	49ers 29–20	In Arizona, Cardinals record their largest victory over the 49ers with a 40–point differential and scored their most points in a game against the 49ers.
2016	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 33–21	Cardinals 23–20	49ers 29–22
2017	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 20–10	Cardinals 18–15 (OT)	49ers 29–24
2018	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 28–18	Cardinals 18–15	49ers 29–26	Cardinals win eight straight meetings (2015–2018).
2019	49ers 2–0	49ers 36–26	49ers 28–25	49ers 31–26	49ers lose Super Bowl LIV.

2020s (Tie, 5–5)

Season	Season series	at San Francisco 49ers	at Arizona Cardinals	Overall series	Notes
2020	Tie 1–1	Cardinals 24–20	49ers 20–12	49ers 32–27	Due to COVID-19-related restrictions on contact sports in Santa Clara, 49ers played three home games at State Farm Stadium.
2021	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 31–17	Cardinals 17–10	49ers 32–29
2022	49ers 2–0	49ers 38–13	49ers 38–10	49ers 34–29	Cardinals home game was played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Monday Night Football as part of the NFL International Series.
2023	49ers 2–0	49ers 35–16	49ers 45–29	49ers 36–29	In Arizona, 49ers clinch the NFC West with their win. 49ers lose Super Bowl LVIII.
2024	Cardinals 2–0	Cardinals 24–23	Cardinals 47–24	49ers 36–31	In Arizona, Cardinals tied their most points scored in a game against the 49ers (2015).

Summary of results

Season	Season series	at San Francisco 49ers	at St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals	Notes
Regular season	49ers 36–31	49ers 20–15	Tie 16–16	49ers have a 4–2 record in St. Louis. Cardinals currently have a 13–11 record in Arizona. Both teams are tied 1–1 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (2005), (2022), both accounted for as Arizona Cardinals home games.

References

^ "All Matchups, San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals". Pro Football Reference.
Cox, Seth (November 21, 2022). "Cardinals vs. 49ers rivalry has been fairly equal since NFC West realignment, except for one aspect". SB Nation. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
Green, Adam (October 9, 2013). "Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers to renew rivalry". Arizona Sports. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
Baum, Bob (November 29, 2010). "49ers, Cardinals develop a rivalry". Times Union. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
Inman, Cam (October 28, 2012). "San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals share intense rivalry". Daily Democrat. Digital First Media. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
^ "Cardinals vs. 49ers: History between the two franchises goes back a ways to the bay". SB Nation. December 25, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
^ Nordmeier, Andrew (July 12, 2013). "An Arizona Cardinals Fan Guide to Hating the San Francisco 49ers". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
^ Harner, Andrew (June 26, 2022) . "10 Greatest Wins in Arizona Cardinals History". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
"15 Lesser-known Facts about 49ers-Cardinals Rivalry". 49ers.com. San Francisco 49ers. December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
"History to be made in Mexico City". NFL.com. National Football League. September 28, 2005. Archived from the original on June 25, 2006.
Weber, Brendan (November 21, 2022) . "What to Know: 49ers vs. Cardinals in Mexico City". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
"San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals share intense rivalry". East Bay Times. August 15, 2016 . Retrieved February 22, 2023.
Gay, Nancy (September 12, 2007). "49ers, Cardinals turn competition to rivalry". SFGATE (San Francisco Chronicle). Retrieved February 22, 2023.
"Beanie Wells hates the 49ers". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports. August 20, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
Branch, Eric (October 29, 2012) . "49ers visit Arizona on Monday". SFGATE (San Francisco Chronicle). Retrieved February 22, 2023.
Rosenthal, Gregg (May 19, 2010). "Vernon Davis, Darnell Dockett do battle on Twitter". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
McCauley, Janie (September 12, 2015). "Cardinals have lost 9 of 10 to 49ers; now they have a distraction to deal with, too". Fox News. Associated Press. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
Root, Jess (October 5, 2018). "Cardinals have dominated 49ers in recent history". Cards Wire. USA Today. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
Dubow, Josh (October 30, 2019). "49ers look to end 8-game skid vs. NFC West rival Cardinals". Associated Press. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
Rodriguez, Tristi (November 16, 2022). "Fiel a la Bahía: 49ers takeover appears likely in Mexico City". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
Maiocco, Matt (November 21, 2022). "What we learned as 49ers crush Cardinals, move up in NFC". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 22, 2023.

v t e San Francisco 49ers
Founded in 1946 Based and headquartered in Santa Clara, California
Franchise	Franchise Team history Coaches All-time roster Seasons Logo and uniform history Starting quarterbacks Draft history (First-round draft picks) Broadcasters Retired numbers
Stadiums	Kezar Stadium Candlestick Park Levi's Stadium State Farm Stadium Three games played due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Culture	49er Faithful Sourdough Sam San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush West Coast offense The Pigskin Priest KGO KNBR Mr. Relevant
Lore	2019 NFC Championship Game The Catch (II) Joe Cool Million Dollar Backfield Snowball Game No Punt Game Fútbol Americano Harbaugh Bowl The Tip Jet Chip Wasp
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Dallas Cowboys Green Bay Packers Oakland Raiders (former) Los Angeles Rams New York Giants Seattle Seahawks
Key figures	Eddie DeBartolo Denise DeBartolo York Jed York John York Gideon Yu
Division championships (22)	1970 1971 1972 1981 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 2002 2011 2012 2019 2022 2023
Conference championships (8)	1981 1984 1988 1989 1994 2012 2019 2023
League championships (5)	1981 (XVI) 1984 (XIX) 1988 (XXIII) 1989 (XXIV) 1994 (XXIX)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1950–present) Conference: National Football Conference Division: West Division
Former league affiliation	All-America Football Conference (1946–1949)

v t e Arizona Cardinals
Founded in 1898 Played in Chicago (1920–1959), St. Louis (1960–1987), and formerly the Phoenix Cardinals (1988–1993) Based in Glendale, Arizona Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona
Franchise	History in Chicago in St. Louis Seasons Head coaches All-time roster (A–Kin, Kir–Z) Quarterbacks First-round draft picks
Stadiums	Normal Park Comiskey Park Wrigley Field Forbes Field Soldier Field Busch Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium Mountain America Stadium State Farm Stadium
Culture	Chris O'Brien Charles Bidwill Bill Bidwill Red Sea Big Red (mascot) Jerry Maguire
Lore	1925 Chicago Cardinals–Milwaukee Badgers scandal 1925 NFL Championship controversy Card-Pitt Million Dollar Backfield Chicago Cardinals–Toronto Argonauts exhibition game Fútbol Americano "They are who we thought they were!" Hail Murray
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Kansas City Chiefs (former) Los Angeles Rams San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks
Division championships (7)	1947 1948 1974 1975 2008 2009 2015
Conference championships (1)	2008
League championships (2)	1925 1947
Retired numbers	8 40 77 88 99
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: West Division
Category

National Football League rivalries

AFC

AFC East	AFC North	AFC South	AFC West
Bills–Dolphins Bills–Jets Bills–Patriots Dolphins–Jets Dolphins–Patriots Jets–Patriots	Bengals–Browns Bengals–Ravens Bengals–Steelers Browns–Ravens Browns–Steelers Ravens–Steelers	Colts–Jaguars Colts–Texans Colts–Titans Jaguars–Texans Jaguars–Titans Texans–Titans	Broncos–Chargers Broncos–Chiefs Broncos–Raiders Chargers–Chiefs Chargers–Raiders Chiefs–Raiders

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Intra-conference

Interconference

Governor's Cup	Missouri (historical) Texas

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History

Season-by-season results

See also

References