The 2002 Arizona Cardinals season was the franchise’s 83rd year with the National Football League (NFL), 15th season in Arizona and the second full season under head coach Dave McGinnis. It was Jake Plummer’s final season with the Cardinals as he went to the Denver Broncos in the 2003 off-season.
This was the Cardinals' first season in the NFC West. The realignment put the team in the same division as the Rams, which at the time played in the Cardinals' former home of St. Louis. The Cardinals thus played one game in their former city every year from this season until , after which the Rams returned to the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Offseason Additions SubtractionsG Raleigh Roundtree (Chargers) CB Corey Chavous (Vikings)TE Freddie Jones (Chargers) FS Pat Tillman (U. S. Army)CB Duane Starks (Ravens)
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 2002 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDamien AndersonRunning backNorthwesternEric JoyceDefensive backTennessee StatePreston ParsonsQuarterbackNorthern ArizonaJake SolidayWide receiverNorthern Iowa
Pat Tillman In May 2002, eight months after the September 11, 2001, attacks and after completing the fifteen remaining games of the 2001 season which followed the attacks (at a salary of $512,000 per year), Pat Tillman turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million over three years from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season Schedule In the 2002 regular season, the Cardinals’ non-divisional, conference opponents were primarily from the NFC East, although they also played the Carolina Panthers from the NFC South, and the Detroit Lions from the NFC North. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC West, the second consecutive season the Cardinals faced the AFC West. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 8 at Washington Redskins L 23–31 0–1 FedExField 85,140 2 September 15 at Seattle Seahawks W 24–13 1–1 Seahawks Stadium 63,104 3 September 22 San Diego Chargers L 15–23 1–2 Sun Devil Stadium 28,980 4 September 29 New York Giants W 21–7 2–2 Sun Devil Stadium 30,014 5 October 6 at Carolina Panthers W 16–13 3–2 Ericsson Stadium 72,286 6 Bye 7 October 20 Dallas Cowboys W 9–6 4–2 Sun Devil Stadium 59,702 8 October 27 at San Francisco 49ers L 28–38 4–3 3Com Park 67,173 9 November 3 St. Louis Rams L 14–27 4–4 Sun Devil Stadium 47,819 10 November 10 Seattle Seahawks L 6–27 4–5 Sun Devil Stadium 29,252 11 November 17 at Philadelphia Eagles L 14–38 4–6 Veterans Stadium 64,990 12 November 24 Oakland Raiders L 20–41 4–7 Sun Devil Stadium 58,814 13 December 1 at Kansas City Chiefs L 0–49 4–8 Arrowhead Stadium 77,809 14 December 8 Detroit Lions W 23–20 5–8 Sun Devil Stadium 28,640 15 December 15 at St. Louis Rams L 28–30 5–9 Edward Jones Dome 65,939 16 December 21 San Francisco 49ers L 14–17 5–10 Sun Devil Stadium 44,051 17 December 29 at Denver Broncos L 7–37 5–11 Invesco Field at Mile High 75,164 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Washington Redskins
Week 2: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 3: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 4: vs. New York Giants
Week 5: at Carolina Panthers
Week 7: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 8: at San Francisco 49ers
Week 9: vs. St. Louis Rams
Week 10: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 12: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 13: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 14: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 15: at St. Louis Rams
Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 17: at Denver Broncos
Standings Division
Conference
Awards and records
Milestones
References
Cardinals on Pro Football Reference Cardinals on jt-sw.com