50 free Arizona Cardinals trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Arizona Cardinals trivia quiz covers the oldest continuously run pro football franchise in America: the Morgan Athletic Club of 1898, the faded maroon jerseys that became 'Cardinal red', the disputed 1925 title and the real one in 1947, Ernie Nevers' 40-point game, the St. Louis years and the 1988 move to the desert. It then covers the Arizona era — Jake Plummer's 1998 playoff win, Pat Tillman, Dennis Green's rant, Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald's run to Super Bowl XLIII, Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer, Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, Marvin Harrison Jr., State Farm Stadium's roll-out grass field, the Bears rivalry and the longest championship drought in North American sport. Questions run from easy to hard with the difficulty shown on each one. Every answer has been checked against a primary reference and each question carries its citation.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Cardinals franchise dates to 1898 and a Chicago neighbourhood team called what?
Morgan Athletic Club
They are the oldest continuously run pro football franchise in the US and, with the Bears, one of two surviving 1920 charter members.
Q 02How did the team get the name 'Cardinals'?
Owner Chris O'Brien called some faded used jerseys 'Cardinal red'
He bought the maroon hand-me-downs from the University of Chicago in 1901; the club has worn cardinal red ever since.
Q 03The team entered the NFL in 1920 under a name that suggested Wisconsin but actually came from what?
A street in Chicago
They became the Chicago Cardinals in 1922 to avoid confusion with the Horlick-Racine Legion from Wisconsin.
Q 04The Cardinals' first NFL title, in 1925, is still disputed by supporters of which team?
Pottsville Maroons
Pottsville was suspended for playing in another team's territory; the Cardinals padded their record against two teams that had already disbanded.
Q 05Cardinals fullback Ernie Nevers set a still-standing NFL record in 1929 by scoring how many points in one game?
40
He scored six touchdowns and kicked four extra points against the Bears on Thanksgiving Day.
Q 06To which city did the Cardinals move in 1960?
St. Louis
Locals called them the Big Red, the Gridbirds or the Football Cardinals to distinguish them from the baseball team.
Q 07In 28 seasons in their second home city, how many playoff games did the Cardinals win?
None
They reached the postseason only in 1974, 1975 and 1982, never hosting; their one 'win' was the 1964 third-place Playoff Bowl over Green Bay.
Q 08What was the team called for its first six seasons in Arizona before the 1994 name change?
Phoenix Cardinals
The owner moved the team on a handshake deal in 1988; it played at Sun Devil Stadium on Arizona State's campus for 18 seasons.
Q 09Which team did the Cardinals beat 20–7 in January 1999 for their first playoff win since 1947?
Dallas Cowboys
Jake 'the Snake' Plummer, an Arizona State product, was the quarterback; the run ended 41–21 in Minnesota.
Q 10Which Cardinals safety turned down $3.6 million in 2002 to enlist in the Army and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004?
Pat Tillman
The Arizona State All-American joined the Rangers; it later emerged he had been killed by friendly fire.
Q 11Dennis Green's 'they are who we thought they were' rant followed a collapse against which team?
Chicago Bears
The Cardinals blew a 20-point lead on Monday night; 'if you want to crown 'em, then crown their ass!' became a coaching meme.
Q 12Which head coach took the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII in his second season?
Ken Whisenhunt
He was hired in 2007 and fired after 2012; the 2008 team beat Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia to reach the franchise's first Super Bowl.
Q 13Which quarterback, once a $5.50-an-hour grocery stocker, led the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII?
Kurt Warner
Q 21Which head coach hired in 2019 drafted Kyler Murray and was fired after a 4–13 season in 2022?
Kliff Kingsbury
The former Texas Tech coach went 11–6 and made the playoffs in 2021, then collapsed the next year.
Q 22Which All-Pro receiver did the Cardinals acquire from Houston in a lopsided 2020 trade?
DeAndre Hopkins
The Texans got running back David Johnson and a second-round pick; the trade was widely mocked at the time.
Q 23Which Ohio State receiver, son of a Colts Hall of Famer, did Arizona draft fourth overall in 2024?
Marvin Harrison Jr.
He was a two-time unanimous All-American and 2023 Biletnikoff Award winner.
He had already won a Super Bowl with the Rams; his Arizona years put him in the Hall of Fame.
Q 14Super Bowl XLIII was decided by which Steelers receiver's toe-tap catch with 35 seconds left?
Santonio Holmes
Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard score had given Arizona its first lead with 2:37 to go; the Steelers won 27–23.
Q 15Which Steelers linebacker returned an interception 100 yards to end the first half of Super Bowl XLIII?
James Harrison
It was then the longest play in Super Bowl history and swung a game the Cardinals were about to lead.
Q 16Larry Fitzgerald was drafted third overall in 2004 out of which college?
Pittsburgh
He retired second in NFL history in both receptions and receiving yards, all of them for one franchise.
Q 17Larry Fitzgerald ranks where all-time in NFL career receiving yards and receptions?
Second in both
Only Jerry Rice is ahead of him; he also ranks sixth in receiving touchdowns.
Q 18The Cardinals' 2015 team set a franchise-record regular season mark. What was it?
13–3
They beat Green Bay in overtime for Carson Palmer's first playoff win, then were routed in the NFC title game in Carolina.
Q 19Which head coach retired after 2017 having led the Cardinals to their best record in Arizona?
Bruce Arians
He un-retired a year later to coach Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady.
Q 20Kyler Murray, first overall in 2019, had already been a first-round pick in which other sport?
Baseball, by the Oakland Athletics
The Oklahoma Heisman winner was the first player drafted in the first round of both the NFL and MLB drafts.
Q 24What unusual dubious record did the 2025 Cardinals set on the way to a 3–14 season?
Lost three straight games on last-second field goals
Jonathan Gannon was fired in January 2026 and Rams coordinator Mike LaFleur was hired.
Q 25The Cardinals' Glendale stadium, opened in 2006, is famous for what engineering feature?
A roll-out natural grass field
The whole field slides outside on rails to soak up the sun; combined with a retractable roof, Business Week called it one of the ten most impressive sports facilities on Earth.
Q 26The Cardinals have never lost a home playoff game, unique in the NFL. What is their home playoff record?
5–0
The 1947 title game plus wins in the 2008, 2009 and 2015 postseasons; away from home it is a different story.
Q 27Which team is the Cardinals' oldest rival, the only other franchise left from the NFL's 1920 founding?
Chicago Bears
'The Battle of Chicago' ran for 38 years from 1922; the Bears led 59–29–6 all-time.
Q 28Which team is the Cardinals' oldest and most intense divisional rival, first met in 1937?
Los Angeles Rams
Both clubs spent time in the same Missouri city; the Rams led 50–40–2 and were 15–3 in the series after hiring Sean McVay.
Q 29As of 2025, how many seasons was the Cardinals' title drought, the longest active in North American sport?
78
MLB's Cleveland Guardians, last champions in 1948, are next; the Cardinals won the year before that.
Q 30Which retired Cardinals number was re-issued to J. J. Watt in 2021?
99 (Marshall Goldberg)
Goldberg was a star of the 1947 champions; Watt played two seasons in Arizona.