2003 Arizona Cardinals season
Owner	Bill Bidwill
General manager	Rod Graves
Head coach	Dave McGinnis
Home field	Sun Devil Stadium
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Anquan Boldin
← 2002 Cardinals seasons 2004 →

The 2003 Arizona Cardinals season was the franchise's 105th season, 84th season in the National Football League and the 16th in Arizona. The team was unable to improve upon their previous output of 5–11, instead winning only four games,^[1] although this was not considered a disaster as before their win over the Packers there was talk the 2003 Cardinals would become the first NFL team to go 0–16.^[2] For the fifth consecutive season, the franchise failed to reach the playoffs, and based on point differential had the worst record in the only NFL season where every team won at least four games.^[3] This resulted in the Cardinals firing head coach Dave McGinnis and replacing him with Dennis Green. In his NFL debut, Anquan Boldin had 217 receiving yards.^[4]

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 2003 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
2003 Arizona Cardinals draft
1	17	Bryant Johnson	WR	Penn State
1	18	Calvin Pace	DE	Wake Forest
2	54	Anquan Boldin *	WR	Florida State
3	70	Gerald Hayes	LB	Pittsburgh
5	141	Kenny King	DE	Alabama
6	177	Reggie Wells	G	Clarion
6	210	Tony Gilbert	LB	Georgia
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

**2003 Arizona Cardinals staff**

	Front office President – Bill Bidwill Vice president/general counsel – Michael Bidwill Vice president of football operations – Rod Graves Head coaches Head coach – Dave McGinnis Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jerry Sullivan Quarterbacks – Geep Chryst Running backs – Johnny Roland Wide receivers – Tyke Tolbert Tight ends – Marty Galbraith Offensive line – George Warhop Assistant off. line/off. quality control – Mike Devlin			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Larry Marmie Defensive line – Joe Greene Assistant defensive line – Cary Godette Linebackers – Jeff FitzGerald Defensive backs – Ron Milus Special teams coaches Special teams – Hank Kuhlmann Special teams assistant/def. quality control – Stan Kwan Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Bob Rogucki

Roster

**2003 Arizona Cardinals final roster**

	Quarterbacks 11 Jeff Blake 12 Josh McCown 15 Preston Parsons Running backs 20 Damien Anderson 42 James Hodgins FB 46 Josh Rue 33 Josh Scobey KR 31 Marcel Shipp 22 Emmitt Smith Wide receivers 81 Anquan Boldin PR 86 Bryan Gilmore 83 Bryant Johnson 82 Kevin Kasper KR 89 Nate Poole Tight ends 84 Mike Banks 87 Steve Bush 49 Lorenzo Diamond 85 Freddie Jones		Offensive linemen 65 Anthony Clement T 75 Leonard Davis G 67 Chris Dishman G 63 Frank Garcia C 66 Pete Kendall C 73 Raleigh Roundtree G 70 L. J. Shelton T 76 Cameron Spikes G 74 Reggie Wells T Defensive linemen 94 Marcus Bell DT 91 Wendell Bryant DT 98 Russell Davis DT 72 Kenny King DE 96 Dennis Johnson DE 97 Calvin Pace DE 95 Derrick Ransom DT 92 Barron Tanner DT 97 Fred Wakefield DE		Linebackers 51 James Darling OLB 52 Levar Fisher OLB 54 Gerald Hayes OLB 57 Ronald McKinnon MLB 56 LeVar Woods OLB 53 Michael Young MLB Defensive backs 36 David Barrett CB 25 Jason Goss CB 29 Quentin Harris SS 21 Renaldo Hill CB 34 Dexter Jackson FS 26 Emmanuel McDaniel CB 23 Coby Rhinehart CB 24 Adrian Wilson SS Special teams 48 Nathan Hodel LS 10 Scott Player P 1 Neil Rackers K		Reserve lists 27 Nijrell Eason S (IR) 7 Bill Gramática K (IR) 41 Justin Lucas S (IR) 80 Jason McAddley WR (IR) 78 Kendrick Rogers T (IR) 50 Jason Starkey C (IR) 28 Duane Starks CB (IR) 44 Michael Stone S (IR) 55 Raynoch Thompson LB (Susp.) 93 Kyle Vanden Bosch DE (IR) 71 Teag Whiting G (IR) Practice squad 58 Trev Faulk LB 64 Steven Grace C 90 Aaron Hunt DT 14 Reggie Newhouse WR 68 Tony Wragge G (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 12 inactive, 4 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	at Detroit Lions	L 24–42	0–1	Ford Field	60,691
2	September 14	Seattle Seahawks	L 0–38	0–2	Sun Devil Stadium	23,127
3	September 21	Green Bay Packers	W 20–13	1–2	Sun Devil Stadium	58,784
4	September 28	at St. Louis Rams	L 13–37	1–3	Edward Jones Dome	65,758
5	October 5	at Dallas Cowboys	L 7–24	1–4	Texas Stadium	63,601
6	October 12	Baltimore Ravens	L 18–26	1–5	Sun Devil Stadium	24,193
7	Bye
8	October 26	San Francisco 49ers	W 16–13 (OT)	2–5	Sun Devil Stadium	40,824
9	November 2	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–14	3–5	Sun Devil Stadium	23,531
10	November 9	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 15–28	3–6	Heinz Field	59,520
11	November 16	at Cleveland Browns	L 6–44	3–7	Cleveland Browns Stadium	72,908
12	November 23	St. Louis Rams	L 27–30 (OT)	3–8	Sun Devil Stadium	42,089
13	November 30	at Chicago Bears	L 3–28	3–9	Soldier Field	61,550
14	December 7	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–50	3–10	Candlestick Park	66,975
15	December 14	Carolina Panthers	L 17–20	3–11	Sun Devil Stadium	23,217
16	December 21	at Seattle Seahawks	L 10–28	3–12	Seahawks Stadium	64,899
17	December 28	Minnesota Vikings	W 18–17	4–12	Sun Devil Stadium	52,734

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2

Week Two: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	7	17	7	7	38
Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Date: September 14
Game time: 1:06pm local
Game weather: 98 °F (37 °C), 14% humidity, wind E 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Game attendance: 23,127
Referee: Ron Blum
TV announcers (Fox): Curt Menefee, Tim Green & Kevin McCabe
Gamecenter, Gamebook

Game information

First quarter

SEA – Matt Hasselbeck 2-yard run (Josh Brown kick), 13:42 (SEA 7–0)

Second quarter

SEA – Randall Godfrey 55-yard fumble return (Josh Brown kick), 14:11 (SEA 14–0)
SEA – Josh Brown 37-yard field goal, 6:01 (SEA 17–0)
SEA – Darrell Jackson 55-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick), 1:16 (SEA 24–0)

Third quarter

SEA – Darrell Jackson 66-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick), 13:59 (SEA 31–0)

Fourth quarter

SEA – Shaun Alexander 2-yard run (Josh Brown kick), 10:26 (SEA 38–0)

Top passers

SEA – Matt Hasselbeck: 8/19, 175 yds, 2 TD
ARI – Josh McCown: 18/32, 150 yds, 2 INT

Top rushers

SEA – Maurice Morris: 11 car, 67 yds
ARI – Emmitt Smith: 14 car, 54 yds

Top receivers

SEA – Darrell Jackson: 3 rec, 133 yds, 2 TD
ARI – Bryant Johnson: 7 rec, 68 yds

Team – pass – rush – total – to

SEA – 193 – 130 – 323 – 0
ARI – 193 – 93 – 286 – 6

Week 17

Week 17: Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	0	7	10	17
Cardinals	3	3	0	12	18

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Date: December 28
Game time: 2:05 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 52,734
Referee: Tony Corrente (99)
Recap

Game information

First quarter

ARI – Neil Rackers 22-yard field goal, 0:51. Cardinals 3–0. Drive: 14 plays, 99 yards, 8:00.

Second quarter

ARI – Neil Rackers 26-yard field goal, 0:19. Cardinals 6–0. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 0:23.

Third quarter

MIN – Moe Williams 1-yard run (Aaron Elling kick), 7:08. Vikings 7–6. Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 4:39.

Fourth quarter

MIN – Randy Moss 7-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Aaron Elling kick), 8:54. Vikings 14–6. Drive: 11 plays, 57 yards, 5:56.
MIN – Aaron Elling 46-yard field goal, 6:48. Vikings 17–6. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:53.
ARI – Steve Bush 2-yard pass from Josh McCown (pass failed), 1:54. Vikings 17–12. Drive: 14 plays, 59 yards, 4:54.
ARI – Nate Poole 28-yard pass from Josh McCown (run failed), 0:00. Cardinals 18–17. Drive: 6 plays, 61 yards, 1:54.

Top passers

MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 18/28, 197 yards, TD, INT
ARI – Josh McCown – 20/33, 224 yards, 2 TD, INT

Top rushers

MIN – Michael Bennett – 12 rushes, 63 yards
ARI – Josh McCown – 3 rushes, 27 yards

Top receivers

MIN – Randy Moss – 5 receptions, 56 yards, TD
ARI – Nate Poole – 5 receptions, 86 yards, TD

The Cardinals overcame an 11-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to knock the Vikings out of a playoff berth.

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ St. Louis Rams	12	4	0	.750	4–2	8–4	447	328	L1
⁽⁵⁾ Seattle Seahawks	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	404	327	W2
San Francisco 49ers	7	9	0	.438	2–4	6–6	384	337	L1
Arizona Cardinals	4	12	0	.250	1–5	3–9	225	452	W1

Awards and honors

Anquan Boldin, Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year^[4]

References

^ 2003 Arizona Cardinals
^ Bouchette, Ed; “NFC Notebook: Cardinals primed for 0–16?” in Post-Gazette Sports Writer; September 21, 2003
^ See 2011 NFL Record and Fact Book; pp. 367–392 ISBN 1603208879
^ ^a ^b Sports Illustrated, October 27, 2008, p. 24, Vol. 109, No. 16

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 Players 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 2006 game vs. Chicago Bears 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

v t e Arizona Cardinals seasons
Played in Chicago (1920–1959), St. Louis (1960–1987), and formerly the Phoenix Cardinals (1988–1993)
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

2003 NFL season

East	North	South	West	East	North	South	West
Buffalo	Baltimore	Houston	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta	Arizona
Miami	Cincinnati	Indianapolis	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Carolina	St. Louis
New England	Cleveland	Jacksonville	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans	San Francisco
NY Jets	Pittsburgh	Tennessee	San Diego	Washington	Minnesota	Tampa Bay	Seattle