Worst season-opener blowouts in Arizona Cardinals history

September means football. Unfortunately for the Arizona Cardinals, it also tends to mean losing their first game.

Since arriving in the Valley in 1998, the Cardinals have had trouble getting off the starting line each year. In that time, Big Red is just 13-22-1 in its first game of the season. At one point, from 1992 to 1998, the Cardinals lost seven season openers in a row.

Odds are that trend will continue Sunday when Arizona visits the powerful Buffalo Bills to start the 2024 campaign. The Bills have made the playoffs five years in a row. The Cardinals are coming off consecutive 4-13 seasons. It's hardly a matchup made in heaven.

So while there are reasons for optimism — Kyler Murray is healthy, first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. is exciting, and the team should improve in its second year under head coach Jonathan Gannon — you might want to steel yourself against disappointment.

To get you in the right pessimistic mood, here are the five worst season-opening losses since the club moved to Arizona. Sunday's game surely won't be as bad as these games were.

5. 2001: Broncos 38, Cardinals 17

Deep into the second half, this game was close. In front of a crowd of nearly 51,000 at Sun Devil Stadium, the Cardinals held a 10-9 lead late into the first half. But Broncos quarterback Brian Griese hit Rod Smith for a go-ahead touchdown with 32 seconds left in the half, and then tossed two more touchdown passes in the third quarter. By the time running back Olandis Gary punched in another score in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were already cooked.

The only remarkable thing about the game for Arizona was receiver David Boston, who torched Denver for eight catches and 145 yards. The Cardinals lost six of their first eight games that season, finishing 7-9.

4. 2005: Giants 42, Cardinals 19

This game marked Kurt Warner's first regular season contest in a Cardinals uniform. He performed fine — 264 yards, one interception and a touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald — but Warner's debut was dramatically overshadowed by special teams failures.

Once again, Arizona led in the first half, claiming a 13-7 advantage thanks in part to a Karlos Dansby interception return touchdown. The Giants pulled ahead in the third quarter with a couple rushing scores, only for Warner to hit Fitzgerald for a 1-yard touchdown to cut the New York lead to 21-19.

But on the ensuing kickoff, the Cardinals coughed up a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown to Willie Ponder. Giants quarterback Eli Manning tossed a touchdown pass in the fourth to put it out of reach, and then things got embarrassing. With 8:25 left in the game, the Cardinals surrendered another return touchdown — this time on a 52-yard punt return by Chad Morton — to seal the loss.

The Cardinals finished that season 5-11.

3. 2022: Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21

This was the first sign that Arizona's exciting 11-5 record the year before was a fluke.

Kansas City had fallen a win short of making the Super Bowl in 2021 and was destined to win the next two titles. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was at the top of his game, tossing five touchdowns on 30-of-39 passing. Meanwhile, Kansas City's defense held the Cardinals to just 282 yards of offense and to 3 of 12 on third-down conversion attempts.

Kyler Murray entered the season having signed a five-year, $230.5 million contract extension with Arizona. He ended it on injured reserve with a torn knee ligament. The Cardinals went 4-13.

2. 1998: Cowboys 38, Cardinals 10

Arizona was never really in this one to begin with. Dallas jumped out to a 21-3 lead behind three Troy Aikman touchdowns — one in the air and two on the ground. Aikman threw for one more score before the game was over. In a final indignity, the Cowboys recovered a fumble by Cardinals kickoff returner Eric Metcalf and returned it for a score with 19 seconds left on the clock.

In his second year as the starter, Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer threw for only 166 yards on abysmal 14-of-33 passing. He was sacked twice and lost a fumble.

This year, though, Arizona got its revenge. The Cardinals recovered to finish 9-7 and then beat the Cowboys 20-7 in the first round of the playoffs. Arizona lost to the Vikings in the next round of the postseason.

1. 1990: Washington 31, Cardinals 0

They were the Phoenix Cardinals back then — the team wouldn't adopt "Arizona" as its identifier until 1994 — and man, did they stink.

The starting quarterback that year was Timm Rosenbach, who was under center for all 16 games in 1990 and then started only three more NFL games the rest of his career. Against a Washington team that would win a Super Bowl the very next season, Rosenbach threw four interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.

That defeat is the Cardinals' only shutout loss to open the season since relocating from St. Louis. The team finished 5-11 that year and wouldn't post a winning record until 1998, its first winning season since moving to Arizona.