# 1986 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

The 1986 St. Louis Cardinals season was the sixty-seventh season for the franchise was in the league, and the 27th and penultimate season in St. Louis. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5–11, winning only four games. This was the fourth straight season in which the team did not reach the playoffs.

## Offseason
### Draft

1986 St. Louis Cardinals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 5 | Anthony Bell | Linebacker | Michigan State |
| 2 | 32 | John Lee | Kicker | UCLA |
| 3 | 59 | Gene Chilton | Center | Texas |
| 4 | 89 | Carl Carter | Defensive back | Texas Tech |
| 5 | 116 | Jeff Tupper | Defensive end | Oklahoma |
| 7 | 170 | Eric Swanson | Wide receiver | Tennessee |
| 8 | 201 | Ray Brown * | Guard | Arkansas State |
| 9 | 227 | Kent Kafentzis | Defensive back | Hawaii |
| 10 | 254 | Vai Sikahema * | Running back | BYU |
| 10 | 255 | Wes Smith | Wide receiver | East Texas State |
| 11 | 281 | Wayne Dillard | Linebacker | Alcorn State |
| 12 | 312 | Kent Austin | Quarterback | Ole Miss |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7 | Los Angeles Rams | L 10–16 | 0–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 40,347 |
| 2 | September 14 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 13–33 | 0–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 46,463 |
| 3 | September 21 | at Buffalo Bills | L 10–17 | 0–3 | Rich Stadium | 65,762 |
| 4 | September 29 | Dallas Cowboys | L 7–31 | 0–4 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,077 |
| 5 | October 5 | New York Giants | L 6–13 | 0–5 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 40,562 |
| 6 | October 12 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 30–19 | 1–5 | Tampa Stadium | 33,307 |
| 7 | October 19 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–28 | 1–6 | RFK Stadium | 53,494 |
| 8 | October 26 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 6–37 | 1–7 | Texas Stadium | 60,756 |
| 9 | November 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 13–10 | 2–7 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 33,051 |
| 10 | November 9 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–43 | 2–8 | Candlestick Park | 59,172 |
| 11 | November 16 | New Orleans Saints | L 7–16 | 2–9 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 32,069 |
| 12 | November 23 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 23–14 | 3–9 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 29,680 |
| 13 | November 30 | Washington Redskins | L 17–20 | 3–10 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 35,637 |
| 14 | December 7 | at Philadelphia Eagles | T 10–10 | 3–10–1 | Veterans Stadium | 50,148 |
| 15 | December 14 | at New York Giants | L 7–27 | 3–11–1 | Giants Stadium | 75,261 |
| 16 | December 21 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–17 | 4–11–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 23,957 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| New York Giants$^{(1)}$ | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 7–1 | 11–1 | 371 | 236 | W9 |
| Washington Redskins$^{(4)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–3 | 9–3 | 368 | 296 | W1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 346 | 337 | L5 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 10 | 1 | .344 | 1–6–1 | 3–8–1 | 256 | 312 | L1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 11 | 1 | .281 | 1–6–1 | 3–10–1 | 218 | 351 | W1 |

## Awards and honors

* Ron Wolfley, Pro Bowl selection