2010 Arizona Cardinals season The 2010 Arizona Cardinals season is the 91st season for the team in the National Football League , and their 23rd season in Arizona . The Cardinals failed to improve on their 10 – 6 record from 2009 , and were eliminated from postseason contention in Week 15 . Offseason . Quarterback Kurt Warner announced his retirement on January 29 , 2010 . 2010 NFL Draft . After finishing the season with a loss in the divisional round of the postseason , the Cardinals will pick 26th . The Cardinals will also have an additional third and fourth round pick from a trade that sent wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the Baltimore Ravens . Their fourth round pick was traded to the New York Jets for safety Kerry Rhodes . Schedule . Preseason . The Cardinals preseason schedule was announced on March 31 , 2010 . Regular season . The Cardinals ' schedule was announced on April 20 , 2010 . Regular season results . Week 1 : at St . Louis Rams . The Cardinals began their season at the Edward Jones Dome for an NFC West match against the St . Louis Rams . The Cardinals scored first in the 2nd quarter with kicker Jay Feely nailing a 22 - yard field goal , which was replied by St . Louis when kicker Josh Brown made a 46 - yard field goal . Arizona took the lead again with running back Tim Hightower making a 1 - yard TD run , but failed to maintain it , with quarterback Sam Bradford making a 1 - yard TD pass to wide receiver Laurent Robinson . In the third quarter , the Cardinals trailed for the first time when Brown nailed a 25 - yard field goal , which they overcame in the fourth quarter when quarterback Derek Anderson made a 21 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald , giving Arizona a win . With the win , Arizona began the season at 1 – 0 . Week 2 : at Atlanta Falcons . Hoping to maintain their current winning streak the Cardinals flew to Georgia Dome for an NFC duel with the Falcons . In the first quarter Arizona trailed early as QB Matt Ryan completed a 7 - yard TD pass to WR Roddy White , followed in the second quarter by kicker Matt Bryant hitting a 24 - yard field goal . Arizona would reply with RB Tim Hightower getting an 80 - yard TD run , but fell further behind when Ryan threw a 19 - yard TD pass to FB Jason Snelling , followed by Snelling getting a 1 - yard TD run . In the third quarter the Cardinals struggled further when Ryan completed a 12 - yard touchdown pass to WR Brian Finneran , followed by Bryan nailing a 35 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter Arizona continued to struggle with FB Jason Snelling getting a 7 - yard TD run . With the loss , the Cardinals fell to 1 – 1 . Week 3 : vs . Oakland Raiders . The Cardinals ' third game was an Interconference duel with the Raiders . The Cardinals led early in the first quarter when RB LaRod Stephens - Howling returned a kickoff from his own goal line to the endzone running 102 yards for a touchdown . The Raiders replied and took the lead with QB Bruce Gradkowski completing a 22 - yard touchdown pass to TE Zach Miller , followed by kicker Sebastian Janikowski making a 22 - yard field goal . Arizona replied with kicker Jay Feely kicking a 42 - yard field goal . Then the Raiders replied with Janikowski making a 54 - yard field goal . The Cardinals took the lead in the 2nd quarter when QB Derek Anderson made a 2 - yard TD pass to WR Steve Breaston , but it didn ' t last very long after RB Darren McFadden got a 2 - yard TD run . Arizona got the lead back in the 3rd quarter when Anderson found WR Larry Fitzgerald on an 8 - yard TD pass . In the 4th quarter Oakland cut the lead when Janikowski made a 23 - yard field goal . Luckily , Janikowski missed three field goals in the game giving Arizona the win . With the close win , Arizona improved to 2 – 1 . Week 4 : at San Diego Chargers . Hoping to increase their winning streak the Cardinals flew to Qualcomm Stadium for an interconference duel with the Chargers . In the 1st quarter the Cardinals trailed early as QB Philip Rivers completed a 33 - yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates , but they replied in the 2nd quarter when FS Kerry Rhodes recovered a fumble and ran 2 yards to the endzone for a touchdown . After that , the Cardinals fell further behind with FB Mike Tolbert making a 5 - yard TD run , followed by Rivers making a 26 - yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates . The Cardinals had more problems when QB Derek Anderson ' s pass was intercepted by OLB Shaun Phillips which converted into a 31 - yard touchdown run . This was followed in the 3rd quarter by kicker Nate Kaeding making a 48 - yard field goal . Then RB Ryan Mathews got a 15 - yard TD run . This was followed in the 4th quarter by Kaeding nailing a 47 - yard field goal . The Cardinals tried to cut the lead , but only came away with kicker Jay Feely ' s 53 - yard field goal , which isn ' t enough for the win . With the loss , Arizona fell to 2 – 2 . Week 5 : vs . New Orleans Saints . Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Chargers the Cardinals played on home ground for an NFC duel with the Saints . In the first quarter the Cardinals trailed early as kicker John Carney nailed a 31 - yard field goal , followed by QB Drew Brees completing a 1 - yard TD pass to TE Jeremy Shockey . The Cardinals replied with kicker Jay Feely making a 37 - yard field goal , followed by OT Levi Brown recovering a fumble and returning it 2 yards for a touchdown . In the third quarter the Cardinals replied and took the lead when Feely got a 44 - yard field goal , followed the 4th quarter by Feely ' s 29 - yard field goal . Then FS Kerry Rhodes recovered a fumble and ran 27 yards to the endzone for a touchdown . The lead was broken down with Brees making a 35 - yard TD pass to WR Robert Meachem , but the Cardinals managed to pull away when Brees ' pass was intercepted by CB Dominique Rodgers - Cromartie and returned 28 yards to the endzone for a touchdown . With the win , Arizona went into their bye week at 3 – 2 . Week 7 : at Seattle Seahawks . Coming off their bye week the Cardinals flew to Qwest Field for an NFC West rivalry match against the Seahawks . In the first quarter the Cardinals trailed early as kicker Olindo Mare got a 20 - yard field goal . Followed in the second quarter by QB Matt Hasselbeck making a 2 - yard TD pass to WR Mike Williams . The Cardinals fell further behind in the 3rd quarter with Mare nailing a 31 and a 51 - yard field goal . The Cardinals replied with RB Beanie Wells getting a 2 - yard TD run . The Seahawks continued to score with Mare hitting a 24 - yard field goal , but the Cardinals responded in the fourth quarter with kicker Jay Feely getting a 24 yard field goal . The Seahawks pulled away with Mare making a 26 - yard field goal . With the loss , the Cardinals fell to 3 - 3 . Week 8 : vs . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The Cardinals ' seventh game was an NFC duel with the Buccaneers at University of Phoenix Stadium . In the first quarter the Cardinals took the lead when QB Max Hall made a 3 - yard TD pass to WR Larry Fitzgerald . The Buccaneers replied with OLB Geno Hayes returning an interception 41 yards for a touchdown . The Cardinals led again in the second quarter with RB Beanie Wells getting a 1 - yard TD run , but the Buccanneers went on a scoring rally with QB Josh Freeman making a 47 - yard TD pass to WR Mike Williams , and CB Aqib Talib returning an interception 45 yards for a touchdown . This was followed by kicker Connor Barth hitting a 21 - yard field goal , and in the third quarter with RB LeGarrette Blount getting a 15 - yard TD run . The Cardinals also went on a rally to take the lead back with RB LaRod Stephens - Howling making a 30 - yard TD run , which was followed by ILB Gerald Hayes recovering a fumble and running 21 yards to the endzone for a touchdown . Then QB Derek Anderson found Fitzgerald on a 5 - yard TD pass . The Buccaneers scored once more to take the win with Blount getting a 1 - yard TD run . With the loss , Arizona recorded back to back losses for the first time since the 2008 season , and fell to 3 - 4 . Week 9 : at Minnesota Vikings . Hoping to snap their current losing streak the Cardinals flew to Hubert H . Humphrey Metrodome for an NFC duel with the Vikings . In the second quarter the Cardinals trailed early as QB Brett Favre got a 12 - yard TD pass to RB Adrian Peterson . They immediately replied with a 96 - yard kickoff return for a touchdown by RB LaRod Stephens - Howling . The Vikings responded with kicker Ryan Longwell nailing a 21 - yard field goal . The Cardinals replied a took the lead with QB Derek Anderson completing a 30 - yard TD pass to WR Andre Roberts . This was followed by DB Michael Adams returning a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown , and with kicker Jay Feely making a 22 - yard field goal . The lead was closed down by Peterson as he got a 4 - yard TD run , and by QB Brett Favre ' s 25 - yard TD pass to TE Visanthe Shiancoe . After overtime the decision was made when Longwell successfully made a 35 - yard field goal to give the Cardinals a loss , bringing their record down to 3 - 5 . Week 10 : vs . Seattle Seahawks . The Cardinals ' ninth game was an NFC West rivalry re - match against the Seahawks . In the first quarter the Cardinals took the early lead as RB Tim Hightower got a 2 - yard TD run . The Seahawks replied with RB Marshawn Lynch getting a 1 - yard TD run . The Cardinals trailed with kicker Olindo Mare getting a 41 - yard field goal , but they answed back with kicker Jay Feely nailing a 23 - yard field goal . The Cardinals struggled further with QB Matt Hasselbeck completing a 63 - yard TD pass to WR Deon Butler . This was followed in the third quarter by a 34 , 19 and 23 - yard field goal from Mare . In the fourth quarter Mare got another 19 - yard field goal to put the Seahawks up 29 - 10 . The Cardinals responded with QB Derek Anderson making a 2 - yard TD pass to WR Early Doucet ( With a successful 2 - point conversion as Anderson found WR Larry Fitzgerald ) , but the Seahawks put the game away with RB Justin Forsett getting a 4 - yard TD run . With the loss , Arizona fell to 3 – 6 . Week 11 : at Kansas City Chiefs . Hoping to break their current losing streak the Cardinals flew to Arrowhead Stadium for an interconference duel with the Chiefs . The Cardinals scored with kicker Jay Feely hitting a 36 - yard field goal , but they fell behind with QB Matt Cassel completing a 1 - yard TD pass to WR Dwayne Bowe . This was followed by RB Thomas Jones getting a 1 and a 3 - yard TD run . The Cardinals responded with Feely making a 29 - yard field goal , but they struggled further with kicker Ryan Succop getting a 23 - yard field goal , followed by Cassel throwing a 38 - yard TD pass to Bowe . The Cardinals cut the lead with QB Derek Anderson completing a 3 - yard TD pass to WR Larry Fitzgerald . With the loss , the Cardinals fell to 3 – 7 . Week 12 : vs . San Francisco 49ers . Trying to snap a five - game losing streak , the Cardinals went home , donned their alternate uniforms again , and played a Week 12 NFC West duel with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night . Arizona trailed early in the first quarter as 49ers quarterback Troy Smith completed a 38 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Crabtree . The Cardinals answered with a 31 - yard field goal from kicker Jay Feely , but San Francisco struck back with running back Anthony Dixon getting a 1 - yard touchdown run . The 49ers added onto their lead in the second quarter with running back Brian Westbrook getting an 8 - yard touchdown run . Arizona would respond with Feely ' s 39 - yard field goal . From there , San Francisco pulled away in the third quarter as 49ers kicker Shane Andrus made a 38 - yard field goal , followed by his 26 - yard field goal in the fourth quarter . With the loss , the Cardinals fell to 3 – 8 . Week 13 : vs . St . Louis Rams . Hoping to break a six - game losing streak the Cardinals played on home ground for a division rivalry match against the Rams . The Cardinals took the early lead as kicker Jay Feely got a 45 and a 41 - yard field goal . They soon trailed after kicker Josh Brown hit a 28 , 52 and 20 - yard field goal . This was followed in the third quarter by RB Steven Jackson getting a 27 - yard TD run , and with Brown making a 43 - yard field goal . With the loss , the Cardinals fell to 3 - 9 . Week 14 : vs . Denver Broncos . The Cardinals thirteenth game was an interconference duel with the Broncos . The Cardinals trailed early as Broncos kicker Steven Hauschka nailed a 32 - yard field goal , but rallied to take the lead with kicker Jay Feely making a 36 and a 48 - yard field goal , followed by his 5 - yard TD run to the endzone , then he made a 55 , 23 and a 49 - yard field goal to put the Cardinals up 22 - 3 . The lead was narrowed slightly as Hauchka got a 30 - yard field goal , but the Cardinals increased their lead with RB Tim Hightower getting an 8 - yard TD run . The Broncos tried to break down the lead as RB Knowshon Moreno got a 1 - yard TD run , but the Cardinals pulled away with Hightower getting a 35 - yard TD run , followed by DE Darnell Dockett recovering a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown . With the win , Arizona improved to 4 – 9 , and got their first - ever win over the Broncos in the team ' s franchise history . Despite losing nine games on the year , the Cardinals are still playoff - eligible in the very weak NFC West . Week 15 : at Carolina Panthers . Coming off their win over the Broncos the Cardinals flew to Bank of America Stadium for an NFC duel with the Panthers . In the first quarter the Cardinals trailed early as kicker John Kasay hit a 28 and a 29 - yard field goal . This was followed in the second quarter by QB Jimmy Clausen completing a 16 yard touchdown pass to TE Jeff King . The Cardinals answered with kicker Jay Feely nailing a 23 - yard field goal , but struggled further after Kasay made a 24 and a 43 - yard field goal . The Cardinals tried to come back with Steve Breaston recovering a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown ( With a failed two - point conversion ) and then with Feely getting a 30 - yard field goal , but the Panthers ' defense was enough to secure themselves the win . With the loss , Arizona fell to 4 – 10 , and were officially eliminated from postseason contention . Week 16 : vs . Dallas Cowboys . This game marked the second time the Cardinals hosted the Cowboys on Christmas Day , after a 1995 " Monday Night Football " contest . Week 17 : at San Francisco 49ers . The Cardinals ' final game was an NFC West rivalry rematch against the 49ers . The Cardinals trailed early as QB Alex Smith completed a 37 - yard TD pass to WR Ted Ginn , followed in the 2nd quarter by kicker Jeff Reed making a 39 - yard field goal . The Cardinals narrowed the lead as QB John Skelton completed a 10 - yard TD pass to WR Larry Fitzgerald , but fell further behind after Smith completed a 59 - yard TD pass to TE Vernon Davis , followed by RB Brian Westbrook running 6 yards to the endzone for a touchdown twice in succession . Arizona ' s offense continued to have problems as Richard Bartel ' s pass was intercepted by CB Tarell Brown and returned 62 yards for a touchdown . With the loss , the Cardinals finish with a 5 - 11 record .