After the AAFC-NFL merger, the 49ers and Cardinals faced off for the first time in the 1951 season, when the Cardinals were based in Chicago. Both teams engaged in sporadic matchups leading up to the 2000 season. During that period, the Cardinals relocated to St. Louis and subsequently, in the 1988 season, they relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, establishing themselves as a Western team. Following the NFL realignment in 2002, the Cardinals joined the NFC West, thus becoming divisional rivals with the 49ers. The rivalry is a closely contested series, particularly after the realignment.
The 49ers lead the overall series, 36–30. The two teams have not met in the playoffs. The Cardinals are the only team in the NFC the 49ers have not met in the playoffs.[1]
Following the 1987 season, the Cardinals relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. In the 49ers' first trip to Phoenix, they blundered a 23–0 lead. The Cardinals came back and won 24–23, scoring a touchdown in the final seconds of the game.[7][8]
During a 1999 game between the two teams, Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams delivered a sack on 49ers quarterback Steve Young. Young was concussed on the play, with his injury ultimately being a career-ending one.[7]
Anquan Boldin had multiple 1,000 receiving yard seasons with both the 49ers and Cardinals
The two teams became division rivals when the Cardinals moved to the NFC West, as part of the NFL's 2002 realignment. In 2004, the 49ers finished with a dismal 2–14 record; both of their 2 wins, however, came against the Cardinals.[7] The following season, the two teams played the first NFL regular season game held outside of the United States.[9] Dubbed Fútbol Americano, the game was played at Estadio Azteca, in Mexico City; the Cardinals won 31–14.[10][11]
During the late 2000s and early 2010s, the 49ers and Cardinals were common Monday Night Football (MNF) opponents, having played each other five times in six years (from 2007 to 2012).[12] In the 2007 matchup, quarterback Alex Smith led the 49ers to a comeback victory over the Cardinals to kick off the season.[13] Also during this period, Cardinals and 49ers players were noted as often sharing hateful sentiments about the opposing side.[14][15] 49ers tight end Vernon Davis and Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett were also noted exchanging barbs on Twitter.[16] The results between the two teams were lopsided during this period, with the Cardinals winning one of ten matchups from 2009 to 2013. Then-Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians likened the rivalry to the Browns–Steelers rivalry.[17] However, shifting into the mid-2010s, the Cardinals dominated the 49ers, winning eight straight games in the rivalry from 2015 to 2018.[18][19]
The two teams once again met in Mexico for another Monday Night Football matchup in 2022.[20] 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 4 touchdowns in the game, leading his team to a 38–10 victory.[21]
Season-by-season results
San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals Season-by-Season Results
In San Francisco, 49ers record their largest victory over the Cardinals with a 36–point differential and scored their most points in a game against the Cardinals.
49ers and Cardinals face off in the first NFL regular season game played outside the United States, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Monday Night Football, marketed as Fútbol Americano. It is accounted for as an Arizona Cardinals home game. The game drew a crowd of 103,467, setting an NFL regular-season attendance record (broken in 2009)
In Arizona, Cardinals record their largest victory over the 49ers with a 40–point differential and scored their most points in a game against the 49ers.
49ers have a 4–2 record in St. Louis. Cardinals currently have a 12–11 record in Arizona. Both teams are tied 1–1 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (2005), (2022), both accounted for as Arizona Cardinals home games.
