The 2013 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 94th in the National Football League (NFL), their 26th in Arizona and their first under head coach Bruce Arians. The team finished with a 10âÂÂ6 record, which was the second time in 37 years that the team finished with at least 10 wins. The Cardinals doubled their win total from 2012, and were in playoff contention heading into the Week 17 regular season finale, but missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
With the win, the Cardinals were the only NFC West team to defeat all of their AFC South opponents.
The Cardinals finished their regular season at home against the 49ers in hopes of making the playoffs needing not only a win over the 49ers, but also a long shot upset by the Buccaneers over the Saints. After being behind 17âÂÂ7 at halftime, the Cardinals came back to tie the game but were beaten by their division rivals on a game-winning field goal and finished in 3rd place, barely missing out as they needed to beat the 49ers to win the NFC's last playoff spot. However, even if they had won, they would not have qualified for the playoffs, since the Saints easily defeated the Buccaneers 42âÂÂ17. They would finish their season 10âÂÂ6, becoming the league's only team with a winning record to not make the playoffs.