Two Cardinals Teams Land in 'Worst Playoff Collapses' List

The Arizona Cardinals haven't exactly been synonymous with postseason success as of late. 

Since 2010, the team has just three playoff appearances with one victory under their belt despite talented squads that had potential to go deeper. 

Bleacher Report recently went back and ranked the worst postseason collapses in recent memory - the Cardinals held two of the eight spots on the list:

No. 8: 2014 Cardinals

"Worth mentioning. Also, completely understandable," wrote David Kenyon.

"Although an injury sidelined Carson Palmer early in the season, the Arizona Cardinals still ripped off an 8-1 record. Even better, the Cardinals went 6-0 with a Palmer-led offense.

"But a knee injury changed the outlook.

"Arizona beat the playoff-bound Detroit Lions in the first game without Palmer, whose season ended with a torn ACL. However, the Cards dropped four of the next six contests—averaging just 12.2 points—and yielded its NFC West lead in a pair of losses to the Seattle Seahawks.

"Worse yet, a sprained MCL put backup quarterback Drew Stanton on the sideline in late December.

"The short-handed Arizona squad had a disastrous showing in the Wild Card Round, gaining only 78 yards behind third-stringer Ryan Lindley in a loss to the Carolina Panthers."

No. 5: 2021 Cardinals

"In the third year of the Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray partnership, the Arizona Cardinals seemed to be turning the proverbial corner," said Kenyon.

"Arizona went 5-10-1 in 2019 with the rookie coach and quarterback, and then it finished 8-8 in 2020. That steady progression peaked, as the Cardinals soared to a 7-0 start in 2021.

"An all-too-familiar letdown followed.

"Kingsbury's career is riddled with second-half collapses, and this was probably the most painful one. Though an injury sidelined Murray for three weeks, Arizona still held a 10-2 record after he returned. Home-field advantage in the playoffs was a real possibility.

"Four losses in the final five games, however, sent the Cardinals to a wild-card berth at 11-6.

"The team bottomed out at the worst moment, mustering 183 yards in a miserable 34-11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Arizona fell behind 28-0 and simply never had a chance to advance."

The 2023 Philadelphia Eagles took the top spot in the list.