3 days till Arizona Cardinals' opener: Remembering the 2003 season
· Yahoo Sports
We continue the countdown to the start of the Arizona Cardinals' regular season. Today, Thursday, September 10, is three days away from the Arizona Cardinals' regular-season opener on Sept. 13 on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.
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With three days until Week 1, let's look back at the 2003 season for the Cardinals.
A look back at the 2003 season for the Cardinals
The Cardinals were arguably the worst team in the NFL in 2003. They went 4-12 and were dead last in point scored and points allowed.
They had a seven-game losing streak before winning the final game of the season on the final play. Josh McCown threw a touchdown pass to Nate Poole against the Minnesota Vikings as time expired, eliminating the Vikings from playoff contention. It was back when officials could rule that a player pushed out of bounds before getting two feet down was a catch.
That win gave the Cardinals the third overall pick in the draft instead of the first overall pick. They used the third overall pick to draft Larry Fitzgerald.
It was Dave McGinnis' last season as head coach.
2003 individual honors, leaders
The Cardinals' lone bright spot was rookie receiver Anquan Boldin. He was their only Pro Bowler and won Offensive Rookie of the Year. Drafted in the second round, he caught 101 passes for 1,377 yards and eight touchdowns.
Jeff Blake started 13 of 16 games at quarterback, leading the team with 2,247 yards, 13 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions.
Marcel Shipp led the Cardinals with 830 rushing yards but did not score a touchdown. Emmitt Smith was in his first season with the Cardinals, but his season was cut short to only five starts, rushing for only 256 yards.
Linebacker Ronald McKinnon led the defense with 106 total tackles. The pass rush was bad. The lead for sacks was tied between Raynoch Thomas and Dennis Johnson, each with only three. Safety Dexter Jackson had six interceptions and 14 pass breakups.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: 3 days till Arizona Cardinals' opener: Remembering the 2003 season