Arizona Cardinals Defeated The San Francisco 49ers In Mexico City in 2005

Published on September 3rd, 2024 2:44 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


On October 2nd, 2005, the Arizona Cardinals squared off against the San Francisco 49ers in an extraordinary regular season game.

The game was so unusual because it was the first EVER regular season NFL game to be played outside of the United States.

The game was played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico, and was a smashing success.

103,467 people turned out for the game, making it the largest ever (at the time) crowd to watch a NFL game.

Players grumbled about having to play a game outside of the country, though the game was seen as crucial in expanding the NFL's reach outside of the United States.

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Since the end of NFL Europe, Commissioner Roger Goodell had wanted to play important games outside of the United States in order to help expand the league's revenue base.

While the players didn't like having to travel so far for games, there was no denying that the games helped to increase the value of the league, which helped to increase the size of player pay checks.

After the success of the 2005 game in Mexico, the league set out on regularly having games of importance outside of the country.

Now, there are games in Europe, Brazil and other countries.

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The Arizona Cardinals ended up winning the 2005 game in Mexico by a score of 31-14.

The 49ers jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead after scoring two fumble recoveries for touchdowns.

After that, the Cardinals scored 31 straight points to win the game.

The game was a very sloppy one, with the two teams combining for 7 turnovers.