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1965 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

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1965 St. Louis Cardinals season
Head coachWally Lemm
Home fieldBusch Stadium
Results
Record5–9
Division place5th (tied) NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1965 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 46th year in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixth season in St. Louis. After losing the season opener in Philadelphia, the Cardinals reeled off four consecutive wins to move into a tie with the Cleveland Browns at 4–1 after five weeks. However, the Cardinals lost their final six games to finish in sixth place at 5–9, ahead of only the 2–12 Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Eastern Conference.

It was the final season at Busch Stadium, formerly known as Sportsman's Park. Head coach Wally Lemm resigned after the 1965 season and returned to his previous position with the Houston Oilers of the AFL. The Cardinals moved to the new Busch Memorial Stadium for the 1966 season.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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In November 1964, the Cardinals selected quarterback Joe Namath of Alabama in the first round of the 1965 NFL draft, but he signed a record contract with the New York Jets of the American Football League.[1] It was the height of the bidding war between the leagues, which subsided with the merger announcement in June 1966.

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 19 at Philadelphia Eagles L 27–34 0–1 Franklin Field 54,260
2 September 26 at Cleveland Browns W 49–13 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,161
3 October 4 Dallas Cowboys W 20–13 2–1 Busch Stadium 32,034
4 October 10 at Washington Redskins W 37–16 3–1 D.C. Stadium 50,205
5 October 17 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–7 4–1 Pitt Stadium 31,085
6 October 24 Washington Redskins L 20–24 4–2 Busch Stadium 32,228
7 October 31 at New York Giants L 10–14 4–3 Yankee Stadium 62,807
8 November 7 Pittsburgh Steelers W 21–17 5–3 Busch Stadium 31,899
9 November 14 at Chicago Bears L 13–34 5–4 Wrigley Field 45,663
10 November 21 New York Giants L 15–28 5–5 Busch Stadium 31,704
11 November 28 Philadelphia Eagles L 24–28 5–6 Busch Stadium 28,706
12 December 5 Los Angeles Rams L 3–27 5–7 Busch Stadium 27,943
13 December 11 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–27 5–8 Cotton Bowl 38,499
14 December 19 Cleveland Browns L 24–27 5–9 Busch Stadium 29,348
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 11 3 0 .786 11–1 363 325 W1
Dallas Cowboys 7 7 0 .500 6–6 325 280 W3
New York Giants 7 7 0 .500 7–5 270 338 L1
Washington Redskins 6 8 0 .429 6–6 257 301 W1
Philadelphia Eagles 5 9 0 .357 5–7 363 359 L1
St. Louis Cardinals 5 9 0 .357 5–7 296 309 L6
Pittsburgh Steelers 2 12 0 .143 2–10 202 397 L7
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

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  1. ^ Smits, Ted (June 19, 1966). "Namath's a pro, but pins dubious". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 2B.
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