You really had to be there to get it. If you weren't sitting in the sweltering heat of Sun Devil Stadium in the late '90s, the stats for Arizona Cardinals Jake Plummer probably look like a mess of turnovers and missed opportunities. But numbers are liars. Or, at the very least, they don't tell the whole story of a guy who basically carried the hope of an entire desert on his skinny shoulders.
Before there was Kyler Murray or Kurt Warner’s late-career renaissance, there was "Jake the Snake." He was a local god. He’d just finished dragging the Arizona State Sun Devils to an undefeated regular season and a Rose Bowl berth in 1996. When the Cardinals snagged him in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft, it wasn't just a personnel move. It was a spiritual awakening for a franchise that had been wandering the wilderness for decades.
The 1998 Miracle and the End of the Curse
Honestly, 1998 was the peak. It’s the year that cemented the Arizona Cardinals Jake Plummer era in team history.
The Cardinals hadn't won a playoff game since 1947. Think about that. Harry Truman was in the White House. The franchise was still in Chicago. By the time 1998 rolled around, the "Cardiac Cards" were a weekly heart attack. Plummer led seven game-winning drives that season. He wasn't always efficient—he actually threw more interceptions (20) than touchdowns (17)—but he had this weird, scrambly magic.
The wild card game against the Dallas Cowboys is still talked about in hushed tones in Phoenix sports bars. The Cowboys were the "Team of the '90s," loaded with Hall of Famers. Nobody gave Arizona a chance. Plummer didn't care. He threw for 213 yards and two scores, helping the Cards pull off a 20-7 stunner. It broke a 51-year postseason drought.
He was 24 years old. He looked invincible.
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Why the "Snake" Tag Was a Double-Edged Sword
Plummer earned his nickname from his idol, Ken "The Snake" Stabler. Like Stabler, he was a lefty (wait, no—Jake was actually a righty, but he played with that same loose, left-handed improvisational chaos) who loved to bail on the pocket.
He was a gambler. Sometimes the house won.
In 1999, the wheels didn't just fall off; they exploded. He threw 24 interceptions against just 9 touchdowns. It was brutal to watch. One week he’d look like a Pro Bowler, and the next he’d throw three picks into triple coverage while trying to force a play that wasn't there.
The Statistical Rollercoaster (1997-2002)
To understand the Arizona Cardinals Jake Plummer experience, you have to look at the swings:
- 1997: He comes in as a rookie and nearly beats the Eagles after a 98-yard drive in his debut.
- 1998: Leads the team to a 9-7 record and that historic playoff win in Dallas.
- 1999-2000: A dark period. He goes a combined 6-19 as a starter. The "gunslinger" mentality becomes a liability.
- 2001: He bounces back, throwing for a career-high (at the time) 3,653 yards. He was one of only two QBs in the league to take every single snap for his team that year.
The Pat Tillman Connection
You can't talk about Jake’s time in Arizona without mentioning Pat Tillman. They were teammates at ASU and then again with the Cardinals. They were cut from the same cloth—guys who didn't really fit the "corporate" NFL mold.
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When Tillman left the NFL to enlist in the Army after 9/11, it hit Plummer hard. Their friendship was rooted in being outsiders. Jake was the guy who wore his hair long, didn't care about the spotlight, and eventually walked away from millions because he just wasn't feeling it anymore.
Moving on to Denver and the Mushroom Farm
By 2003, the relationship with Arizona had run its course. He signed with the Denver Broncos, and funnily enough, he actually played better football there under Mike Shanahan. He went 13-3 in 2005 and made a Pro Bowl.
But he never quite captured that same "hometown hero" energy he had with the Cardinals.
His retirement was as unorthodox as his playing style. In 2007, after being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he just... didn't go. He retired instead. He forfeited $5.3 million because he was done with the grind.
Today? He’s not coaching. He’s not on a pregame show shouting about point spreads. He’s in Colorado growing medicinal mushrooms. Seriously. He co-founded a company called Umbo and runs MyCOLove Farm. He trades the grass of the gridiron for lion’s mane and cordyceps. It’s the most "Jake Plummer" ending possible.
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What Most People Get Wrong About Jake
Critics call him a "bust" because of the 161 career interceptions. That's a lazy take.
The Cardinals teams he played for in the late '90s were often talent-depleted. He was running for his life behind shaky offensive lines. If he didn't take those risks, those teams wouldn't have won three games, let alone made the playoffs. He gave a struggling franchise an identity when they desperately needed one.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into this era of football, here is how you should actually evaluate a player like Plummer:
- Look at 4th Quarter Comebacks: Stats from the '90s don't account for "clutch factor" the way modern analytics do. Plummer was top-tier in late-game situations.
- Evaluate Team Context: Compare his sack rates in Arizona versus his time in Denver. It highlights how much the environment impacts a QB's decision-making.
- Watch the 1998 Wild Card highlights: If you want to see a player purely "will" a team to victory, that’s the tape.
Actionable Insight: If you're a fan of the modern, high-flying Cardinals, take a Saturday to watch a full replay of the 1998 victory over the Cowboys. It puts the current state of the franchise into perspective and shows why, despite the turnovers, Jake Plummer remains a protected legend in the Valley. You’ll see a version of football that was grittier, messier, and somehow more human than the polished product we see today.