a Week 5 contest against the Buffalo Bills, Hightower rushed for 37-yards on 7 carries and had 2 rushing touchdowns. On November 2, 2008, Hightower was given his first career start against the St. Louis Rams. He finished the game with a season-high 22 rushing attempts for 109-yards and scored a 30-yard rushing touchdown in the Cardinals' 34-13 victory. Hightower had 21 rushing yards on 11 carries and his second two rushing touchdown game in a 29-37 loss to the New York Giants on December 23. Against the St. Louis Rams again in Week 14, he had 12 carries for 32 rushing yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals defeated them again 34-10. Although he finished the regular season as the starting running back for the last 7 games of the season and helped the Cardinals obtain a 9-7 record, he was not given the starting role going into the playoffs. When the Cardinals played the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Wild-card, Hightower racked up 6 rushing attempts for 23-yards and a touchdown as they defeated the Falcons 30-24. The next week in the divisional round game against the Carolina Panthers, Hightower had 17 carries for 76-rushing yards and scored on a 3-yard touchdown reception, helping his team win 33-13. On January 18, 2009, the Cardinals played the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Hightower ended up carrying the ball 11 times for 33 rushing yards and caught a game-winning 8-yard touchdown reception to seal the victory 32-25. Hightower would go on to play a minor role as the Arizona Cardinals played the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. He only carried the ball once and accounted for a total of 13 receiving yards as they lost 23-27 on the Steelers' final drive. As a rookie, he set a Cardinals record for total touchdowns by a rookie with 10 in the regular season and 13 including the playoffs. He finished his first season with 143 carries, 399 rushing yards, and 10 rushing touchdowns. 2009 Although Edgerrin James left via free agency during the offseason, the Cardinals drafted Beanie Wells and LaRod Stephens-Howling in the 2009 NFL Draft. Even with two new rookies, Hightower was given the starting runningback position to begin the season. In the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, he carried the ball 8 times for 15 rushing yards and caught 12 passes for 121 receiving yards.