After beating the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers in the first two rounds of the NFC playoffs , the Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship on January 18 , 2009 and advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history to face the Pittsburgh Steelers . This gave Whisenhunt an opportunity to play against the team he used to be the offensive coordinator of . After defeating the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers in the first two rounds of the NFC playoffs , the Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship on January 18 , 2009 and advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history to face the Pittsburgh Steelers , where Whisenhunt formerly occupied the post of offensive coordinator .