Thanks to the reemergence of Kurt Warner as a MVP candidate, the Arizona Cardinals have been a nice story this season. But as the Giants proved in their 37-29 win in Arizona on Sunday, the Cardinals still have a long way to go before anyone should consider them Super Bowl contenders.
With how absolutely brutal the NFC West is, the Cards are going to win their division – they might even clinch next week. But a lot of people are talking about how their game Sunday might be a preview of the NFC Championship Game.
Let’s not forget that if Arizona doesn’t secure one of the top two spots in the NFC, they’ll have to travel to the East Coast in the second round of the playoffs, assuming of course they win Wild Card weekend. Making the long trip is tough enough, nevertheless for a team who has struggled on the road over the past couple years like the Cards have.
There’s no doubt that Warner’s performance this year has made ‘Zona an incredibly dangerous team. Not many of their opponents can match up against what the Cards do offensively, although the Giants made them one-dimensional Sunday by limiting Tim Hightower to only 21 yards. But this team has had issues defensively this year and good teams like New York will shred them in the playoffs.
This was a Giants team that didn’t have Brandon Jacobs (the backbone of their offense), but still managed to total 321 yards. This was a great test for the Cards to see how they stack up against the best in the NFC, but they clearly have some work to do before the playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see how this team responds next week on the road against Philadelphia, and then again on the road in Week 16 when they take on the Patriots in Foxboro.
