I don’t know how long YouTube will have this up before the NFL gets its greedy little hands on it, but here are the highlights from the Cardinals’ thrilling win over the Packers on Sunday.
That was easily the best spectator game of the season.
Tag: Kurt Warner (Page 4 of 19)
For the casual NFL fan, Wildcard Weekend was a bust. Unless you were a Jets, Cowboys or Ravens fan, the games were boring and highly un-entertaining. (Unless you like one team completing dominating another, that is.)
But the Cardinals’ 51-45 overtime thriller over the Packers saved what could have been the worst Wildcard Weekend in recent memory. In fact, it was probably the best game of the season.
Kurt Warner never ceases to amaze me. What he did against a solid Green Bay secondary was pretty extraordinary – even for him. He completed 29-of-33 passes for 379 yards, five touchdown passes and every time the Cards needed a score, he managed to get them into position to do so. If this is indeed Warner’s last dance, it looks like he’s going to leave everything out on the floor.
After throwing an interception on the first play of the game, Aaron Rodgers put on a show himself. He completed 28-of-42 passes for 422 yards and four touchdowns. There will be plenty of Packer fans that will say that Brett Favre would have won this game. But even the fiercest of Brett backers had to marvel at how Rodgers went toe-to-toe with Warner today and almost came out victorious.
I realize his fumble in overtime will haunt him and Green Bay in the offseason (he also overshot a wide open Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime that would have won the game), but don’t forget this was his first career playoff appearance. And with this being his first ever postseason appearance, he played incredibly well and once again proved that the Packers have a bright future. Keep in mind that Arizona got the benefit of a couple of calls in overtime that aided in Rodgers and Green Bay’s demise. The refs could have called a helmet-to-helmet hit on Rodgers on the second play of the drive, as well as a face mask penalty on the game-winning touchdown recovery.
Sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter that this will likely be Kurt Warner’s last season in the NFL.
Arizona’s next loss could mark the last time that quarterback Kurt Warner plays in an NFL game.
He always could change his mind, but this likely will be the 38-year-old Warner’s final NFL season, according to sources close to the quarterback.
Warner has been voted to five Pro Bowls, won two NFL MVP awards, one Super Bowl and became the second quarterback in history to throw more than 100 touchdown passes for two NFL franchises.
Earlier this season, Warner suffered a concussion that raised questions about his future.
While there’s no doubt he’d like to go out on top with a Super Bowl victory, Warner has nothing left to prove. He’s had a great career and if this is his final season, he’ll exit as one of the classiest players to have ever suited up in the NFL.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots
1:00 pm ET
TV—CBS
Last season, the Ravens began their playoff journey as a wild card by upsetting the AFC East champion Dolphins, and then upsetting the top seeded Tennessee Titans, before losing to the eventual champion Steelers in the AFC championship game. This season the Ravens went 10-6 and eked into the playoffs in Week 17, but their losses have mostly been close games, including a 27-21 defeat in New England in Week 4. The Ravens’ fifth ranked rushing attack is led by RB Ray Rice, and they will once again use their stout defense (ranked third overall) to try and stop Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company. The Patriots will try to run the ball to control the clock and keep it away from Rice, and also try to use said running game to allow Brady and his receivers to stretch the field. Of course, everyone knows that Wes Welker is out for the season after jamming his knee into the Reliant Stadium turf last Sunday. But did anyone expect rookie WR (and 7th round draft pick) Julian Edelman to catch 10 passes for 103 yards and run up and down the field looking like a Welker clone doing it? Not really. Still, Brady didn’t have guys named Lewis, Suggs and Reed lining up on the other side last week, and those guys in purple jerseys could force him into making a few mistakes. The bottom line, however, is that the Patriots are 8-0 at home this season, and a Bill Belichick coached team is a tough out in the playoffs.
THE PICK: PATRIOTS 26, RAVENS 17
Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
4:40 pm ET
TV—FOX
Amazingly, this game is the third contest of the weekend that is a rematch of a Week 17 game, and like the Philly/Dallas game, this one is also in the same building, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona. Will it be the same outcome though? Last week, the Packers played all of their starters in annihilating the defending NFC champs 33-7, but Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt did not use star QB Kurt Warner after the first quarter. Still, how much of that crap about tipping your hand before playing an opponent again do you believe? This is the NFL, and the team that executes their game plan usually wins. Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy believed that letting Aaron Rodgers and his receivers stretch the field against the Cardinals’ 23rd ranked pass defense, as well as mixing in a heavy dose of Ryan Grant and Ahman Green to run the ball and keep it away from Warner and Matt Leinart was an effective strategy. Of course, McCarthy’s Packers boast the #1 rushing defense in the NFL and the #5 passing defense, so they feel like they can stop whoever is trying to move the ball against them anyway, especially if star CB Charles Woodson suits up after aggravating a shoulder injury last week. Remember, though, that the Cardinals are recently playoff tested, and came within a brilliant Santonio Holmes touchdown catch from winning it all less than a year ago.
THE PICK: PACKERS 33, CARDINALS 30
After they beat the Rams last Sunday, many of the Cardinals starters probably figured that they would have Week 17 off against the Packers. But that was before the Vikings lost to the Bears on Monday night and kept Arizona’s hopes alive for clinching the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
The chances of the Cardinals earning the No. 2 spot are slim. They would not only have to beat Green Bay this Sunday, but the Vikings and Eagles would both have to lose as well. That’s a big request, although given that Minnesota plays the Giants and Philadelphia plays the Cowboys, it’s certainly not out of the question.
‘Zona head coach Ken Whisenhunt has quite the dilemma. If he chooses to rest his starters against the Packers, then he’s essentially relinquishing any shot of the No. 2 seed. If he doesn’t rest his starters and the Cards fail to earn the No. 2 seed based on one of the above scenarios, then players like Kurt Warner won’t get any rest heading into the postseason.
Another thing Whisenhunt has to consider is the fact that the Cardinals could wind up hosting the Packers in the Wild Card round next week. If he plays his starters, Green Bay will have plenty of game film to use in preparation to stop Arizona the following week. So what is Whisenhunt to do?
Personally, I think Whisenhunt should play his starters and go for the No. 2 seed now that it’s still in reach. But then again, I’m a risk taker. If you have a shot to earn a first round bye and home field advantage then you have to go for it, regardless of whether or not the odds are stacked against you.
Of course, if the Vikings beat the Giants at 1:00 p.m., none of this will matter because the Cardinals would be eliminated from the No. 2 spot. But if they lose, then I don’t envy Whisenhunt’s decision at 4:00 p.m.
If the Vikings lose, should the Cardinals rest their starters?
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