Are the Arizona Cardinals for Real? You Bet Ya!

What a game! What a play! What a statement made by the Arizona Cardinals. Beating the Dallas Cowboys, the team most everyone picked, experts or not, to be in the Super Bowl in February, shows everyone they are for real.

Not only are they the offensive juggernaut people expected them to be the last few years, they are starting to play a little defense, and they showed the entire NFL what they are made of when facing adversity.    

They had every chance to fold and pack it up against the Cowboys, yet they continued to fight. After being up 7-0 basically the entire first half, Romo connected on a 55-yard TD pass to Patrick Crayton to tie the game at seven. 

Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Arizona muffs it and the cowboys recover. All the momentum was with the Cowboys, and the Cardinals could have just folded and gone down 14-7 at the half. 

Instead, the defense stiffens and forces a 37-yard field goal that was missed by Nick Folk. So the game remained tied at seven.

After halftime, the cowboys opened the second half on a mission, driving straight down the field for a touchdown, taking almost seven minutes off the clock. The Cardinals could have folded then, saying, well the Cowboys have decided to show up, maybe next week. 

But no. The very next drive, Kurt Warner took them straight down the field for a game-tying touchdown of their own, giving them all the momentum. They would then take a 24-14 lead with only 3:21 left. Pretty much game over, right? 

Wrong. Tony Romo threw a little swing pass to Marion Barber, who broke multiple tackles on his way to a 70-yard touchdown with two minutes left. After a three-and-out, the Cowboys got the ball back with 50 seconds.

The game looked over after a short pass to Witten with 22 seconds to play. But then Romo hit Witten for a 39-yard gain down to the Arizona 39. A Cardinals player couldn't get off the field in time before Dallas spiked the ball, which gave Nick Folk the extra five yards he needed for the game-tying, 52-yard field goal. 

After all that, they could have said well it just isn't our day and let up in overtime. Especially after Dallas won the toss. Not a chance Arizona was going to quit, though.

The first play of overtime, Romo was sacked and then threw two-straight incompletions. That stand right there win or loose showed me this team will not fold when facing adversity. And to cap it all off, they blocked the punt and took it in three yards for the game-winning touchdown.

The Cardinals had multiple chances to fold in this game, like they would have in years past and yet they didn't. And at 4-2, with the other three teams in their division having a combined four wins, this Arizona team will be a team that no one wants to see at the end of the season. and dare I say, playoffs?