Carson Palmer Shows Successful Veteran Presence in Cardinals' Week 1 Win

Veteran quarterback Carson Palmer proved on Monday night that the Arizona Cardinals are a team to be reckoned with. 

While most fans have come to realize that the Cardinals defense is stout, few understand exactly what the Arizona offense is capable of accomplishing. 

The Cardinals finished the 2013 season with a 10-6 record and nearly made the playoffs, thanks in large part to the league's sixth-best defense (317.4 yards per game allowed). However, it is worth noting that Palmer, in his first year with the franchise, did provide the calming veteran presence under center that the team had been missing.

Palmer passed for 4,274 yards with 24 touchdowns and 22 interceptions on the year, but his touchdown-to-interception ratio was a respectable 14-8 over the final eight games of the season. This suggests that Palmer became more efficient, and presumably more comfortable, in the Cardinals offense as the season wore on.

This is important because, as the Cardinals showed on Monday night against the San Diego Chargers, it sometimes takes a little offensive magic to come away with a win.

The Cardinals held the Chargers to 17 points and 290 yards of net offense (San Diego averaged 24.8 points and 393.3 yards per game last season) in Week 1. Yet the Cardinals found themselves down 11 points heading into the fourth quarter.

According to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians described Palmer after the game as being “outstanding in the fourth quarter — when he has to be.” On cue, this is where his veteran presence really became a factor.

Palmer went 9-of-14 for 90 yards and two touchdowns in the final quarter, including a failed two-point conversion. Arizona failed to convert both two-point attempts in the final quarter, but the offensive effort was strong enough to deliver an 18-17 victory.

Palmer finished the game 24-of-37 for 304 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

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Palmer was definitely not perfect on every throw, and he didn't mimic the explosiveness of the modern dual-threat quarterback, though he was surprisingly mobile in the pocket. However, he was efficient, smart with his throws and extremely careful with the football.

Palmer also spread the ball around. He hit 11 different receivers over the course of the game and never forced a pass. All-Pro wideout Larry Fitzgerald didn't catch a pass until late in the fourth quarter.

On the game-winning drive alone, Palmer targeted Fitzgerald, Ted Ginn, Michael Floyd (by far the team's biggest offensive threat, with five receptions for 119 yards) and Jonathan Dwyer. All this before he delivered the game-winning touchdown pass to rookie John Brown.

B/R's Michelle Bruton highlighted how well timed Palmer's play to Brown was:

Most importantly, Palmer found a way to make plays when it mattered.

While the Cardinals did manage to produce 109 rushing yards in the contest, there is no way Arizona would've won this game without Palmer playing distributor under center. He might not be a future Cardinals legend, but Palmer certainly played like one in Week 1. 

Thanks to experienced coaching, an opportunistic defense and a respectable running game, Arizona has the makings of a potential playoff team in 2014. 

However, Palmer is the piece that really puts this team over the top. His veteran presence is why the Cardinals offense should have enough confidence to enter every matchup with the will to pull off the tough win.