Arizona Cardinals Clinch 2014 Playoff Berth: Latest Details and Reaction

For the first time since 2009, the Arizona Cardinals are in the playoffs. Following one of the most surprising runs in recent memory, Bruce Arians' team clinched its spot in the dance by virtue of the Dallas Cowboys' 38-27 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. 

Director of NFC Football Communications Randall Liu confirmed the news:

Everyone expected the Cardinals would be a good team in 2014 coming off a 10-win season last year, but their path to the postseason has taken so many detours that threatened to derail their chase.

In fact, per ESPN Stats & Info, Arizona's 21 wins over the last two years are the most for this franchise in nearly 40 years:

Starting quarterback Carson Palmer only played in six games due to a shoulder injury that was followed by a season-ending torn ACL on November 9 against St. Louis. Drew Stanton has filled in admirably with seven touchdowns and five interceptions, though a sprained knee suffered in Week 15 has left his status up in the air. 

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Cardinals are well versed in sprained knees and have some idea when they might expect Stanton back:

That's a relief for the Cardinals. Even though Stanton doesn't fit most of the traditional criteria of an NFL quarterback, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com indirectly highlighted why he works with Arians' offense:

While a completion percentage of 55 is dreadful in today's NFL, it's not crippling to the Cardinals because Arians loves to open up the playbook and throw the ball deep down the field. 

Through it all the Cardinals have used a tenacious defense and timely offense to maintain the best record in the NFC. Regardless of what happens in the postseason, no one can deny the work Arians and his staff did to have this team prepared week after week. 

That ugly Week 15 win over St. Louis on Thursday night was emblematic of how this Cardinals team plays. According to ESPN Stats & Info, they were the first team this year to win without scoring a touchdown:

Arians was particularly proud of the 12-6 triumph in St. Louis, tweeting out how satisfying that victory was for him:

What's so remarkable about what the Cardinals have done is the way everyone keeps waiting for the bottom to drop out. In the ESPN.com Week 15 predictions, only one of their analysts picked them to defeat the Rams on Thursday. 

Ross Tucker of NBC Sports Network tweeted out that Arians already has a stranglehold on a hypothetical Coach of the Decade award:

Despite owning the league's best record, CBSSports.com ranked the Cardinals fifth behind Green Bay, New England, Seattle and Denver, per Pat Kirwan. While it's true that most observers would favor those teams over Arizona, it will have a chance to shut all the doubters up next week against the Seahawks. 

The last time Arizona hosted a playoff game (2010), the Cardinals defeated Green Bay in that 51-45 classic that ended with Karlos Dansby's 17-yard touchdown on an Aaron Rodgers' fumble. 

While it's technically possible for the Cardinals to win another shootout this time around, the smart money has them keeping the score low and using that stout defense if a run to the Super Bowl is going to happen.