Arizona Cardinals Remain NFL's Most Dominant, Dangerous Super Bowl Contender

Move over Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers: The Arizona Cardinals continued to make their case as the NFL's best team with a 38-8 beatdown of the Green Bay Packers Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium. 

Since losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6, the Cardinals have reeled off nine straight victories. While the NFL is a bottom-line sport where only wins and losses matter, how Arizona dominated its opponents throughout this stretch can't be underestimated. 

The point spread over the team's nine-game winning streak is 280-162. 

When it comes to the playoffs, it's never about who held the best record before the start of the postseason. It's all about which team is currently playing the best at that time and who presents a bigger mismatch. 

For example, the Panthers lost, 20-13, to the rival Atlanta Falcons Sunday at the Georgia Dome. Even during the team's 14-0 start, the Panthers claimed a 171-point differential . 

Arizona has been a far more dominant team despite an extra loss, as ESPN.com's Chris Sprow noted: 

"

#Cardnals were No. 1 in FPI and No. 1 in the NFL in point differential --- BEFORE this game.

— Chris Sprow (@SprowESPN) December 27, 2015"

Even with one more win, the Panthers' point differential this season is actually 42 points less than the Arizona's. In fact, the Cardinals scored 30 or more points in nine games to Carolina's seven. Arizona's defense also held opponents to 20 or fewer points in 10 contests, while the Panthers' did the same eight times. 

With Sunday's victory, the Cardinals earned a first-round bye in the playoffs, and they're on a collision course with the Panthers. But the bye doesn't mean much to head coach Bruce Arians. 

"You don't get any rings for byes," Arians said after thumping Green Bay, per AZCardinals.com's Darren Urban. "You don't even get T-shirts and hats."

Three key performances show exactly why Arizona is as good or better than any team in the league. 

Carson Palmer's MVP-Caliber Campaign

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The NFL is a quarterback-driven league. In order to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender, a team must be stable and have someone playing well at the game's most important position. 

Very few teams—maybe one or two—can say their quarterback is playing as well or better than Arizona's Carson Palmer right now. Even that might be a stretch. 

Against the Packers, Palmer, who turned 36 years old Sunday and warmed up in odd fashion, completed 18 of 27 passes for 265 yards, two touchdowns and an interception (on a screen pass of all things). 

Prior to the interception, the former No. 1 overall pick threw 187 passes between turnovers. It was the first time he turned the ball over since Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

This season, Palmer has already thrown for more yardage (4,542) and touchdowns (34) than any other season in his career. His average of 8.87 yards per attempt is another career high. And his 64.5 completion percentage is currently the third-best of his career. 

The Cardinals are also 26-4 in his last 30 starts. 

As good as Palmer has been this year, the weapons around him might even be better, especially with a potent running game.

David Johnson, Difference-Maker

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

When the Cardinals used a third-round pick to select Northern Iowa's David Johnson, he wasn't expected to make an impact like the St. Louis Rams' Todd Gurley or San Diego Chargers' Melvin Gordon, but he certainly has surpassed the latter. 

This is why most teams won't select a running back in the first round. 

Johnson is simply dynamic with the ball in his hands. He proved it again versus Green Bay with a 44-yard reception out of the backfield, where his elusiveness rating certainly went up in the latest Madden update. 

The NFL's official Twitter feed provided video of the catch-and-run: 

Johnson carried the ball nine times for 39 yards against the Packers, which isn't all that impressive. The running back's versatility makes him a dangerous weapon for Arians to play with in his offense, though. 

Johnson can carry the load in the running game, serve as a reliable checkdown option out of the backfield or line up wide like the former wide receiver he is. The rookie finished second on the team Sunday in receiving yards (88).  

Since taking over as the team's lead back at the start of December, Johnson has run for 417 yards and four touchdowns in four games. He's also caught 14 passes for 182 yards and another score.

His performance this season has been exceptional. NFL.com's Chris Wesseling drove home the point:

Andre Ellington and Chris Johnson are fine players, but David Johnson's all-around abilities make the Cardinals offense even more potent. 

The team's defense, meanwhile, continues to thrive even without one of its key pieces. 

Honey Badger Don't Matter

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The Cardinals' No Fly Zone defense grounded the Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Let's get something out of the way quickly: Tyrann Mathieu is a tremendous football player. He proved himself as one of the league's best defenders this season before he suffered a torn ACL in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles. And the Cardinals are a better team when he's healthy. 

However, the defense that showed up Sunday is more than good enough for Arizona to win a Super Bowl. 

Rodgers tied a career high by being sacked eight times. The Cardinals added a ninth against backup Scott Tolzien for good measure. 

Arizona came at the opposing signal-callers in waves. Rodgers and Tolzien combined to throw 29 passes. They were either sacked or hit on 21 dropbacks. 

Of course, the Packers suffered from multiple injuries along the offensive line, but the Cardinals exploited the advantage throughout the afternoon and completely overwhelmed Green Bay's entire offense. 

This wasn't an instance where one dominant player like the Houston Texans' J.J. Watt or Rams' Aaron Donald completely took over the game. Six different Cardinals registered some portion of a sack.

Thirty-five-year-old Dwight Freeney, who is a part-time player at this point in his career, led the way. The 14-year veteran racked up three sacks. 

Everyone got in on the act. If they didn't get a sack, other members of the Cardinals defense created turnovers. Cornerback Jerraud Powers recovered two fumbles. Defensive end Cory Redding also recovered a fumble that he ran back 36 yards for a score. And Mathieu's primary replacement, Justin Bethel, intercepted Rodgers in the end zone. 

Green Bay only managed 178 total yards of offense. 

"We can dominate anyone," cornerback Patrick Peterson said after the team's performance without Mathieu, per ESPN. 

The Honey Badger is a special player, but the Cardinals built a special defense with or without him.  

Best in the West

Too often, a West Coast bias exists against such teams and players simply because not enough viewers stay up to watch the teams that play later in the day. 

Those who don't have certainly missed out on a terrific team in the Cardinals. They're not simply content to win. They want to dominate. They want to run up the score. They want to prove they're the best team on the field without any doubt. 

This makes them dangerous. It also shows how driven the team is this season. Let's not forget: The Cardinals have scored 38 or more points six times this season, including Sunday's effort. 

A year ago, the organization had its Super Bowl hopes ripped away from it when Palmer suffered a devastating knee injury. 

With him back at the helm again, the Cardinals are the league's most complete team with a franchise quarterback, tremendous skill position players and one of the league's nastiest defenses. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @brentsobleski.