Carson Palmer Comments on Playing in Big Games, Criticism, More

Arizona Cardinals veteran quarterback Carson Palmer will have another opportunity in his 13th year in the NFL to rewrite the story that says he can't win a big game. 

He'll be coming back from an embarrassing 49-15 NFC Championship Game loss to the Carolina Panthers in which he threw four interceptions with a quarterback rating of just 43.2.   

But he's not worrying about that now, as evidenced by his comments to ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss on Tuesday:

"

You can’t win the big game until you win it. We’ll revisit that when we get back to the NFC Championship, and that will be that.

Right now, I’m focused on what we’re doing today. What’s going in tomorrow, what’s getting coached up today in this afternoon meeting and moving on tomorrow. When we get to the NFC Championship Game, we’ll talk about that again then.

"

Before last season's run with the Cardinals, Palmer had been 0-2 in his playoff career as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, garnering the reputation of a quarterback who couldn't get it done in the postseason. 

It's a reputation he's embraced, though: 

"

I don’t look at it as a negative. That’s the challenge. I love this position. I love this game because there is no better challenge -- maybe having the lead on Sunday at Augusta and trying to hold on to that, so that’s an incredible challenge. Playing quarterback in the National Football League, getting to the Super Bowl is an incredible challenge.

"

He went on to say the challenge is something he gets "addicted" to: "I fiend for it. You get addicted to it. It’s part of playing this position. … I enjoy working to prove doubters wrong. I enjoy waking up every morning and trying to improve on something. That’s why I play the position."

Palmer will have plenty of work to do to make it back to such a big stage. The Seattle Seahawks might not have such a slow start to 2016 and give Arizona an opportunity to run away with the NFC West like they did last year. 

The Cardinals will also have to contend with NFC heavyweights, including the Green Bay Packers—the team Palmer beat for his first playoff win in the divisional round. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will most likely have his biggest weapon in wide receiver Jordy Nelson, who's coming back from a torn ACL. 

Then there are those Panthers, who will be fueled by a nearly perfect season spoiled in a Super Bowl 50 loss to the Denver Broncos. 

Palmer isn't getting any younger at 36 years old and could hit free agency as early as 2018. So if he wants to win those big games and experience the ecstasy of winning a Super Bowl, he'll have to do so quickly before his window of opportunity closes for good. 

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.