Cardinals Fly Past Vikings: Show Why They Belong Back in The Super Bowl

When asked which teams I thought sit atop the NFC, the Saints and Vikings were the first that came to mind.  I was also comfortable choosing the Eagles and Cowboys as numbers 3 and 4 in the NFC; however one team I never threw into the mix was the Arizona Cardinals.  This was a team, fresh off a Super Bowl loss, that with an undemanding schedule had only posted a 7-4 record through Week 12.  The most notable win was against a declining New York Giants team, and when you looked at the rest of the Cardinals wins, they were against mediocre to dreadful teams.  I looked at these games and thought, what have they done to show they will go deep into the playoffs?  The only reason they were going to make the playoffs is because they will win by default in a disappointing NFC West due to the lack of talent on the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers.  In my mind, this team would lose in the first round of the playoffs. No questions asked.

That was before Sunday night.

After watching the Cardinals rout the Vikings in a 30-17 statement game, I can confidently say the Cardinals deserve to be in the NFC Championship talks, and why not?  The Arizona defense was able to hold Adrian Peterson to a season low 19 yards rushing in an effort to hold the entire Minnesota rushing attack to 62 yards.  Then when faced with the task of controlling Favre, the defense answered with 3 sacks and 2 interceptions.  Not only was the defense in sync, but Kurt Warner (surprisingly not the oldest guy on the field) and the Cardinals offense were able to post 30 points which included 3 touchdowns between well covered Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald.

The most astonishing feat of the night was that the Arizona offensive line along with Tim Hightower was able to hold the NFL sack leading Minnesota Vikings to zero sacks, and there could have not been a better night to do so.  With the injury issues surrounding Warner and the concussion he received 2 weeks prior, the Cardinals offensive line was able to keep Warner on his feet for the majority of the game. 

The Cardinals needed this game to prove to the NFL as well as prove to themselves that there is no Super Bowl hangover.  They were set on a national platform and could not have played better.  For those who say that this was a fluke game, think again.  The Vikings played a great game; the coverage on the Arizona receivers was fantastic, Warner was just able to get the ball to the right spots where his talented ball-hawks could reel them in.

So with a fluff schedule until the playoffs begin, the Cardinals may have gotten hot at just the right time.  With the Saints seemingly more interested in keeping their perfect record than getting ready for the playoffs, and the Vikings ending the season with a couple tough games, there is no reason why the Cardinals could end up not only back in the NFC Championship for the 2^nd year in a row, but also back in the Super Bowl.