Cardinals Manage to Leave St. Louis With 21-13 Win

The Arizona Cardinals are now 5-0 on the road.

It wasn’t the prettiest of games, however the Arizona Cardinals continued to show why they are the best in the west and now can once again be considered a contender when it comes time for the playoffs after defeating the St. Louis Rams 21-13 today.

Cards quarterback Kurt Warner threw 15-19 for 202 yards and two touchdowns before leaving late in the first half with what coach Ken Whisenhunt described after the game as “concussion-like symptoms.”  He gave that info in his post game radio interview, continuing on by saying he was taken out more as a precaution and should be available next week.  However he said it will be monitored throughout this week.

The most impressive part of the game today was the Cardinals ability to run the ball.  Granted, they were playing St. Louis, but in the NFL, you take what you can get.  They were still playing professionals.  Running back Tim Hightower rushed for 110 yards and back Beanie Wells threw in another 74 with one touchdown.  The Cardinals ability to run allowed backup quarterback Matt Leinart to manage the game in the second half.

Speaking of Matt Leinart, he managed to throw for 74 yards on 10-14 passing.  Not blow you away stats, then again, you wouldn’t expect that as the Cardinals seemed to keep conservative play calling with Leinart behind center.  Makes you wonder if they truly trust him in case Warner would unfortunately go down with an even more serious injury.  Even so, he didn’t make many mistakes, although I don’t know if you’re as tired as seeing thrown balls sail on him as I am?

The defense played well for the most part, but once again allowed an inferior opponent to get back into the game and save for a great play by the Cardinals on fourth and goal for the Rams, the comeback was almost complete.  However, we can talk about what if’s all day.  Fact is, the Arizona Cardinals are now 7-3, same point they were at last season headed to Thanksgiving weekend, and are saying all the right things, that they learned from the poor play that had fans wondering if this team could win the NFC West and critics saying we told you so.  We all know what happened last year, however I think the Cards have learned and now take another trip on the road next week to the improving Tennessee Titans, who have won the last three games with Vince Young at the helm.  The Titans play tomorrow night in Houston first.

Six games left, a three game lead over the San Francisco 49ers.  Time for the stretch run.  Games against Tennessee, San Francisco, and Detroit left on the road and games against Minnesota, St. Louis, and Green Bay at home.

Let’s get it done boys! Go Cards!

Scott Allen