The Arizona Cardinals are the NFC West champions. It is just the first step in achieving the goals the Cardinals have for the 2015 season. It was a close game in the first half but in the end the Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 40-17 on Sunday night.
The Cardinals also won 12 games for the first time in franchise history. It is also the first time the Cardinals have won eight straight since 1948.
The Cardinals seemed to avoid a couple of major injuries to running back David Johnson and quarterback Carson Palmer. Speaking of Johnson, he had himself a night. He rushed 29 times for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Palmer didn’t have a bad night either. He went 20-32 for 274 yards and a touchdown.
The Cardinals also created four second-half turnovers. They captured two interceptions off of Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford and two fumbles. One of those interceptions was made by safety Tyrann Mathieu. He was hurt on the play. He walked off the field to the locker room and last report was he was already done with x-rays. Hopefully nothing bad revealed.
The Cardinals took care of the ball on offense. They did not have a turnover for the fourth straight week. When you have takeaways and not giveaways, you will win in the NFL most of the time.
The Cardinals played ran down the field for a touchdown on their first drive of the game but struggled to get back in the end zone until four minutes remained in the first half. They were able to punch it in the end zone three more times in the second half, one on linebacker Deone Bucannon’s first career interception.
The Cardinals win the NFC West for the first time since 2009. They did not lock up a second seed thanks to a Green Bay Packers victory over the Oakland Raiders. However they play the Packers next week and can take care of that business at home. The Cardinals wrap up their road portion of their schedule going 7-1. Very impressive.