Sunday January 18th, 2009. A day I will recall on my deathbed. Not for the obvious reasons of witnessing the first ever trip to the Super Bowl for the Cardinal franchise or the nations first real glimpse of the greatness that is Larry Fitzgerald. No I will remember it for the energy that resulted from four quarters of excellent football. Fans of both teams had moments during the game that had them envisioning their club representing the NFC on February 1st in Tampa Bay. In the end the greatness of one Quarterback and the will of a disrespected and underrated Defense helped garner the first ever NFC Championship for the Arizona Cardinals.
Everything in Arizona starts with it's offense so we'll begin this post on that side of the ball. For the second straight game the Cards had more rushes to pass attempts(29-28). Edgerrin James continued his path towards Canton with 73 yards on 16 rushes. His 33 yards gained during the opening touchdown drive set the tone for AZ. For the 3rd straight game Larry Fitzgerald topped the century mark (9 catches-152 yards-3 TD). Staking the Cardinals to a commanding 24-6 lead at halftime by scoring three TD's in the 1st half. Fitz also broke Jerry Rice's playoff yardage mark(419-409)in three games. Eliminating any talk of him having an extra game to set the record. This game also marked the return of injured wide-out Anquan Boldin. His numbers weren't out of this world(3 catches-34 yards), but his presence on the field definitely helped free up Fitz for his big 1st half. His strange absence in the final drive caused an even bigger stir after the game. Guiding the ship was 37 year old QB Kurt Warner. His numbers were typical(21-28, 279 yards, 4 TD's, 145.3 rating)of a Warner playoff performance. The final drive that went 72 yards in 14 plays was a masterpiece orchestrated by a virtuoso QB. Capping it was rookie Tim Hightower taking a screen pass 8 yards into the end zone and carrying the Cardinals all the way to Tampa.
Anchoring the "Bend don't break Defense" was strong safety Adrian Wilson(7 tackles, 2 sacks, 1FF, 1 PD). Linebacker Karlos Dansby also had a solid day(6 tackles, 1 PD) hitting Brian Westbrook(12 rushes, 46 yards) early and letting the Eagles know they were going to fight for yardage all day on the ground. Through the air was where Donovan McNabb(375 yards, 3 TD's) burned the Cardinal D. Hitting Kevin Curtis(4 catches, 122 yards)for a 50 yard completion and Desean Jackson(6 catches, 92 yards, 1 TD) for a 62 yard TD strike to give the Eagles a lead early in the 4th quarter. Tight End Brent Celek had a career day (10 catches, 83 yards, 2 TD's) after only having 27 catches during the regular season. AZ Safety Aaron Francisco had an interception off McNabb in the 1st half, but fumbled it back during the return. The pressure brought by Darnell Dockett and Antonio Smith had the Eagle QB scrambling early in the game, but the 2nd Half was completely different. Three and outs were Warner and Co. specialty in the 3rd quarter leading to the Defense being on the field for the better part of the period. After taking the lead on Jacksons long TD pass(which was in and out of DRC's mitts for a pick) the Cardinals season came down to one last chance to score. We'll call it "THE DRIVE".
"The Drive" began on the Arizona 28 with 10:39 left in the season. The fans in the stands were still stunned from the Eagles taking of the lead 25-24. Coming out of the TV timeout the crowd had a murmur of excitement as the huddle broke. The first play from scrimmage was a 1 yard loss by Edge. The next to plays were a 15 yard pass to Fitz and a 9 yard reception from TE Leonard Pope. Following a rush by Edge and Hightower netting zero the playoff run came down to a 4th and 1. With multiple receiver options the AZ coaching staff gave the ball to the rookie Hightower who went around right end and gained 6 yards for the first down. Now sitting on the Philly 41 the Cards dialed Fitzgerald's number once more for an 18 yard gain. The next five plays went: Edge 3-yard rush, Fitz 6-yard reception, Hightower 5-yard rush, Edge no gain, Hightower rush 1-yard gain. Now facing a 3rd down from the Philly 8 the Cards used a RB screen to Hightower and he bowled his way into the end zone. Grown men cried. Children cried. I screamed my head off. The ensuing 2-point conversion was caught by back-up tight end Ben Patrick. It had started with the Cardinals down by one and 14 plays- 7:52 later the Cards were on their way to the franchise first Super Bowl berth. Kurt Warner was 5-5 for 56 yards on "The Drive". All that followed was another stop by the Cardinal defense and the confetti parade that rained down on the field.
This win was for all the Cardinals over the years: Ricky Proehl, Tim McDonal, Vai Sikahema, Aeneas Williams, Eric Hill, Timm Rosenbach, Ernie Jones Rich Camarillo, Ron McKinnon, Johnny Johnson, Eric Swann, Jay Novacek, David Boston*, Kwamie Lassiter, Ron Moore, Neil Lomax, Rob Moore, Tom Tupa, Roy Green, Joe Nedney, Pat Tillman, Frank Sanders, Steve Beuerlein, Simeon Rice, Larry Centers and last, but certainly not least Jake Plummer.
"The Drive" began on the Arizona 28 with 10:39 left in the season. The fans in the stands were still stunned from the Eagles taking of the lead 25-24. Coming out of the TV timeout the crowd had a murmur of excitement as the huddle broke. The first play from scrimmage was a 1 yard loss by Edge. The next to plays were a 15 yard pass to Fitz and a 9 yard reception from TE Leonard Pope. Following a rush by Edge and Hightower netting zero the playoff run came down to a 4th and 1. With multiple receiver options the AZ coaching staff gave the ball to the rookie Hightower who went around right end and gained 6 yards for the first down. Now sitting on the Philly 41 the Cards dialed Fitzgerald's number once more for an 18 yard gain. The next five plays went: Edge 3-yard rush, Fitz 6-yard reception, Hightower 5-yard rush, Edge no gain, Hightower rush 1-yard gain. Now facing a 3rd down from the Philly 8 the Cards used a RB screen to Hightower and he bowled his way into the end zone. Grown men cried. Children cried. I screamed my head off. The ensuing 2-point conversion was caught by back-up tight end Ben Patrick. It had started with the Cardinals down by one and 14 plays- 7:52 later the Cards were on their way to the franchise first Super Bowl berth. Kurt Warner was 5-5 for 56 yards on "The Drive". All that followed was another stop by the Cardinal defense and the confetti parade that rained down on the field.
This win was for all the Cardinals over the years: Ricky Proehl, Tim McDonal, Vai Sikahema, Aeneas Williams, Eric Hill, Timm Rosenbach, Ernie Jones Rich Camarillo, Ron McKinnon, Johnny Johnson, Eric Swann, Jay Novacek, David Boston*, Kwamie Lassiter, Ron Moore, Neil Lomax, Rob Moore, Tom Tupa, Roy Green, Joe Nedney, Pat Tillman, Frank Sanders, Steve Beuerlein, Simeon Rice, Larry Centers and last, but certainly not least Jake Plummer.
