azdad1978
Championship!!!!
The story of Kurt Warner’s NFL career gained another chapter Sunday as Warner led the Cardinals into his old home and left with a 38-28 victory over the St. Louis Rams, his former team.
Warner was greeted with cheers from the time he stepped off the bus, through the tunnel to the visiting team locker room and was met with another ovation when the Cardinals offense took the field for their first drive of the game.
The Cardinals fell to behind 10-3 early in the second quarter but scored 13 unanswered points as Warner connected with Anquan Boldin for 13 yard touchdown. Boldin slid through the Rams defense, breaking numerous tackles as he plunged into the endzone, tying the game at 10.
“We’ve been having trouble getting in the end zone so to be able to complete a short pass and have him bounce off a few guys and make that kind of play in that situation I think it gave us momentum and put some excitement on our sidelines,” said Warner when asked about Boldins highlight reel run. “We were able to ride that for the rest of the game.”
The momentum continued as Neil Rackers extended his streak of consecutive field goals hitting three on the afternoon to bring his total to 31 for the season. The previous team record for field goals in a season was 30, set by Greg Davis in 1995.
Following the Boldin touchdown, Rackers gave the Cardinals their first lead of the day by nailing a 33 yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the first half. Rackers record-breaking kick came from 51 yards out with 11:09 remaining in the third quarter and extended the Cardinals lead to six.
St. Louis answered with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Marc Bulger to Torry Holt to assume the lead at 17-16. On the Rams next offensive series Cardinals SS Adrian Wilson blitzed untouched and sacked Bulger, putting him out of the game for the remainder of the afternoon with a shoulder injury.
“It was a blind side hit and I don’t know if he was expecting someone to pick me up or not,” commented Wilson. “I think Steven Jackson checked from the line of scrimmage and he tried to come back late but I was already past him.”
Wilson finished the day with eight tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble.
On the Cardinals first offensive possession of the fourth quarter Warner connected with Adam Bergen for a nine yard touchdown pass to give the Cardinals a 24-17 lead. The touchdown marked Bergen’s first career touchdown. The rookie free agent from Lehigh University finished the day with four receptions for 35 yards.
The Rams countered Bergen’s touchdown with a 32 yard field goal after being denied a 3rd and five opportunity by the Cardinals stonewall defense. The Rams were held to just six yards on 12 carries all afternoon.
On the ensuing kickoff, Reggie Swinton went 90 yards to the Rams five yard line. Two plays later Warner connected with Larry Fitzgerald for a seven yard touchdown and a 31-20 lead.
The Rams were shut down again on the following drive when rookie Darryl Blackstock, starting for the injured Karlos Dansby sacked Jamie Martin and forced the Rams QB to fumble. Wilson was there for the recovery and for the second series in a row the Cardinals started their drive from the red zone.
Following two runs by J.J. Arrington, the Cardinals found themselves with a third and 11 situation. Warner connected with FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo for six yards but Rams DE Leonard Little was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty, giving the Cardinals an automatic first down and half the distance to the goal.
Arrington capped off the drive with his second touchdown in as many weeks to give the Cardinals an 18 point lead.
With 41 second left in the game the Rams cut their loss to 10 when Martin connected with Kevin Curtis for a 26 yard touchdown. The Rams converted the two-point attempt and also recovered the onside kick with 33 seconds left to play. Four plays later the Cardinals left the field with their third win of the season.
“I wanted to come back and show people I could still play,” said Warner on his return to St. Louis. It’s not that I wanted to shove it in anyone’s face but it was nice to come back and be able to perform.”
Warner completed 27 of 39 attempts for 285 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 115.9 passer rating. Fitzgerald continued his blistering pace towards 1,000 yards this season with nine receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Fitzgerald needs 42 yards to hit 1,000. Boldin recorded his 200th career reception on his touchdown grab and finished the day with eight receptions for 105 yards.
Game Inactives...
16 QB John Navarre
21 CB Antrel Rolle
23 CB Raymond Walls
52 LB Lance Mitchell
58 LB Karlos Dansby
61 G Elton Brown
80 WR Bryant Johnson
84 TE Teyo Johnson
Game Injuries…
C Alex Stepanovich shoulder strain
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3247
Warner was greeted with cheers from the time he stepped off the bus, through the tunnel to the visiting team locker room and was met with another ovation when the Cardinals offense took the field for their first drive of the game.
The Cardinals fell to behind 10-3 early in the second quarter but scored 13 unanswered points as Warner connected with Anquan Boldin for 13 yard touchdown. Boldin slid through the Rams defense, breaking numerous tackles as he plunged into the endzone, tying the game at 10.
“We’ve been having trouble getting in the end zone so to be able to complete a short pass and have him bounce off a few guys and make that kind of play in that situation I think it gave us momentum and put some excitement on our sidelines,” said Warner when asked about Boldins highlight reel run. “We were able to ride that for the rest of the game.”
The momentum continued as Neil Rackers extended his streak of consecutive field goals hitting three on the afternoon to bring his total to 31 for the season. The previous team record for field goals in a season was 30, set by Greg Davis in 1995.
Following the Boldin touchdown, Rackers gave the Cardinals their first lead of the day by nailing a 33 yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the first half. Rackers record-breaking kick came from 51 yards out with 11:09 remaining in the third quarter and extended the Cardinals lead to six.
St. Louis answered with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Marc Bulger to Torry Holt to assume the lead at 17-16. On the Rams next offensive series Cardinals SS Adrian Wilson blitzed untouched and sacked Bulger, putting him out of the game for the remainder of the afternoon with a shoulder injury.
“It was a blind side hit and I don’t know if he was expecting someone to pick me up or not,” commented Wilson. “I think Steven Jackson checked from the line of scrimmage and he tried to come back late but I was already past him.”
Wilson finished the day with eight tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble.
On the Cardinals first offensive possession of the fourth quarter Warner connected with Adam Bergen for a nine yard touchdown pass to give the Cardinals a 24-17 lead. The touchdown marked Bergen’s first career touchdown. The rookie free agent from Lehigh University finished the day with four receptions for 35 yards.
The Rams countered Bergen’s touchdown with a 32 yard field goal after being denied a 3rd and five opportunity by the Cardinals stonewall defense. The Rams were held to just six yards on 12 carries all afternoon.
On the ensuing kickoff, Reggie Swinton went 90 yards to the Rams five yard line. Two plays later Warner connected with Larry Fitzgerald for a seven yard touchdown and a 31-20 lead.
The Rams were shut down again on the following drive when rookie Darryl Blackstock, starting for the injured Karlos Dansby sacked Jamie Martin and forced the Rams QB to fumble. Wilson was there for the recovery and for the second series in a row the Cardinals started their drive from the red zone.
Following two runs by J.J. Arrington, the Cardinals found themselves with a third and 11 situation. Warner connected with FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo for six yards but Rams DE Leonard Little was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty, giving the Cardinals an automatic first down and half the distance to the goal.
Arrington capped off the drive with his second touchdown in as many weeks to give the Cardinals an 18 point lead.
With 41 second left in the game the Rams cut their loss to 10 when Martin connected with Kevin Curtis for a 26 yard touchdown. The Rams converted the two-point attempt and also recovered the onside kick with 33 seconds left to play. Four plays later the Cardinals left the field with their third win of the season.
“I wanted to come back and show people I could still play,” said Warner on his return to St. Louis. It’s not that I wanted to shove it in anyone’s face but it was nice to come back and be able to perform.”
Warner completed 27 of 39 attempts for 285 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 115.9 passer rating. Fitzgerald continued his blistering pace towards 1,000 yards this season with nine receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Fitzgerald needs 42 yards to hit 1,000. Boldin recorded his 200th career reception on his touchdown grab and finished the day with eight receptions for 105 yards.
Game Inactives...
16 QB John Navarre
21 CB Antrel Rolle
23 CB Raymond Walls
52 LB Lance Mitchell
58 LB Karlos Dansby
61 G Elton Brown
80 WR Bryant Johnson
84 TE Teyo Johnson
Game Injuries…
C Alex Stepanovich shoulder strain
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3247
