What kind of December would it be without an Arizona Cardinals win over the Dallas Cowboys?
The Cardinals continued their holiday season, shocking the Cowboys at home to win yet again vs. the former division rivals. Kevin Kolb finally showed that he can be as clutch as John Skelton, leading the Cards to a victory in overtime.
Hit the jump for details from one of the best games since the Warner era.
Although the 1st Half wasn't good for Kolb and the Offense, they stepped up their play in the 2nd Half, which ended up being a key factor in the win. Kolb finished 16-25, with 299 yards, 1 TD, no interceptions, and a QB rating of 109.9. His TD came off a pass to LaRod Stephens-Howling, who ended up running it 52 yards for the game-winning TD in overtime. The other offensive TD for the Cardinals came from a 4 yard rush up the middle in the endzone by RB Chris Beanie Wells. The top receiver for the Cardinals was 2nd year WR Andre Roberts, who had 6 receptions for 111 yards (Which was the most yardage by any receiver in the game).
The Cardinals Defense was the other story of the game. Although they allowed QB Tony Romo to pass for 299 yards, they held him to only one TD, which came off a 5 yard pass to WR Dez Bryant in the 2nd Quarter. They also held the Cowboys standout rookie RB, DeMarco Murray, to only 38 yards. But most importantly, they held the Cowboys Offense to 4-12 on 3rd Down, which ultimately was one of the main reasons the Cards came away with the win.
On Special Teams, although rookie CB Patrick Peterson was only able to rack up 1 yard on 1 attempted punt return, the Cowboys rookie Kicker, Dan Bailey, missed the potential game-winning FG at the very end of the 4th Quarter, causing the game to go into overtime.
The time of possession for the Cardinals was 29:35, vs. 33:42 for the Cowboys. They had 16 1st Downs, 7 punts, and 6 penalties, which resulted in 41 yards for the Cowboys.
Next week, the Cardinals play the division rival San Francisco 49ers, who are coming off a blowout 26-0 win against the St. Louis Rams. The 49ers have had the Cardinals number in recent years, but if Kolb and the Cardinals can carry the momentum from this game over to next week, then they'll have a chance to give the 49ers a rare loss. But for now, let's all enjoy another victory brought to you by the Cardiac Cards.