8 - 8. The Arizona Cardinals pulled even at .500 with the last game of the season, needing overtime to find the victory. This was a spirited game, with pushing and shoving on both sides, which for the NFC West heralds a new dawn of competition.
Going into halftime, the Cardinals had the lead, and today it was the offense keeping the game within reach.
A win is a win, and this provides momentum heading into the off-season. Hit the jump to see what the team had to say about today's victory.
The focus of the locker room was overtime, and how it was the normal for the Cards. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt even acknowledged this phenomena. "When we kneeled on the ball (to end regulation), I said the odds are with us of we go to overtime," he recounted. He then put the question everyone is asking to the air. "Why we can't do that to not go into these overtimes, this is what we have to work on."
Yes please, that should be the first mystery this team solves in the off-season. I'm hoping the down time will be the ingredient for this team to gel.
Larry Fitzgerald had a terrific second half game, closing out with one hundred forty-nine yard game. His hands are not of this world. To top off his ball catching skills, he added some comedy to the evening, saying, "If we play sixteen overtimes games next year, we might go 16 - 0."
I think if the Cards can get the ball to Larry Fitzgerald for 149 yards a game, they'll be 16 - 0.
Speaking of getting the ball to Larry Fitzgerald, John Skelton struggled with his accuracy, but still ended with two hundred seventy-one yards. When asked about the game, he said, "Typical Cardinals fashion."
But as typical of the Cardinals fashion, the Cards got hot. Pro-bowler Larry Fitzgerald showed exactly why he is a pro-bowler. "At that junction of the game, it's put-up-or-shut-up time." he said when asked about his second half performance.
And at the end of the day it was a win, and Adrian Wilson had this to say, "This was what we wanted to do after so many things going bad early on. We're going into the off-season, the young guys who played understand what it takes to win. To do it for seventeen weeks, mentally you have to be in it. That's where you separate yourself."
The season is done, but Wilson is correct. This year and this finish is the momentum the Cards needed as a team and for the youth they have on both sides of the ball. Look for this to carry into the preseason and a strong showing for 2012.