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Cardinals vs. Packers results: The good and the bad in the 38-8 win

There wasn't a whole lit of bad, really.

By Jess Root
Norm Hall/Getty Images

The Arizona Cardinals dominated in pretty much all phases of the game in their 38-8 win over the Green Bay Packers. Let's take a look at the good and the bad in the win. As you can imagine, there isn't a lot to complain about.

The good

A playoff bye

The end result was a win and clinching a playoff bye. That will give the Cardinals a chance to rest after the regular season. It also means only needing two wins instead of three to get to the Super Bowl. That is a good thing.

The pass rush

The defense had nine sacks! They could have had 10, but Jerraud Powers was flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit when Alex Okafor had him sacked. It was exactly what you would hope when the opposing offensive line was beat up. Dwight Freeney had three sacks, Calais Campbell had 2.5 and in the end six different players had at least half a sack.

The running game

Arizona was able to rush for 121 yards and no one had to get more than nine carries. All three running backs averaged at least 4.3 yards per carry.

More turnovers forced

Arizona has been great at taking the ball away. They took it away four more times and scored twice. You can't ask for more than that.

The bad

Too many penalties

Arizona was flagged for 10 penalties. Bruce Arians went bonkers on a ref for a pass interference call on Justin Bethel. It was clearly interference and he didn't even need to do it. Arizona dominated the game, but 10 flags is way too many.

Two turnovers

Kerwynn Williams has to hold on to the football and Carson Palmer cannot make that screen pass without paying attention to a defensive lineman right there to make a play on the ball. Luckily the defense was taking the ball away or this could have been a problem.

Early offensive line struggles

Carson Palmer was sacked twice in the same drive. Ted Larsen was thrown around on one of the plays like a doll. Green Bay dominated the line of scrimmage early in the game. With B.J. Raji leaving with a concussion, it really changed things.

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