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Redskins Vs. Cardinals: Plays Of The Game

The play of the game this week, for once, didn't belong to David Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald...

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

It's not over until the fat lady sings.

This is a well-known "Wolfism" from Cardinals color analyst Ron Wolfley and, indeed, the Cardinals season is not yet over with their 31-23 win over the Washington Redskins yesterday.

However, it is still hanging by a thread, as Arizona basically has to win out with a difficult schedule to even sniff a chance.  And yet, the team showed more signs of life today in December than they showed through the majority of the season, putting together a solid game in all three phases.

The two phases that stood out, however, were in big, game-changing explosive plays on offense and defense.

The obvious play that changed the whole game, was this bull rush sack by Calais Campbell which forced a turnover:

Calais has indeed been an incredible bright spot for the Cardinals this season.

Now, Arizona this year has been quite terrible in the deep passing game overall.  But when the team needed to score a touchdown to make it an 8-point game, Carson Palmer and J.J. Nelson responded:

All in all, unlike in past games where Cards fans felt like the team never really had control of the game, in this one, it didn't ever feel like it was in a position where it was slipping away from Arizona, despite the lead changes.

And that should make Cards fans feel pretty good about their situation going forward, at least for the next week.  But also, even more importantly, for 2017 and beyond.

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