Cardinals’ Fitzgerald shines vs. Giants, brushes off questions about his future

GLENDALE, Ariz. — As the Arizona Cardinals’ final home game of 2017 grew old, play after play became reminders that 14-year veteran Larry Fitzgerald just might be playing in his final home game.

The expectation is he hasn’t made a decision on his playing future as of the 23-0 win over the New York Giants on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium. But the way the Cardinals themselves went about it made it appear that Bruce Arians, quarterback Drew Stanton and the staff were paying tribute to their leader by putting the ball in his hands.

Nope. Just business — and production, as usual.

“Obviously, Drew and Larry have real chemistry,” Arians said. “Some of those things were for Jaron Brown and they ended up covering him and he found Larry. The flea-flicker obviously was not really designed for Larry. It was thrown to him but got tipped.”

Added Stanton: “It just so happened that he was the guy who got the ball in his hands, which isn’t a bad option.”

Believe that or not, the questions about Fitzgerald’s future came.

From the play-calling to Stanton’s 15 targets of Fitzgerald — no other player had more than four targets — to the Cardinals’ act of naming Stanton the starter over Blaine Gabbert itself, this all felt like part of the plan.

Fitzgerald had 104 receiving yards by halftime and 119 on nine catches by the end of the win. He surpassed 100 receptions for the season and 1,000 yards receiving this year by halftime, becoming the oldest player to reach both marks. He also had his first career completion when he took an end-around and then toss a 21-yard strike to Jaron Brown on the move.

“I’m glad that I completed it to who I completed it to,” Fitzgerald said. “I love Jaron. He got two catches today and it made him an extra $500,000 (in bonuses) so I’m happy for him and his family. I’m glad I could be part of that. Merry Christmas, Jaron.”

Fitzgerald, whose first-half touchdown put Arizona ahead 10-0 a minute before halftime, was later tackling Arizona receiver John Brown after Brown’s touchdown catch made it 16-0 with 9:25 to go in the third quarter. And after the win, Fitzgerald was hassling Brown about Brown’s chinchilla-lined coat before deflecting questions about his future.

“I don’t like to get into like that type of thinking,” Fitzgerald said when asked if he thought about the win being his last home game. “It’s a lot bigger than me. This is the Arizona Cardinals, there’s a bunch of guys on this team.

“That’s how I’ve always approached it, how I’ve played little-league football. I’ve just stayed in the moment, always.”

SMOKE’S RETURN A CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT

As more than half of quarterback Drew Stanton’s 209 yards on 20-of-34 passing went to Fitzgerald, it was the presence of John Brown that put a warm feeling in his teammates’ hearts.

“He works his tail off, man. Unfortunately he got bit by the injury bug,” Fitzgerald said after the game. “Smoke needed that. We needed that.”

Brown’s 15-yard touchdown catch gave Arizona a 16-0 lead in the third quarter. He finished with two catches for 28 yards in his first appearance since Nov. 19 against the Houston Texans. The fourth-year wideout had been battling a turf toe injury.

Brown didn’t break out his infamous touchdown celebration, but when asked why, he said it was by design.

“I thought I was going to score again,” Brown said. “I told B.A. I was going to score again and then I was going to do it.”

ARIANS REACHES A MILESTONE HIMSELF

It wasn’t just a meaningful win for Fitzgerald.

With the 49th win in his tenure leading the Cardinals, Arians tied Ken Whisenhunt for the most regular season wins in franchise history.

“I can’t take any of the credit. It’s all the players and the coaches,” Arians said. “Our coaches have done an unbelievable job with all these young kids and all these injuries, of giving them the gameplan to win with. I can’t say enough about Bettch (DC James Bettcher) and the defense and the job they’ve done in the last six weeks.”

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