Cardinals know beating Packers a second time will not be easy

The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers played each other less than three weeks ago, but that game may as well have been last year, which, technically, it was.

BY ADAM GREEN

Jan 15, 2016, 6:00 PM

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Arizona Cardinals cornerback Jerraud Powers (25) recovers a fumble against the Green Bay Packers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers played each other less than three weeks ago, but that game may as well have been last year.

Which, technically, it was.

“I am not taking much and I don’t think we are as a team,” Cardinals QB Carson Palmer said. “We’re focused on the 2016 Green Bay Packers. That was the ’15 Packers and things have changed a little bit.

“So we’re not taking much, or there’s not a lot of confidence we’re carrying over from that game.”

The game that shall not be named was a 38-8 victory for the Cardinals in which Palmer threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns, Arizona running backs combined for 123 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries and the Cardinals defense sacked Packers QB Aaron Rodgers eight times — part of a nine-sack day overall — while also returning a pair of fumbles for touchdowns.

It was as dominant a performance you will ever see in a battle between two good teams, and the victory clinched a first-round bye for the Cardinals, which they enjoyed last weekend. It was a statement game of sorts for Arizona, and the one they made was quite loud.

“The message that we sent is we’re the Arizona Cardinals and we play ball, but to be honest, I feel like they could come out and send a message this game,” linebacker Kevin Minter said. “We can’t really dwell on that game. Obviously we did great and what not, but we sent a message. But at the same time, it’s like man, forget that game, we’ve got to play this time because these dudes, this is a whole different team.”

Fair or not, the reality of the playoffs is that for all the Cardinals accomplished that fateful December afternoon, none of it will matter if they lose Saturday night.

“Yeah, last game has really no bearing on this game,” head coach Bruce Arians said. “It’s win or go home.”

The setting is different and the teams are different, though how much they have changed is a matter of perspective. The Packers for the most part looked good in a 35-18 win over the Washington Redsfkins last week, but it is worth noting that Washington had the 17th-ranked offense in the NFL to go along with the 28th-ranked defense. Maybe Green Bay found its rhythm, or perhaps the result had more to do with facing a lesser opponent.

Whatever the reason, they did not look like the team the Cardinals had their way with a few weeks ago in a game that has not been totally forgotten.

“Just because having those guys on film vs. us in a time that was a couple weeks ago, it helps us out tremendously just because we can scheme,” cornerback Jerraud Powers said. “We know what they’ve done vs. this blitz, we knew how they made adjustments vs. this front or this pressure or what not. So it helps us tremendously.

“But when I say the Packers look different, when we were facing them during that time I think they were trying to find their identity or find something that worked; they were kind of in a flux offensively. Since we’ve played them, it seems like those guys found it and they look like a completely different team.”

Of course, if seeing how the Packers react to what the Cardinals have done is an advantage for Arizona, the same could be said for the other side of the coin, too. Regardless of the final score of the previous meeting, each team has received a fairly recent and relevant look at its opponent, which adds another layer of intrigue to this matchup.

It’s not often teams in separate divisions see each other twice in a season.

“It is a challenge when you’re playing a team a second time, but I think it’s a little different, too, when you’re playing in the playoffs, when the second time comes in the playoffs, because that ‘let’s get revenge factor’ is canceled out by both teams are hungry to keep winning because you’re done if you don’t,” left tackle Jared Veldheer said, adding it’s different than a regular season rematch. “So I think both teams will be at their very best and excited to take the field Saturday.”

It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, and nowhere is that more evident than on a football field.

“It’s very tough, not only playing a team twice; it’s very tough beating a team twice,” Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson said. “Coach has been doing a great job all week of making sure that we’re prepared, well-rested, and focused at the same time, because at the end of the day, we know we’re going to get a different attitude from this Green Bay Packer team than the previous time we played them. We know we’re going to get all type of gimmick plays, a lot of fourth down conversions that these guys want to try to go for, maybe a lot of fake punts out there, because at the end of the day, we’ve got to lay it all on the line because the next game is not promised.”

Both Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy and Arizona’s Arians have said there are elements of their respective playbooks that were not used the first time they played, as the game going sideways when it did allowed each to hold things back.

How much of a role that, or the revenge factor or even the improved health of the Packers will matter remains to be seen. The Cardinals won 13 games this season and are playing at home for a reason, and the general perception seems to be that so long as they play to their capabilities, the home team should come out on top.

If history is any indication, that’s exactly what will happen. But then again, the last game is not necessarily a precursor for this one.

“I can’t emphasize that enough, we’re not assuming the same thing’s going to happen,” Palmer said. “It would be OK if it did, but we’re not hanging our hat on that we’re going to go out and do the same things that we did.”

Stories for pre-game reading

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell thinks the Cardinals have the fourth-easiest path to Super Bowl 50.

Former Cardinals QB Jake Plummer is impressed with organization, says Arizona is doing all the right things.

Carson Palmer was named the ProFootballFocus.com league MVP.

The nature of Alex Okafor’s toe injury is a mystery as team moves on.

The Cardinals hope LB Jason Babin is the next ‘hidden gem.’

An excited Carson Palmer is focused on the Packers, not what a win could mean for him.

Running back Chris Johnson is back on the field, eyeing a Super Bowl return.

Unlike past playoffs, the Cardinals enter this run as favorites.

Vince Marotta looked through history to examine how much Arizona’s blowout win over Green Bay matters now.

Nice guy Larry Fitzgerald says he respects opponents, the game.

As Craig Grialou writes, the Cardinals’ special teams look to come up special vs. Green Bay.

Aaron Rodgers feels all the pressure is on the Cardinals in this Divisional Round matchup.

Arizona rookies David Johnson and Markus Golden are prepared for their postseason debuts.

ESPN NFL guy John Clayton predicts Arizona’s defensive backs will dominate the matchup with Green Bay’s receivers.

Miscellany

-Including Saturday’s game, the Cardinals will have appeared in eight playoff games since Michael Bidwill took over as team president in 2007. They had played in seven postseason games in their entire history prior to then.

-The Cardinals enter this game a perfect 3-0 in playoff games at University of Phoenix Stadium. One of those wins was over the Packers, a 51-45 OT thriller in a 2009 Wild Card Round game.

-Larry Fitzgerald needs one touchdown catch to give him 10 in his first eight career postseason games, which would be the most in NFL history. He also needs 47 yards to pass Steve Smith for most receiving yards in NFL history through a player’s first eight playoff games.

-Just one time in Cardinals postseason history has a player rushed for at least 100 yards (Elmer Angsman, 159, 1947).

-Just 10 players have notched at least 10 postseason sacks. Dwight Freeney is sitting on nine entering Saturday’s game.