Big Red Recap: Cardinals beat Packers and advance to NFC Championship

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The sequel is hardly ever better than the original.

Unless it’s Arizona and Green Bay in the postseason.

Six years after their epic overtime encounter, the Cardinals and Packers staged perhaps an even better performance. On Saturday, the Cardinals, as they did in 2009, won the NFC Divisional Round matchup, 26-20 in overtime, in front of a sold out University of Phoenix Stadium.

Larry Fitzgerald caught a five-yard shovel pass from Carson Palmer to send the Cardinals to the NFC Championship game. It came one play after Palmer found Fitzgerald wide open in the left flat and then zigzagged his way 75 yards to set up the game-winning score.

Fitzgerald finished with eight catches for 176 yards.

Palmer was 25-of-41 for 349 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked three times.

The Cardinals (14-3) found themselves in overtime after Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed yet another Hail Mary, 41 yards to Jeff Janis as time expired. Rodgers, who went 24-of-44 for 261 yards and two touchdowns, completed a 61-yard pass to Janis on 4th-and-20 three plays earlier.

The Cardinals jumped in front 7-0, but the Packers (11-7) scored 13 unanswered points and led 13-10 at the end of the third quarter.

The Cardinals were 0-3 in the regular season when trailing entering the fourth quarter.

THE GOOD

Following a three-and-out on their first possession, the Cardinals, taking advantage of a short field, scored the game’s first touchdown with Palmer throwing an 8-yard pass to Michael Floyd, who first outjumped the defender and then did a nice job of getting both feet inbounds in the back-right corner of the end zone. On the drive, which began at the Green Bay 42-yard line, Palmer, who opened the game misfiring on his first two pass attempts, was 6-of-7 for 40 yards and his first playoff touchdown as a Cardinal.

The first catch was for four yards, the second gained 32. Four plays later, Fitzgerald caught a 19-yard pass to put the Cardinals at the Green Bay 7-yard line. Fitzgerald’s 45 receiving yards on the Cardinals’ second possession of the third quarter gave him 61 yards for the game, pushing him past Steve Smith (782) for the most receiving yards in NFL history through a player’s first eight career postseason games. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the drive stalled with a Chandler Catanzaro 28-yard field goal.

Just 2-of-9 on third down through three quarters, the Cardinals went 3-of-3 on the go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter. Floyd and John Brown each caught nine-yard passes on 3rd-and-4. Later, David Johnson muscled his way past the first-down sticks, gaining 10 yards to the Green Bay 9 on 3rd-and-10. On the very next play, Palmer rifled a pass over the middle that bounced off Fitzgerald’s arm and into the waiting hands of Floyd for a nine-yard touchdown and 17-13 Cardinals lead with 3:44 to play.

THE BAD

What would’ve been a 100-yard pick-6 by Patrick Peterson was wiped off the second-quarter scoreboard due to a penalty on defensive tackle Frostee Rucker, who was flagged for illegal use of hands. Replays showed Rucker’s left hand in up in the facemask of right tackle Bryan Bulaga. The call, which came on 3rd-and-4 at the Arizona 18, gave the Packers an automatic first down. Fortunately for the Cardinals, the defense regrouped and held Green Bay to a Mason Crosby 28-yard field goal.

Sometimes a team’s best defense is its offense. That was the case for the Packers, who ran 13 more plays than the Cardinals in the first half and enjoyed a better than five-minute advantage in time of possession (17:26 to 11:52). Twice, the Packers had scoring drives of 17 plays that ate up nearly eight minutes of action on each possession. Fortunately for the Cardinals, who were outgained 166-75, the defense held Green Bay to field goals on its two red zone trips and took a 7-6 lead into halftime.

Back in Week 16, the Cardinals held the Packers to 33 rushing yards on 12 attempts. Green Bay doubled that mark and than some, on its second possession of the third quarter. It was all Eddie Lacy, who gained 75 yards, including a 61-yard run up the middle, breaking a handful of tackles for the longest rush of his career. The ground game helped set up the go-ahead touchdown; Rodgers found Janis for eight yards on 3rd-and-goal to cap a six-play, 81-yard drive to give Green Bay a 13-7 lead at 10:17.

STAT OF THE GAME

10: The game-winning score was Fitzgerald’s 10th career posteason touchdown, moving him into a tie for the third-most postseason touchdown receptions all-time with Fred Biletnikoff, Antonio Freeman, Randy Moss and Hines Ward

HE SAID IT

“Saved that shovel pass for about 18 weeks,” head coach Bruce Arians said, referring to the game-winning play

NOTED

– The Cardinals became the first team in postseason history with two playoff wins by scoring a touchdown in overtime; both victories came against the Packers.

– The Cardinals improved to 4-0 at University of Phoenix Stadium in the postseason and 26-6 against teams outside the division under Arians, including the playoffs.

– Arians improved his coaching record in divisional games to 5-2 and has won five in a row dating back to the 2004 season when he was on the Steelers staff.

– Justin Bethel momentarily left the game midway through the second quarter—and was replaced by Chris Clemons—after appearing to be shaken up on a third down pass play.

– Fitzgerald’s six-yard, first-quarter catch gave him at least one reception in 187 consecutive games, including the playoffs; 179 of those games have come in the regular season.

– Among the Cardinals’ inactives were running back Kerwynn Williams and defensive tackle Red Bryant, a pair of healthy scratches who had been seeing regular playing time.

– The Cardinals prior to kickoff unveiled their 2015 NFC West Division championship banner, the third such banner and among four overall that hang in the rafters in the north end zone.

– The Cardinals have now sold out all 104 games (preseason and postseason included) they have played at University of Phoenix Stadium since the building opened in 2006.

– American Idol winner and longtime Cardinals fan Jordin Sparks sang the National Anthem, while multi-platinum recording artist Flo Rida performed a special halftime set.

UP NEXT

For only the second time in franchise history, the Cardinals will play in the NFC Championship game for the right to advance to the Super Bowl.

It’s Sunday, Jan. 24. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. with pregame coveraging beginning four hours earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

That’s the known; the unknown is who the Cardinals’ opponent will be and where the game will be played.

If Seattle beats Carolina, then the Cardinals will host the Seahawks; but if it’s the Panthers winning on Sunday, then the Cardinals will travel to Charlotte and Bank of America Stadium.

The Cardinals and Seahawks split the regular-season series with the road team winning both matchups.

The two NFC West rivals have never met in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals and Panthers would meet for the second straight postseason.

In last year’s Wild Card round, Carolina won, 27-16, their first playoff victory in nine years with Cam Newton throwing for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

Seven years earlier, let’s not forget, the Cardinals defeated the Panthers during the 2008 Super Bowl run.

Overall, Carolina lead 9-5 in a series that dates back to 1995.

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