Cardinals find a way to beat Packers on what was less than their best day

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Cardinals fans had to wait six years between home playoff games. That’s OK today because the Green Bay-Arizona encore produced the same result as the 2009 original — and it was just as bat-crap crazy.

In the span of five minutes of play, 65,089 fans witnessed a pass that deflected 10 yards for a touchdown, a Hail Mary, a botched coin toss by the officials and a trick play that punched the Cardinals’ ticket to their first NFC Championship Game since Jan. 18, 2009.

“I’ve been in some really crazy ones but they’re really bizarre when you lose,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. “They’re not too bad when you win.”

Quarterback Carson Palmer’s 5-yard shovel-pass to Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown provided the crescendo to Saturday’s 26-20 overtime win at University of Phoenix Stadium, but a series of impossible twists over the game’s final moments turned what had been a poorly executed eyesore into an instant epic.

Palmer ignited the drama when a pass intended for receiver Larry Fitzgerald glanced off Packers cornerback Damarious Randall (an ASU product) and caromed high and deep into the end zone where Michael Floyd was waiting for what must now be referred to as The Miraculous Reception.

“I think it was a gift from God,” said Floyd, who did attend Notre Dame.

The touchdown gave Arizona a 17-13 lead and calmed the nerves of Cardinals fans who had watched Palmer toss two interceptions and the Arizona lines get dominated on both sides of the ball.

Arizona added a field goal to take a 20-13 lead with 1:55 to play, but Arians’ no-risk-it, no-biscuit philosophy backfired on him when he left too much time on the clock by passing on second down instead of running more clock.

After completing a 4th-and-20 pass to receiver Jeff Janis, who inexplicably got behind cornerback Justin Bethel, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers lofted a 41-yard pass into the end zone as time expired. Janis outleaped cornerback Patrick Peterson and safety Rashad Johnson to post the Packers’ second Hail Mary TD of the season and force overtime.

“It was a roller coaster on the sidelines, but you’ve just got to keep all your emotions in check and go on to the next play,” Arians said. “Good, bad or ugly, you’ve got to go to the next play. That’s basically what our football team did.”

Fortunately for the Cardinals, they had Fitzgerald to rely on for another brilliant playoff performance. On the first snap of overtime, Palmer felt pressure and executed a spin move to escape the pocket to his left. As he rolled out he spotted Fitzgerald, somehow all alone in the flat. Palmer completed the pass and Fitzgerald took over from there, weaving 75 yards to the Green Bay 5-yard line.

“I was expecting somebody to be around and I saw a lot of grass,” said Fitzgerald, who finished with eight receptions for 176 yards and a TD. “I was heading to the sideline and tried to make a move and get to the end zone the best I could.”

Fitzgerald didn’t quite make it, but after an incomplete pass, Arians dialed up a play that Fitzgerald had been patiently waiting to debut.

“We’ve been saving that little shovel pass for about 18 weeks,” Arians said.

When Palmer snapped the ball, Fitzgerald spotted guard Mike Iupati and center Lyle Sendlein opening a gaping hole in the middle of the line.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run that shovel in practice just waiting for my opportunity,” Fitzgerald said. “Lo and behold, the second round of the playoffs, you get your number called. My eyes lit up in the huddle.”

There are concerns aplenty to address this week as the Cardinals begin preparations for the Panthers or Seahawks. The offense has been stagnant the past two games, the running game was non-existent against the Packers and the defense allowed too many sustained drives because it couldn’t get off the field on third down.

But those are concerns for another day. The Cardinals overcame a host of mistakes and long stretches of shoddy play to move within one win of the Super Bowl.

“We just kept the faith and kept believing,” Palmer said. “We found a way at the end.”

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