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Can the Arizona Cardinals host and play in the 2015 Super Bowl?

Roar Rookie
18th December, 2014
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Roar Rookie
18th December, 2014
2

After having dropped two straight games on the road, the Arizona Cardinals entered Week 15 of the National Football League tied with the Green Bay Packers for the top spot in the NFC.

They desperately needed a win to stay ahead of the Seattle Seahawks in their division, and on Thursday night the Cardinals faced a St Louis Rams team that have been playing like the best team in this league for the past weeks.

Arizona passed that tough test with flying colours, now having the chance to clinch a playoff spot if the Cowboys-Eagles Sunday night game doesn’t end in a tie or a combined Green Bay Packers win and Detroit Lions loss.

Despite losing yet another quarterback, the Arizona Cardinals managed to come out of the Edward Jones Dome with a 12-6 victory over the Rams on Thursday night, thanks to Chandler Catanzaro’s four field goals and a stellar performance from their defence. It was the first time this season that a team won a game without scoring a touchdown.

With this hard-fought victory in a short week, the Cardinals tie the franchise record for wins in a season, having won their 11th, and with two games still left to play. Drew Stanton completed 12 of his 20 passes for 109 yards before being taken off the field in the third quarter with a knee injury, after getting sacked by Rams DT Aaron Donald, a situation that forced third string quarterback Ryan Lindley to play for the first time since 2012.

This team has been haunted by the injury bug week after week, but in spite of that have kept playing aggressive and physical football. The Arizona Cardinals might be on their way to host and play in the 2015 Super Bowl.

The St Louis Rams hadn’t allowed a single point in nine consecutive quarters, had pitched back-to-back shutouts in the last two weeks, and are the first team since 2011 to prevent opposing teams from scoring a touchdown in three straight games.

Despite these impressive numbers, the Rams were unable to stop the Cardinals on Thursday night, particularly the ground game, as running backs Kerwynn Williams, with 15 carries, and Stephan Taylor, with 14 carries, combined for 136 yards. The Rams also didn’t get to the opposing quarterback as effectively as they had done in the past weeks.

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St Louis entered this game with the remarkable number of 34 sacks in their last eight match-ups, the best in the NFL, but managed just one against the Cardinals. And if it is true that they didn’t allow a touchdown for the third consecutive game, it is also true that, offensively, the team didn’t put up the numbers that would keep their playoff dreams alive.

They were unable to grab a first down for more than 20 minutes of the second half and the team’s only points in the game came from two field goals by kicker Greg Zuerlein.

With the Arizona Cardinals’ record and their aggressive and physical game, the hot ticket for Arizona residents will definitely be for the 2015 Super Bowl.

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