Cardinals Embarrass Eagles To Clinch NFC West

Before last night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Arizona Cardinals had already won seven straight games and were one win away from clinching the NFC West division in a season that sure looks promising for one of the NFC’s top contenders.

With a close game during the first half with the Cardinals up 17-10, the gas was turned on in the second half with the Cardinals winning in a whopping 40-17 game. Rookie running back David Johnson, who subbed in for injured backs Andre Ellington and Chris Johnson, finished the game with 187 yards in rushing and three touchdowns, including a 47-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Carson Palmer threw 274 yards on 20 completions including a touchdown to wide receiver John Brown, regardless of leaving the game for a play because of an injury on his right index finger. On the losing side, Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford had a somewhat impressive game with 361 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions including one that was run back for a touchdown by Cardinals safety Deone Bucannon at the start of the fourth quarter. Eagles running back Demarco Murray only having two carries and running three yards, thus questioning the trust issues between him and head coach Chip Kelly.

With last night’s win, the Cardinals officially clinched the NFC West, their first division win since 2009, with a record of 12-2. They can clinch a first round bye if they win against the Green Bay Packers next week. The Eagles still have a chance to clinch the weak NFC East if they were to win both of their games against the Redskins and Giants for the last two games of the season.