2010 Cardinals Week 13 - Deja Vu? Rams Beat Cardinals Again in a Close Finish

The play of Rams RB Steven Jackson was critical in securing the narrow victory

Many were surprised that Arizona was able to overtake the Rams for the best record in the NFC West. While this game didn't change that, it put the Rams just one win behind the Cardinals. This was a game that, just like in Week 1, went down to the wire. Jackson would finish the game with 87 yards rushing for a 4.1 yard YPC average, and would be only 1 yard shy of the most receiving yards for the Rams, at 57 yards. St. Louis QB also continued to show good poise and presence, finishing with a 130.2 QB Rating, 3 touchdowns, and only 1 INT.

2010 Cardinals Week 12 - Cards Surpass Niners in Fourth on to win on MNF

The Cards Broke Away from the Niners in the Fourth Quarter on MNF

In their first NFC West showdown with the 4-7 49ers, both Arizona and San Francisco struggled to get points on the board against tenacious defenses for both teams, and both teams had to settle for a few field goals. However, late in the second quarter, Cardinals QB Derek Anderson would connect with WR Early Doucet for an 8 yard touchdown pass, and while Niners QB Troy Smith (filling in for a temporarily-sidelined Alex Smith) would throw a deep 51 yard touchdown bomb to star rookie WR Michael Crabtree, the Cardinals would rally in the fourth and Derek Anderson would connect with WR Larry Fitzgerald and TE Ben Patrick for two touchdowns, and the Cardinals would break the tie going into the fourth and win it, 27-13.

2010 Cardinals Week 9 - Life Imitating Art, with a Twist? Cards pull out dramatic win in Minnesota

 

Derek Anderson helped the Cards defeat the Vikings in a fourth quarter rally 

In an interesting display of life imitating art with a "what if"-like twist, the Cards/Vikings game would produce results not unlike the subsequent real-life game, as this game went down to the wire, with the only difference being that it would  be Derek Anderson who would lead the charge near the end of the game to win it, and Vikings QB Brett Favre could not produce the late-game heroics associated with the future Hall of Famer to push the game into OT.

2010 Cardinals Week 8 - Cards Blowout Bucs

The Cardinals put on a show for the home crowd with excellent play on all sides of the ball

Arizona's week 7 match-up featured the 2-3-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers visiting 'Zona to take on the 4-2 Cards. Fresh off an upset of another NFC South team, the Super Bowl champ Saints, Whisenhut's squad were confident in their abilities, and it showed in this game, where the Cardinals would score touchdowns on defense and special teams, in addition to passing and rushing. 

2010 Cardinals Week 5 - Unbelievable! Cardinals Upset Reigning SB Champs

Beanie Wells was critical in helping the Cards' pull off the stunning upset

Many 'Zona fans breathed a sigh of disgust after seeing that after facing AFC West powerhouse San Diego, the Cards would go on to face none other than the reigning Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints, featuring a healthy HB Pierre Thomas as well as Reggie Bush, although the Saints had a few injuries elsewhere (WR Robert Meachem, CB Jabari Greer, and LT Jermon Bushrod). Both teams would turn the ball over via interceptions in the first quarter, but unlike D.A. who ended the game with a 56 passer rating, Brees would end with 94 and made multiple, extremely impressive long bullet passes. Nevertheless, the key difference maker was that Arizona's defense contained Brees' passing attack and the Saints ground game, and made clutch stops and forced a few more turnovers. On the offensive side, Cardinals HB Beanie Wells ran all over the Saints' rush defense, piling up 128 yards rushing, while averaging an astounding 8 yards per carry.

2010 Cardinals Week 4 - Chargers Overpower Cardinals in San Diego

San Diego Overtook Cards in Fourth

The 2-1 Arizona Cardinals knew they'd be in for a difficult outing when week 4 of their schedule showed playing Norv Turner's San Diego Chargers in San Diego. The Chargers were 2-1 heading into the game as well, featuring a top 10 tackler in MLB Stephen Cooper, a top 10 rushing RB in rookie Ryan Mathews, and a top 5 passer in QB Philip Rivers. To their credit, the Cardinals would manage to tie the game up heading into the fourth, but that's when SD began to break away for the win. Cards fall to 2-2 on the season.

2010 Cardinals Week 3 - Cards Win Home Opener Against Raiders in a Barn-Burner

The Cardinals Pull Out a Close Victory Against Oakland

The Cardinals week 3 match-up was their home opener for the 2010 season, and pitted them against the Oakland Raiders. Coming off a huge upset victory against the very talented Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome, and facing an 0-2 Oakland, it would be easy to think this would be an easy win for Arizona. However, while the Cards did jump out to an early lead, the Raiders rallied back, and the game came down to the very last play in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, when Raiders QB Jason Campbell's attempt to scramble into the endzone was stopped around the four yard line thanks to a tackle by Cardinals LB Joey Porter, and had Campbell reached paydirt, it would have sent the game into overtime. Cardinals win, 17-10, and move to 2 and 1 on the season.

Defensive plays bonus footage by LB Joey Porter and FS Kerry Rhodes can be found here.

2010 Cardinals Week 2 - Cardinals Pull Off Upset in "Bird Bowl"

 

Arizona was able to keep Matty Ice Under Wraps

After losing the season opener to division rival St. Louis by an overtime field goal, and being sent to 0 and 1 on the season, the Cardinals weren't too happy about having to face NFC South division powerhouse Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. However, the trip from St. Louis was short, and the Cardinals were hungry for a win, even if it was a longshot. The team played their guts out with very physical intensity on both sides of the ball, the running game was excellent, and the Cardinals pulled off a blowout upset of the Dirty Birds. 'Zona goes to 1-1 on the season, and will host 0-2 Oak-town when they play at home for the first time this season.

2010 Cardinals Week 1 - Rams Beat Cardinals with FG in OT Thriller

Both Anderson and Bradford were on fire throughout the game

Arizona traveled north to St. Louis, to take on the NFC West division rival Rams. Both quarterbacks helped their teams kick off the 2010 season with stellar play-calling and execution. Rookie QB Sam Bradford shined in his debut, finishing with 2 TD passes, only 1 INT, and a passer rating over 100, and 'Zona QB Derek Anderson finished with 3 TD passes, 0 picks, and a passer rating higher than Bradford's. However, in the end, the Rams made the plays when they mattered the most, as Bradford marched his team down the field and threw one of his TD passes to tie the game up with less than 10 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter, and after St. Louis won the coin toss, Bradford would continue his stellar performance and put his team in quasi-FG field position, but Rams Kicker Josh Brown came through as a clutch kicker, knocking one in from 51 yards out to win the game for St. Louis.

2010 Weeks 1-17: Around the League - Injuries, Lineup Changes

Notable injuries, lineup changes:

Week 4
Colts move Ryan Diem from RT to LT after season-ending injury to starting LT Charlie Johnson.  
Lions lose LOLB Julian Peterson for the season; LB Zach Follett to start in place.

 Week 5

Redskins lose star QB Donovan McNabb to injury for 11 weeks, backup QB Rex Grossman to start (hey, at least he has a good grasp of the two-minute offense?); Week 6 update - After "Sexy Rexy" goes down due to injury, the 'Skins start backup QB John Beck, sign veteran journeyman QB Byron Leftwich.

Week 6

After the team's 1-4 start, the Niners bench QB Troy Smith (55 passer rating) in favor of Alex Smith. 

Backup QB Charlie Whitehurst starting in place of the injured Matt Hasselbeck, who is expected to be out for six weeks with a broken collarbone.

Week 13

The Pats are an infirmary, with the following players being sidelined due to injury for 3 weeks or more: LG Stephen Neal, LT Matt Light, QB Tom Brady, WR Wes Welker, LG Dan Connolly, and LOLB Rob Ninkovich. New England has signed & started Josh McCown at QB.

2010 Week 1 - Starting Lineup

Starting lineup:

• QB: "DA" - Derek Anderson
• HB: Chris "Beanie" Wells
• FB: Reagan Mauia
• WRs: Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, Early Doucet
• TE: Ben Patrick
• LT: Alan Faneca
• LG: Levi Brown
• C: Lyle Sendlein
• RG: Deuce Lutui
• RT: Brandon Keith
• LE: Darnell Dockett
• RE: Calais Campbell
• DT: Alan Branch
• LOLB: Joey Porter
• MLB: Gerald Hayes
• ROLB: Clark Haggans
• CB: Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie, Gregory Toler
• FS: Kerry Rhodes
• SS: Adrian Wilson
• KR/PR: Larod Stephens-Howling
• 3DRB: Tim Hightower
• K: Jay Feely
• P: Ben Graham