It was a true heavyweight fight Sunday Night in Seattle. Both the Cardinals and Seahawks knocking one another to the floor(or turf in this case). The round house right of Cliff Avrils blitzing hit on Carson Palmer or the uppercut of Andre Ellington scampering down the sideline into the end zone. Both teams were landing shots to each other.
But when it was all said and done the Arizona Cardinals 39-32 victory gave them a three game lead in the NFC West, with seven games to play. They won a divisional game on the road.
They won in a fashion that wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing. Even the most ardent Cardinal fan would have to admit that the blitzing Seahawk defense was having their way in the second half with the Cardinal offensive line.
But this is one of those games that checked off boxes around the credibility of the 2015 squad. When Bruce Arians challenged his team at halftime of the Cleveland game by asking if they were pretenders or contenders, he hit the nail on the head.
Sunday night in Seattle the Cardinals didn’t play like pretenders. Taking down the Seahawks in Seattle doesn’t compare to beating all the bottom feeders from earlier this season (Lions, Browns, Saints, Bears(much improved now), Ravens or 49ers). Sure, it’s just one game, but we have a contender this season in Arizona. Sunday night was a HUGE step forward for this years team.
