1 2 3 4 T
WAS 0 13 0 7 20
ARI 7 7 3 13 30

It wasn't until merely minutes before game time that Bruce Arians and the Arizona Cardinals knew who their starting quarterback was going to be. They were ecstatic to announce that Carson Palmer would be returning for his second game of the season. Palmer didn't disappoint as he led the Cardinals to their fourth win of the season, keeping them in first place with a 30-20 win over the struggling Washington Redskins.  

It took Carson Palmer a couple drives to get back into the flow of it after being limited in practice all week in between receiving shoulder treatment as well. But Palmer showed why the Cardinals have missed him so dearly as he delivered a absolutely perfect throw to Michael Floyd in the endzone for a 20 yard touchdown to open the scoring at 7-0.

Larry Fitzgerald showed everyone that he still has what it takes to be considered an elite wideout in the NFL exploding for his best game of the season. Fitzgerald was nearly impossible to take down on all six of his receptions. Especially with his 24 yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, where he literally carried a defender on his back about five yards into the endzone.  A defensive pass interference call on Washington extended the drive, making the play possible.  Palmer finished the game 28/44 with 250 yards.

The Cardinals defense was surprisingly lenient on Sunday, giving up over 400 yards of offense, 354 of them in the air. A big chunk of the yardage came from Desean Jackson, who had 115 yards on just three receptions. Jackson broke loose in the Arizona secondary multiple times and scored on a 64 yard play where he ran it the entire way. Kirk Cousins made a living off short dump offs but struggled mightily throwing downfield.

Arizona's defensive coordinator Todd Bowles did a masterful job of mixing up the defensive packages and amounts of pressure the Cardinals placed on Cousins. Bowles cranked up the pressure in the fourth quarter, forcing Cousins to toss three interceptions. Safety Rashad Johnson had two of them and the last one was a pick six that iced the game. Jerraud Powers had the other interception and all of them were terrible decisions on Cousins' part, all appearing to be thrown right to the Cardinal defenders. The Cardinals forced all four of their turnovers in the fourth quarter as they also recovered an Andre Roberts fumble.

The Arizona Cardinals will ride on top of the NFC West for at least another week with their 4-1 record and will prepare to take on the Oakland Raiders next Sunday on the road. Arizona is in a great spot already atop the division and about to play a 0-5 Raider team.

Worth Noting:

  • Through five games this season and three different quarterbacks in those five games, the Arizona Cardinals are the only remaining team that has yet to throw an interception.
  • The Arizona Cardinals held the Washington Redskins to 72 yards of rushing offense on Sunday, keeping them as one of  the top five rushing defenses in the NFL.
  • Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro made all three of his field goal attempts, making him a perfect 14/14 as a rookie.