Sports Headlines
Cardinals close in 1st division title since 1975
10:25 AM MST on Monday, November 17, 2008
SEATTLE (AP) -- The Arizona Cardinals aren't impressed with themselves after ending the reign of the Seattle Seahawks.
"We haven't done anything yet. This game coming up, that Giants game, now you are marching with the best," said defensive tackle Darnell Dockett after Sunday's 26-20 win over the four-time defending NFC West champions.
Kurt Warner threw for 395 yards - his franchise record fourth consecutive 300-yard passing game - to help move the Cardinals to the brink of their first division title since Gerald Ford was president.
"This is the best test for us," Dockett said.
He was talking about hosting the Super Bowl champions (9-1) this weekend, not about the NFC West.
The Cardinals are 7-3 for the first time since 1977 and can win their first division title since 1975 with a win over New York this weekend and a loss by San Francisco at Dallas.
The Seahawks acknowledged their run is over.
"Yeah, they won the division. That's plain and simple now," linebacker Julian Peterson said.
"Now, our goals have changed," Mike Holmgren said of his stunningly bad 10th and final season as Seattle's head coach. "It's been a good run."
Warner completed 32 of 44 passes, Anquan Boldin caught 13 of them for a career-best 186 yards, Larry Fitzgerald had 10 receptions for 151 yards and J.J. Arrington scored a career-high two touchdowns as Arizona won in Seattle for the first time since 2002.
The Cardinals swept their season's division road games for the first time since 1968, when they were in St. Louis and members of the NFL Century division.
"Everything's beautiful," said former Seahawks linebacker Chike Okeafor, who skipped off the field to celebrate his triumphant return.
Everything's bottom-out in Seattle.
The Seahawks (2-8) had quarterback Matt Hasselbeck return from a five-week absence due to a bulging disk in his back that caused nerve problems. Hasselbeck was 17-for-29 for 170 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions while looking predictably rusty and weak. Rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had two of the interceptions.
Yet two Arizona turnovers - one a fumble by Warner while getting sacked and one by Karlos Dansby on his return of an interception in the end zone - led to two short touchdown runs in a three-minute span by T.J. Duckett. That pulled Seattle to within 26-20 with 9:41 left.
But then the Seahawks limped to their only three-and-out drive. On their final offensive play, Hasselbeck threw short while Deion Branch, who had a team-high four catches in his first game in six weeks, broke long. Rodgers-Cromartie made a diving interception with 2 minutes left. Dockett made a pronounced kicking motion while looking at the Seahawks bench to symbolically boot them from their division throne.
Hasselbeck said he was exhausted in the fourth quarter, ultimately too spent to save Seattle's season. After the game he took intravenous fluids, looked punch-drunk and sounded miserable.
"It's disappointing, because I feel like my team really needed me to finish it strong," he said. "I feel like I let my teammates down."
The 37-year-old Warner keeps elevating his game and completed 19 of his first 21 passes. The forgotten two-time league MVP admitted last week he thought he would never get this chance again.
"We're back in the mix again," said Warner, whose 17 300-yard passing games with the Cardinals is two behind Neil Lomax's franchise record. "Obviously, there's still a long way to go, but to be 10 games in and be in the mix is fun. We haven't been there in a while. I haven't been there in a while."
Boldin and Fitzgerald roamed free against far smaller defensive backs. Arizona even got Boldin mismatched with linebacker Lofa Tatupu for big gains that set up some of Neil Rackers' four field goals.
"We have heard a lot of talk about people doubting us, that we weren't playing anybody. What we did today speaks for itself," Boldin said. "They say the road comes through here. We came in and took care of business."
Notes:@ The Cardinals have 289 points, on pace to break their team record of 423 set in 1984. ... This is the first time Holmgren has been 2-8 in his 17 years as a head coach.
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