Tonight's win over Atlanta brought many emotions to not just the members of the Arizona Cardinals, but also its fans, who had been patiently and loyally waiting for this moment for many more years than most would be able to stay on their fan-bandwagon.
The win finally got them their wish- a home playoff win. Tonight should be a night for celebration in the desert; after all, considering their history, who knows how long it will take the Cards to get back to this point.
However, for all of the people not emotionally-invested in them (A.K.A: in this post, me), it's time to start looking forward in the playoffs.
If Arizona can play as well as they did tonight, with a balanced offense and stellar line play, they'll be a serious threat for all NFC playoff teams remaining. Manny, including me, didn't think it possible for them to look as good as they did tonight. But, if you haven't, think about this: they have yet to win a 2008 game on the road against a non-NFC West opponent.
And, as a result of their weak 9-7 record, they'll have to play on the road in the next two weeks of the playoffs (if they get to the second week). In the divisional round, it will be either in Carolina or New York, the two locations of the teams that got a wildcard round bye. Both clubs are very good and will be difficult for them to beat, and both, although Charlotte isn't exactly known as a cold place, won't have the conditions of a dome or the Arizona heat.
Because of this, I'm seriously doubting if they'll be able to have a realistic chances of winning next week when seeing how poorly they played in cold weather in '08, particularly in New York against the Jets and in New England against the Pats.
Either way, it would be a tough game. However, the better case of the two would clearly by facing the Panthers, which wouldn't be as cold of a game. To ensure this, the Eagles must beat the Vikings tomorrow, sending Philadelphia to the Meadowlands and Arizona to Charlotte.
But again, if they can play like they did tonight while maybe limiting a few of the big plays against their defense, the Cardinals are a potentially dangerous team against anyone, and shouldn't be overlooked because of the weak division they played in and that they got into the playoffs because of it.
