Cardinals blast Rodgers, Packers
Arizona earns bye in NFC playoffs
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals battered Aaron Rodgers and earned a week of rest to start the playoffs.
The Cardinals sacked Rodgers eight times and returned two of his fumbles for touchdowns in a dominant 38-8 victory over the Green Bay Packers that clinched a first-round playoff bye for Arizona.
Carson Palmer threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinals (13-2).
In all, Packers quarterbacks were sacked nine times in their most one-sided loss of the season. Dwight Freeney had three and Calais Campbell 2½. Cory Redding rambled 36 yards with one of the fumbles for a score, Jerraud Powers took another five yards for a touchdown.
The Packers (10-5) had a halfgame lead over Minnesota in the NFC North with the Vikings playing the New York Giants Sunday night.
Green Bay is home against Minnesota in its regular-season finale next Sunday.
The Cardinals won their ninth in a row to clinch at least the No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC. They still can take the No. 1 seed with a win over Seattle and a Carolina loss to Tampa Bay next week.
Palmer completed 18 of 27 passes and was intercepted once. Michael Floyd caught six passes for 111 yards for the Cardinals, who entered the game with the NFL’s No. 1-ranked offense.
Rodgers was 15 for 28 for 151 yards and a touchdown with one interception.
The game was close until a big reversal of fortune in the final minute of the first half.
With Arizona leading 10-0, Palmer attempted to lob a screen pass to David Johnson near the line of scrimmage but Mike Daniels, the Packers’ 6-foot, 310-pound defensive tackle, intercepted and Green Bay had the ball on the Arizona 15. But on third-and-goal at the 10, Justin Bethel stepped in front of intended receiver James Jones and intercepted the pass in the end zone. Aaron Rodgers’ seventh interception of the season gave the Cardinal the ball at the 20 with 57 seconds to play.
A 47-yard pass play to Floyd advanced the ball to the 33 and two more completions, plus a defensive holding call, set up Palmer’s seven-yard scoring pass to John Brown, putting Arizona ahead 17-0.
Things just got worse for the Packers from there.
On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Green Bay’s James Starks fumbled and Powers recovered at the Packers’ 28. Palmer threw 14 yards to Floyd, then Johnson ran 14 yards for a score to make it 24-0.
The 6-foot-4, 318-pound Redding’s TD made it 31-0.
After punting on their first two possessions of the game, the Cardinals scored the next two times they had the ball.
A facemask penalty on Arizona’s punt return Jeff Janis gave the Cardinals the ball at midfield. Seven plays later, Palmer threw three yards for the touchdown.
Arizona’s next drive stalled at the 1-yard line, where Chandler Catanzaro’s 19-yard field goal put Arizona up 10-0.