Carson Palmer exited early for the Cardinals following a hard hit he endured on a Rams sack in the fourth quarter in a 17-13 loss. He was evaluated for a concussion, per the team. Coach Bruce Arians told reporters after the game that Palmer is in concussion protocol.
Palmer was seen getting checked by Arizona"s trainers on the sideline following the quarterback takedown, and then went to the locker room for his apparent injury. Drew Stanton came on to replace the veteran quarterback.
Arians also stated that the team will be "very, very careful" in dealing with Palmer"s concussion, and said it will be tough for Palmer to play on a short week against the 49ers on Thursday night.
Before Palmer left the game, the Cardinals were clinging onto a 13-10 lead. After a Chase Keenum to Brian Quick touchdown with less than three minutes remaining to give the Rams the late advantage, Stanton was unable to lead the Cardinals to victory following two interceptions on his two drives in action. He ended up completing four of his 11 throws after coming off the bench.
Palmer was 23 of 36 through the air for 288 yards along with a touchdown toss and interception before the injury. Stanton, a 10-year veteran, threw four passes in mop-up duty two weeks ago for his only prior season action in Arizona"s blowout win against the Buccaneers.
It was a rough day for both NFC Championship participants, as both the Cardinals and Panthers fell to 1-3 on the season with each of their star quarterbacks getting knocked out of the game.
Carson Palmer"s Unsightly Gift from Matt Barkley | NFL
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Cardinals will have something to play for on Sunday, with the Panthers" game being flexed to 4:25. We break down the fantasy implications.
The Arizona Cardinals will not have a meaningless game against theSeattle Seahawks on Sunday, now that the Panthers" kickoff has been flexed to 4:25 p.m.
A Carolina Panthers win would lock the Cardinals into the No. 2 seed in the NFC, but with the Cardinals playing at the same time, they do not have the luxury of resting their starters. It no longer puts head coach Bruce Arians and his staff in a bizarre situation, one that would have him preparing his starters throughout the week only to yank them early on.
Fantasy impact: Arians gave his starters some rest during Week 16"s blowout win over the Green Bay Packers, but it is difficult to envision that scenario happening once again in Week 17. Fantasy owners with Carson Palmer can keep him penned into lineups.
The Seahawks defense poses a tough challenge, but it is one that Palmer and the Cardinals starters have already proven they can overcome. Palmer"s fantasy owners can continue starting him as planned with Sunday"s game having meaning.
Carson Palmer Delivers The Heat To John Brown for 7-yard TD! | Packers vs. Cardinals | NFL
BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Arizona Cardinals had lost dynamic playmaker Tyrann Mathieu for the season. Fellow safety Rashad Johnson, the secondarys quarterback, was sidelined with an ankle injury.
And the Cardinals responded with their best defensive game of the season.
Well, one of their best anyway.
I thought we played better in Seattle, coach Bruce Arians said.
Maybe, but this one was a close second.
Arizona sacked Aaron Rodgers eight times and returned two fumbles for touchdowns in a 38-8 rout of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Were blessed to play this game, Cardinals inside linebacker Deone Bucannon said. I love each and every one of the players in here, and we just want to keep rocking.
The Cardinals ninth straight victory one shy of the club record set in 1948 clinched at least the No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC and a first-round bye. And thanks to Carolinas loss to Atlanta, Arizona still has a shot at the No. 1 seed Carolina needs to lose to Tampa Bay while the Cardinals beat Seattle next Sunday.
Its all about when you click at the right time and your team is hot going into the playoffs, said cornerback Jerraud Powers, who recovered two fumbles, returning one 7 yards for a score.
By the time Karim Martin leveled Rodgers, the ball popped loose, and 6-foot-4, 318-pound Cory Redding followed a convoy 36 yards for the score, it was 31-0 with 9:34 to play.
I think his feeble jump into the end zone was outstanding, Arians said.
Rodgers stayed in a while more, but finally sat down to watch the inevitable conclusion.
We have a standard that we have set around here, Rodgers said, and we just havent lived up to it consistently.
Here are things to take from Arizonas dominant victory over Green Bay:
SACK CITY: The stars aligned for the onslaught of sacks and near-sacks the Cardinals put on the Packers.
First, Green Bay starting left tackle David Bakhtiari missed the game with an ankle injury. Then starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga left with another ankle injury.
The stage was set for Arizona to bring defenders early and often, and it worked.
Dwight Freeney led the way with three sacks, earning $100,000 for each one of them in incentives. Calais Campbell got 2 1/2.
The nine sacks were the most for Arizona since it had 10 against Philadelphia in 1986, two years before the Cardinals moved to the desert.
VERY MUCH STILL IN IT: The loss didnt mean a whole lot to the Packers in their quest for the NFC North title.
Green Bay dropped into a tie with Minnesota for the division lead when the Vikings cruised to a 49-17 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night. Green Bay hosts Minnesota in its regular-season finale next Sunday.
Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said the Cardinals were very good, and we played very poor.
FLOYD AGAIN: Arizonas Michael Floyd caught six passes for 111 yards. Its his fifth time over 100 yards receiving in seven games. In his previous 55 games, he did it six times.
Everything is just clicking, Floyd said.
FITZGERALDS MARK: Arizonas Larry Fitzgerald caught four passes to tie his career and Cardinals franchise single-season record of 103 receptions. Its the third time hes been over 100 catches and first since 2007. He caught 63 last season.
REDDINGS RAMBLE: When Redding scooped up that fumble and headed for the end zone, he couldnt help thinking about a similar situation earlier this season.
At Detroit, Redding intercepted Matthew Staffords pass at the 30 but was tackled by Stafford at the 4-yard line.
My boys and teammates gave me a hard time the first one, he said. Letting the quarterback tackle you blah, blah, blah. I said if I get another opportunity, Id have to get it to the end zone and it worked out that way.
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