Prior to yesterday's game with Seattle, we in Cardinals Nation were feeling pretty good.
Yes, we'd lost our starting quarterback again to an injury. Carson Palmer is out for the season with a knee injury. But our backup, Drew Stanton, has played like a quarterback ready for prime time. He filled in admirably the first time around and even came in to throw the winning touchdown pass to beat Detroit two weeks ago.
But yesterday Stanton played very much like a backup, someone who'd seen action in something like 8 games in 8 years. It's not his fault that the Cardinals lost. Seattle is tough to beat on their home field.
The reality in the NFL is that you've got to have a really good to great quarterback to be a winner. Carson Palmer is one of those guys. Now, we'll find out if Stanton is one of those guys too.
In the meantime the Cardinals have a two game lead in their division. If they only won their two remaining home games that would give them an 11-5 season - good enough for the playoff.
But it might not be good enough to gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs and the Cardinals football team plays best when in front of Cardinals Nation.
So what do we do now?
First, calm down. It was just one loss. Our defense played very well yesterday. We can certainly expect our guys to make some plays in our last five games.
Second, trust in BA. Bruce Arians has pushed all the right buttons, so to speak, this season. And his guys like to play for him. I think it's safe to say that the Cardinals still have plenty of good football left in them this season.
Finally, go have breakfast, drink some coffee, get ready for work. In other words, do your usual stuff. The sun will come up this morning. One loss is not the end of the world for Cardinals Nation. There's still lots of football to get all worked up about!
