Upset in the desert

September 30, 2007 by Mike Olbinski

What a weekend for Arizona sports. First the Diamondbacks and now this.

We’ve seen and felt this football team get better each week. Even in the loss to Baltimore, I wrote that it was a moral victory because of the offense we discovered and the near-win we almost had. You could just sense that with Ken Whisenhunt and a new offensive line, the Arizona Cardinals were turning a corner.

That corner may still be there to turn, but the Cards made a huge dent in it today in Glendale by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-14.

Starting Matt Leinart, then going to Warner, then back to Leinart, the Cardinals played a masterful game on both sides of the ball against a very tough Steelers team. The streak of sub-100 yard rushers against Arizona stays alive as the hot as of late Willie Parker could only muster 37 yards on 19 carries. The defense was stifling and brutal all afternoon.

Warner relieved Leinart and after two series, led them on a touchdown drive with a scoring pass to Jerheme Urban. The Cards forced Pittsburgh to punt early in the 4th quarter and that’s when the game changed.

Steve Breaston (pictured right and above), who broke Big 10 records for returned punts for scores, ended the 14-year dryspell for the Cardinals in the same category. He ripped off a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown and turned the tide in the game towards Arizona.

Whisenhunt seemed to have found his offense in Warner, but then shocked the entire legion of fans watching by putting Leinart back into the game midway through the fourth. Maybe he was worried about Warner’s propensity to fumble the ball. Who knows. But it turned out to be the right call.

Leinart hit a big throw to Bryant Johnson and quarterback-sneaked on 4th down to keep the drive alive. It ended with an Edgerrin James diving touchdown to go up 21-7 with four minutes left.

Arizona never wins going away, and the defense became like jelly again by allowing the Steelers to score with 1:58 left in the game. The hearts of the collective body of Cards fans started pounding a nervous beat.

But Arizona recovered the onside kick attempt and then intercepted Ben Roethlisberger to put an end to the game.

The upset was complete and in the books. What a huge win for this franchise, for Warner, for Leinart and especially Whisenhunt and Russ Grim.

And the fans who have stuck with the team. Is this a corner almost turned? With the St. Louis Rams next week who haven’t won a game, the Cards have a chance to get that elusive winning record.

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