Arizona Cardinals

Arians, Cardinals reap dividends once Palmer 'gets in a groove'

Published Nov. 23, 2015 9:29 p.m. ET

foxsports

If Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians had a bullpen available to him, he may have yanked starting quarterback Carson Palmer from Sunday night's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“The first half, probably has poorly as he’s played here in three years,” Arians said of Palmer on Monday. “In the second half, probably has good as he’s played in three years."

Palmer bounced back from a two-interception first half to throw for 171 yards and three touchdowns in the third quarter alone as the Cardinals extended their winning streak to four games with a 34-31 victory over the Bengals.

“That’s the type of guy he is," Arians said. "He can have rough moments, shake them off and just come on back. He’s like a really good pitcher who can’t find the plate, and then all of a sudden, he gets in a groove.”

Palmer finished with 317 yards passing and his third four-touchdown game to boost his season total to 27 scoring passes. That moved him within three of the franchise single-season record and five shy of matching his career high with Cincinnati in 2005.

“I just made some bad plays, but I think that’s the sign of a really good team win,” Palmer said. “When one guy is struggling or one side of the ball is struggling, you pick up the slack for the guys around you. We picked it up in the second half.”

In the last 2 gms, @AZCardinals put up 73 total points vs. NFL's #2 ranked (Seattle) & #1 ranked (Cincinnati) scoring defenses.
— Mike Helm (@AZ_Helm) November 23, 2015