National Football League

With NFL's best record, Cardinals thinking Super thoughts

Published Nov. 2, 2014 6:42 p.m. ET

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Attach a giant qualifier to the Cardinals' 28-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium if you want. Quarterback Tony Romo didn't play for the Cowboys. This is a quarterback-driven league.

But you'll forgive the Cardinals if they're not sympathetic to other teams' personnel losses. When your starting quarterback misses three games, your defensive front seven is missing five guys you thought would be starting and you're still winning every week, excuses are for whiners.

Besides, the Cardinals knew their biggest challenge to winning in Dallas for the first time since 1989 was Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, who leads the NFL in rushing yards by a wide margin. Credit nose tackle Dan Williams and a resilient front seven with doing something no team had done through Dallas' first eight games -- hold Murray under 100 yards.

Murray was effective but wasn't a game-changer. He finished with 79 yards on 19 carries. With Brandon Weeden starting in place of Romo, that's all the Cardinals needed.

They bided their time, shrugged off an early 10-point deficit, intercepted Weeden twice (Antonio Cromartie, Tyrann Mathieu) and won their fourth straight game to improve to 7-1.

That is the NFC's best record, it matches the franchise's best start since 1974, and, after New England beat Denver later Sunday, it's also the NFL's best record.

"It feels like where we are supposed to be," defensive end Calais Campbell said. "We are a very good team when we play our football, but we have to play Cardinals football. It seems like we've been playing a lot of Cardinals football."

Arizona has what amounts to a two-game lead over every team in the NFC except Detroit (6-2) because the Cardinals already defeated Philadelphia (6-2) and Dallas (6-3). The Cardinals also own a 5-0 record against the NFC, a critical component when determining playoff tiebreakers -- and one that cost them last season when all six losses came within the conference.

A lot of the season is left to be played and Arizona still must play five division games, but here's how good the Cardinals' chances of making the playoffs. Of the 54 teams to start a season 7-1 since 1990, only the 1996 Washington Redskins and the 2012 Chicago Bears missed the playoffs. Of the 65 teams to start a season 7-1 since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule, only four teams missed the playoffs.

"We've got to continue to work even harder because everybody's going to try to take us down," said running back Andre Ellington, who had 95 rushing yards and four catches for 39 yards and a TD. "We can't get complacent at all. We just have to maintain our focus and work hard every day."

Ken Whisenhunt's Cardinals gave the Valley brief hope the franchise had turned a corner when Arizona found its way into the Super Bowl despite a mediocre 2008 season. But coach Bruce Arians brought an entirely different feel to the organization. It's a swagger, an air of supreme confidence that bleeds through a deep roster constructed with remarkable precision by GM Steve Keim, the management staff, scouts and coaches.

"The confidence in this locker room right now is through the roof," cornerback Patrick Peterson said. "No matter who we step in the field with, no matter what the scenario is, we feel we are the best team on the football field."

Arians has repeated a thought the last few weeks because he wants it ingrained in his players' heads. 'Don't let somebody else dress in your locker in February,' he says, referring to Super Bowl XLIX which will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale on Feb. 1.

It's way too early to expect that of these Cardinals, but they have a big leg up on the NFC and it would get even bigger if they can take care of business in their next two games (both at home) against St. Louis and the Lions; the only team within easy striking distance of them for the NFC lead. If Arizona finishes with one of the conference's best two records, it would only have to play two games to get to the Super Bowl and at least one of those would be at home.

The last team to host the Super Bowl? It hasn't happened. Not yet.

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