Cardinals' ascension has Larry Fitzgerald riding high
GLENDALE, Ariz. – This is what pure joy looks like.
It’s a 32-year-old Larry Fitzgerald, helmet off, braids flying, sprinting to midfield and leaping into Dwight Freeney’s arms, moments after Freeney clinched a 23-20 win against the Minnesota Vikings by stripping the ball out of Teddy Bridgewater’s hand. Together, Freeney and Fitzgerald tumbled to the grass as the Cardinals clinched an NFC playoff spot.
“I thought he was going to break my back,” outside linebacker Dwight Freeney told Paste BN Sports, laughing. “I saw him coming, and I thought I'd be able to hold him. But I was too tired, and he was too heavy.”
The tumble was worth it. This was the type of celebration that had been years in the making for Fitzgerald. Sure, the Cardinals made the postseason last year, as a wild card, but that run never felt for real, not without quarterback Carson Palmer.
But this? This feels special.
The Cardinals have now won 11 games, are one win or a Seahawks loss away from clinching the NFC West and remain in play for a first-round bye. They’ve won games this season in blowouts and shootouts, and on Thursday night against the Vikings, they won what Palmer so aptly described as a “weird one.”
The Cardinals blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to a Vikings team that was playing without four defensive starters, and Arizona needed Freeney’s final play to prevent a field goal attempt that could have sent the game to overtime.
“I had some tough years here,” Fitzgerald said. “So to clinch a playoff spot at home, it means a lot.”
Fitzgerald, the Cardinals’ longest tenured player, admitted the down years, especially a stretch from 2010-12 that featured quarterback turmoil and a coaching staff change, were frustrating. But he let himself believe seasons such as this one would be possible. He saw it when head coach Bruce Arians arrived in 2013 along with quarterback Carson Palmer, and he understood the process of rebuilding as he watched the Cardinals stockpile young receivers and re-sign important defensive players such as Patrick Peterson and Calais Campbell.
“It’s come to fruition,” Fitzgerald said.
But none of it would have happened without Fitzgerald. He’s in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career despite his age. He also has to compete for touches on a roster loaded with other capable receivers, from Michael Floyd, who like Fitzgerald provides another big-bodied target for Palmer, and young speeders John Brown, Jaron Brown and J.J. Nelson. With five catches Thursday night against Minnesota, Fitzgerald has 96 receptions through 13 games – his most in a season since catching 97 passes in 2009, and closing in on just his third 100-catch season of his career.
Last week against the St. Louis Rams, he became the youngest receiver in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions.
Against the Vikings, though, his biggest contribution came on a pass he didn’t catch, even though he would point out later that he should have.
In the third quarter, Fitzgerald and Floyd both found themselves open outside the right hash marks, giving Palmer two easy targets. Though Fitzgerald confirmed the play was designed to go to him, Palmer threw it in the direction of both receivers, and it was Floyd who caught it, meaning Fitzgerald was suddenly the lead blocker.
Vikings safety Anthony Harris, signed off the practice squad earlier this week, squared his hips and shoulder and tried to engage Fitzgerald. Two steps later, Harris was on his back, the victim of a textbook pancake block, and Floyd was in the end zone.
As the replay of the touchdown flashed on the University of Phoenix Stadium video boards, the crowd broke out in a chant of “Larry, Larry, Larry.” That’s how beloved Fitzgerald is here. Even his blocking elicits cheers.
“It’s everything about him: The way he plays, how professional he is,” Palmer said. “Obviously not everybody sees the preparation and the hard work that goes in, but we do. His teammates do.”
In private moments, Fitzgerald has spoken his younger teammates about this opportunity the Cardinals now have. He knows what it’s like to play in the Super Bowl, and what it’s like to watch a team fall apart, only to be put back together again.
“He's been the face of this franchise for years, and it's just my honor to play with that type of guy. He's still balling to this day,” Freeney said.
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
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