In an NFL weekend full of incredible upsets, overtime heroics and horrifying kicker #fail, one front-running title contender walked into a classic trap game and effortlessly took care of business.
Carson Palmer, making another emphatic case for his MVP candidacy, dismantled the St. Louis Rams' supposedly stoutly built defense. Palmer didn't even need the help of tailback Chris Johnson, now on injured reserve, whose performance had helped fuel the Cardinals' midseason hot streak.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals haven't lost a bit of their lunch-bucket tenacity. Despite losing coordinator Todd Bowles to the New York Jets and letting interior stalwart Darnell Dockett walk, the 2015 Cardinals defense is even harder to run on—and better at picking passes off of—than the 2014 edition.