Arizona Cardinals Celebrate Carson Palmer’s Birthday With Win Over Packers…But That’s Not All
The Arizona Cardinals dominated the Green Bay Packers in Glendale, Arizona, Sunday afternoon with a blowout score of 38-8. Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer was celebrating his 36th birthday, and while his Arizona defense practically gift-wrapped the game for him, scoring two touchdowns on Aaron Rodgers forced fumbles, Palmer continued to prove that some things do get better with age, throwing for 265 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals and Palmer’s stellar play earned some of the starters, including Carson the birthday boy, a rest as backups filled in for the second part of the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals have proven to be a force to be reckoned with this season. Currently sitting at 13-2, Arizona still has the opportunity to earn the number one seed in the NFC next week following Carolina’s loss, as previously reported by The Inquisitr. While the Cardinals’ success this season can be attributed to what USA Today has referred to as a “deep” roster of talent, Palmer is experiencing a renaissance of sorts following last year’s devastating, season-ending ACL tear.
Carson has thrown for more than 4,500 yards this season, with 34 touchdowns to date, and has multiple weapons in his arsenal of Cardinals to sling to. From rookie running back David Johnson to veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, many feel that Palmer may have the chops and the support to get the Arizona Cardinals back to the Super Bowl to avenge their 2008 loss.
While Carson Palmer was undoubtedly thrilled with his Arizona Cardinals teammates’ gift of another victory for his birthday, another Cardinals tradition left Palmer a little more scantily clad and red faced. The Cardinals are well known for their weekly bets that have the loser wearing various clothes of shame. Some may remember last week when Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson was seen traveling to Philadelphia wearing an elf costume. This week’s loser was Carson Palmer and, according to CBS News, there was no mercy for the birthday boy.
Check out the Arizona Cardinals tweet of Carson Palmer’s pre-game bikini work out below:
How’s this for a birthday present? Carson Palmer loses his first QB bet of the season. pic.twitter.com/qoBHOOHScN
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 27, 2015
And as if the pictures weren’t enough, the Cardinals were kind enough to share a video of the bikini clad Palmer as well:
The birthday boy, Carson Palmer, lost the weekly QB bet. Check out more on our Snapchat. 👻: SnapAZCardinals pic.twitter.com/HVEIerce6N
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 27, 2015
Another prank played on Carson Palmer by Green Bay Packer Clay Matthews was getting a less than positive reception by Cardinals and Packers fans alike. Shortly after Matthews delivered a hard hit on Palmer as he threw an incomplete pass, Clay appeared to be offering Carson his hand to help the Cardinals quarterback up from the ground. When Palmer reached back, Matthews quickly pulled his hand away leaving Palmer to fend for himself to get up.
Wow, that’s not very nice, Clay Matthews. ? RT @_MarcusD_: pic.twitter.com/tCbmd8znOJ
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) December 27, 2015
It turned out it was Carson Palmer and the Arizona Cardinals that would have the last laugh, however, when just moments later Palmer would complete a pass in the red zone to Cardinal wide receiver John Brown for a touchdown. The Cardinals O-line stood up to Matthews and crew the rest of the game, only allowing two sacks of Palmer compared to the Cardinals defense’s nine sacks of Aaron Rodgers. The Cardinals were sure to flaunt that on Twitter too:
The #AZCardinals had a sack party. Nine times? Yes, nine times. #GBvsAZ pic.twitter.com/ZC26PlRU9P
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 28, 2015
Today’s win secured a first round bye for the Cardinals, which will come in handy after next week’s final regular season game against division rival and last year’s Super Bowl contender the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are coming off a tough loss to the St. Louis Rams and will most likely be looking for redemption. That said, given the way that Carson Palmer and the Arizona Cardinals are playing, the Seahawks will have their work cut out for them. Birthday or not, Palmer and the Cardinals are looking for reasons to celebrate all the way until the end of play February 7.
[Carson Palmer cover image following Arizona Cardinals vs Green Bay Packers, December 27, 2015. Image courtesy of Norm Hall/Getty Images.]
