Kurt Warner sat this one out for the Arizona Cardinals (7-4) and it probably cost them the game against the Tennessee Titans (5-6) who won in the final seconds of the game.  The quarterback duties fell to Matt Leinart, which limited the usually explosive Cardinal passing game.  Leinart did not throw any picks, but he also failed to find the endzone, finishing with 220 yards on 21/31 passes.  The Cardinals were only able to get 13 points on offense, as LaRod Stephens-Howling had a 99-yard kick-off return for a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter.  Tim Hightower got the lone touchdown for the Cardinals’ offense, running it in from 6 yards to put the Cards up 17-13 early in the fourth quarter.  Hightower rushed for 55 yards on 11 carries.

The Cardinals defense gave up way too many yards in the passing game.  Titans’ quarterback Vince Young is known for his legs, not his arm, but that didn’t stop him from throwing for 387 yards and a touchdown on 27/43 passes.  They also had a very hard time stopping Chris Johnson on the ground, giving up 154 yards and a touchdown on only 18 carries.  Young’s lone touchdown pass was the final play of the game, as it won it for the Titans.  The Cards’ defense let Young and the Titans march 99-yards down-field to win it in the final seconds.  It was a heartbreaking loss, but the Cardinals defense can only blame themselves on that final drive.

The Arizona Cardinals (7-3) are facing a revitalized Tennessee Titans (4-6) football team, who has won four straight games after starting out 0-6.  The Cardinals have not been doing a very good job lately of protecting Kurt Warner, who left last week’s game with a concussion.  Warner is expected to play, and if he weren’t I would be picking the Titans for sure in this match-up.  Warner is the leader of this team and has been having some very impressive games throughout the season.  He still throws too many interceptions though, so he needs to make sure the Cardinals control the ball a little more as the Titans eat up the clock with their running game.

Titans’ quarterback Vince Young has been one of the main reasons the Titans have turned their season around.  Young has not lost a game this season as the starter, and he and Chris Johnson have been running all over defenses the past four games.  The Cardinals need to try and force Young into a pocket passer, which is a lot easier said than done with the athletic Young.  They should use some of their linebackers to shadow Young, which will help prevent him from scrambling for big gains and first downs.  I think this will be a very close game and a tough one for the Cardinals.  I really like the running attack that Young and the Titans bring so I am taking them in a close one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 21, Tennessee Titans 24

When Kurt Warner left the game with a “headache” last week the offense went into a shell against the Rams.  The Cards were lucky that Warner helped them build a big lead before he left the football game.  Warner is not acting his age this season as he has completed 251 of 372 passes (67.5%) for 2,718 yards with 20 TD passes and 11 INTs (94.4 QB Rating).  His drive and will to win is what really makes the offense of the Cardinals roll.  With Matt Leinart in the game the Cardinals are not a playoff team.  He has completed 17 of 25 passes (68%) for 119 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT (61.9 QB Rating).  So in summation the Cardinals can’t afford to lose Warner if they want to win the Super Bowl this season, period!

The Arizona Cardinals will be without 23-year old linebacker Will Davis for the next 4-6 weeks due to surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.  Davis has played in 10 games for the Cardinals this season and he has 13 tackles and 2 sacks.  He was a sixth round pick out of Illinois last April and the Cardinals are very pleased with his play so far this year. 

This game started out great for the Cardinals as they built up a 21-3 half time lead.  But Kurt Warner got injured (head) in this game and he had to leave it.  He completed 15 of 19 passes for 203 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs before he left the game.  Matt Leinart finished up pretty much being a game manager as he completed 10 of 14 passes for 74 yards.  Tim Hightower was electric today with 14 carries for 110 yards (7.9 ypc).  Beanie Wells pitched in with 14 carries for 74 yards (5.3 ypc) with a TD run.  Anquan Boldin led the way for the Cardinals today with 8 grabs for 103 yards (12.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Larry Fitzgerald pitched in with 8 catches for 87 yards (10.9 avg) with a TD grab.  The Cardinals finished up this game with 444 total yards on offense (183 rushing, 261 passing) today.

LB Karlos Dansby (9 tackles) and safety Adrian Wilson (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 INT) led the way on D for the Cardinals today.  The Rams finished up with 314 total yards on offense (123 rushing, 191 passing) in this game.  The Cardinals are now 7-3 on the season.