Cardinals 34, Bengals 31

The Cardinals knocked off the Bengals 34-31 tonight in Glendale on SNF.  The Cardinals improve to 8-2 on the season.  The Cardinals maintain their 3 game lead in the NFL West and are hot on the Panthers tail for the number seed in the playoffs.  This was much tighter than it needed to be, the Cardinals really controlled most of the game but allowed the Bengals to stay close.  They need to get tighten things up a bit.  Overall though, a nice win over a quality opponent.

Observations:

• Carson Palmer was clutch on that late Cardinals scoring drive!  
• The Cardinals rookie class continues to shine. 
• Patrick Peterson vs A.J. Green is fun to watch. 
• I think that Carson Palmer belongs in the NFL MVP conversation. 
• Dwight Freeney is looking like a nice mid-season pickup.  
• The Cardinals defense gets a bit too undisciplined at times.  
• I like the future of Markus Golden, he's just relentless. 
• That looked like a fumble to me on the Bengals kick return. 
• The Cardinals WR depth is getting crazy. 
• J.J. Nelson has got some wheels!  
• Third Quarter Scoring:  Cardinals 21, Bengals 0
• Kevin Minter has stepped up his game this season.  
• Michael Floyd was missed tonight, he'd been playing well.
• Smokey Brown doesn't look like he's at full speed. 
• The Cardinals DL depth is being tested. 
• So much for that top ranked Bengals defense. 
• You won't convince me that this win wasn't special to Carson Palmer. 
• Geno Atkins is just a beast.  So quick off the ball. 
• The roof at University of Phoenix Stadium was actually open for this one!
• Up next?  @ San Francisco to take on the 49ers.