







GLENDALE, Ariz. – As a receiver who ranks among the most prolific open-field runners of his era, Larry Fitzgerald is accustomed to seeing nothing but green as he races toward the goal line.

What Fitzgerald witnessed Sunday afternoon during an unscheduled end-zone dash, midway through a game that legitimized the Arizona Cardinals as the NFL's September Surprise, was even more striking: a convoy of black jerseys pulling away – from him, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cards' recent reputation as irrelevant lightweights.

Believe it or not, all early indications are that the Cardinals are for real. And the signature play of their third consecutive victory to start the 2012 season – a 27-6 triumph over the Eagles at University of the Phoenix Stadium that featured relentless defensive pressure on Michael Vick and the improbable revival of his onetime teammate and competitor, embattled Cards quarterback Kevin Kolb – was positively surreal.

Five seconds before halftime, the Eagles were a yard away from cutting into Arizona's 17-0 lead when Vick dropped back to pass in search of an open receiver. Blitzing safety Kerry Rhodes came hard off the blind side and, as 60,436 fans gasped with anticipation, pummeled the oblivious quarterback and dislodged the ball.

Then, bedlam: Fellow safety James Sanders scooped it up on the second bounce and began a 93-yard streak down the left sideline. He had plenty of escorts, most notably linebacker Daryl Washington, who sealed off Philly halfback LeSean McCoy at the Eagles' 40-yard line. That was about the point at which Fitzgerald, holding his helmet in his left hand and doing a fist-wave with his right, began his impromptu sprint to pay dirt, underscoring his excitement with a leaping, over-the-back neck hug of Sanders.

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"I saw everybody running, and I just started running, too," Fitzgerald explained after the Cardinals ran their record to 3-0 for the first time since 1974, when the franchise was based in St. Louis and pocket calculators first became widespread. "I couldn't block somebody, but I wanted to. I just wanted to be part of it."

It was that kind of afternoon in the Valley of the Sun, where the Cardinals have captured seven consecutive home games (they've won 10 of 12 overall) while being taken seriously by virtually no one. That might have changed on a wild Sunday that included: three overtime games; the destruction of everyone's power rankings; a conspicuous chain of unconscionable mistakes by the NFL's replacement officials; Bill Belichick putting his paw on one of those officials after a controversial, last-second defeat; former Al Davis adversary Marcus Allen lighting the eternal flame named for the late owner at the Oakland Coliseum; and Texans quarterback Matt Schaub losing part of his ear after a vicious hit from Broncos linebacker Joe Mays.

The Cardinals' defensive dominance rang through loud and clear after subduing what was formerly the NFL's top-ranked offense and beasting Vick, most glaringly on Sanders' score, which evoked memories of James Harrison's half-ending 100-yard interception return for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.

"Yep, I was reminded," said Fitzgerald, the Arizona player who'd had the best shot at stopping Harrison on that Tampa Bay night in January 2009.

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