Cardinals soar to NFC West title with 40-17 victory over Eagles

The Arizona Cardinals are NFC West champions. Now, they have more to accomplish.

David Johnson ran for 187 yards and three touchdowns, Carson Palmer threw a touchdown pass and the Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-17, on Sunday night to clinch their first division title since 2009.

The Cardinals (12-2) will earn a first-round bye with a victory over Green Bay next week. They still have a chance to secure the No. 1 seed if they win out and Carolina (14-0) loses its last two games.

Afterward, Coach Bruce Arians wore a hat that said “NFC West Champions”

“I have a closet full of them, but this is a good one,” he said. “Still, I want one with a lot more written on it.”

The Eagles (6-8) would win the NFC East title if they beat Washington (7-7) at home Saturday and the Giants (6-8) on the road Jan. 3.

The Cardinals outclassed the Eagles on the way to their eighth consecutive victory.

“If we don’t take care of business on Saturday, there’s no need to talk about the second game,” Eagles Coach Chip Kelly said.

Johnson, a rookie filling in for injured backs Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington, had two one-yard touchdown runs and a 47-yard touchdown run.

“I’m just trying to learn, get better and help the team win,” Johnson said.

Palmer came out for one play after injuring his right index finger on a throw. But he returned to toss a 16-yard touchdown pass to John Brown and finished 20 of 32 for 274 yards.

“It’s very gratifying to come into this environment against a team that’s hot,” Palmer said. “It’s a blast to be part of this group. We’re coached hard and we play hard.”

Deone Bucannon intercepted a pass by Sam Bradford and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown to give Arizona a 37-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. Bradford threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns, including one of 78 yards to Jordan Matthews.

“Everybody is frustrated,” Bradford said. “Good news is we have to have a short memory. The next two games are important.”

Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Bradford’s pass late in the fourth quarter and limped off the field. There was no immediate word on his injury.

The Eagles had fumbles end consecutive drives in the third quarter. Bradford lost the ball on a sack by Markus Golden at Arizona’s 44 and Ryan Mathews turned it over at midfield.

Johnson broke several tackles on his long run to give the Cardinals a 17-10 lead in the second quarter. He appeared stopped for a short gain, but came out of a pile and sprinted down the right sideline while fighting off defenders.

The Eagles were driving for the tying score, but went for fourth and one at the Cardinals eight and Mathews was stopped for no gain.

“We had a 230-pound back in there and we thought we can pound it for a yard,” Kelly said.

After forcing Arizona’s first punt, the Eagles quickly drove 53 yards to tie it, 10-10, in the second quarter. Mathews started the drive with a 20-yard run on the first play and Bradford connected with Zach Ertz over the middle for a 22-yard touchdown pass.

The Cardinals easily moved the ball on their opening drive and Johnson ran in from the one for a 7-0 lead.

Bradford went down for one play and Mark Sanchez came in for a handoff. The Eagles lost two games by a total of 90-31 when Sanchez started two games last month.