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Warner leads Cardinals to rout of Rams

Dec 31, 2007 - 2:25 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals halted eight years of losing.

Warner completed 23-of-39 attempts for 300 yards and three touchdowns as the Cardinals posted a 48-19 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

It was Warner's fourth 300-yard passing game of the season and the first time the Cardinals have scored more than 40 points in six years.

"Every game is an adventure but every game we have made progress," Warner said. "It is nice to end up the way we ended up and to have broken some of the records we broke this year. It shows we are moving in the right direction."

Larry Fitzgerald caught 11 passes for a season-high 171 yards and two scores for Arizona (8-8), which finished with its first non-losing season since recording a 9-7 record in 1998 - the last season the club made the playoffs.

The Rams (3-13) finished the 2007 season with four consecutive losses and had their worst record as a franchise since going 3-13 in 1991.

"The effort was there but the performance wasn't," Rams coach Scott Linehan said. "We fell short as what we were able to do as coaches. I think everybody knows that injuries are part of the game but we need to set our team up to play with whatever injuries happen. We weren't able to do it this year."

After Jeff Wilkins booted a 37-yard field goal to give St. Louis an early lead, Arizona ran off 24 consecutive points to take control of the game.

Edgerrin James, who rushed for 102 yards on 24 carries, scored from 2 yards out to give the Cardinals a 10-3 lead midway through the second quarter. It was James' third 100-yard game of the season.

On the Rams' next possession, Marc Bulger was intercepted by cornerback Antrel Rolle, who made a 47-yard weaving return to up Arizona's margin to 17-3. It was the first of two picks by Rolle, who also returned an interception 57 yards in the fourth quarter.

"The main thing I try to do each game is find a way to steal two plays," Rolle said. "I watched a lot of film, I watched the quarterback's hand signals and the receiver's hand signals. I don't think our defense is underrated but we've had some real good games."

With 1:06 left in the half, Warner hit Fitzgerald on a 21-yard scoring toss to make it 24-3. The play was reviewed to see if the Pro Bowl receiver had complete possesion, but replays showed him snatching the ball out of the air before crashing to the ground with the catch.

After Bulger threw a 36-yard TD pass to tight end Joe Klopfenstein to cut St. Louis' deficit to 24-13 early in the third quarter, Warner fired a 2-yard strike into the end zone that the 6-3, 226-pound Fitzgerald caught while outmuscling cornerback Jonathan Wade for the ball.

In two games vs. St. Louis this season, Fitzgerald has hauled in 20 passes for 307 yards and three scores.

For Warner, it was his eighth consecutive game of multiple touchdown throws. The 36-year-old veteran also threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin 1:23 into the fourth quarter that doubled the Cardinals' lead to 38-19.

After the game, the 10-year veteran was asked by reporters if he would like to return to Arizona next season.

"I would love to be here next year," Warner said. "These guys are ready to take the next step as a team."

Middle linebacker Gerald Hayes returned a pick by St. Louis backup quarterback Gus Frerotte 30 yards late in the final period to give the Cardinals their most points since moving to Arizona in 1988.

"We learned a lot about ourselves this year," first-year Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "We found out a lot about this team. I felt like we are a better team than our record indicates. I'm very proud of our home record of 6-2."

Bulger was 13-of-25 for 176 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for the Rams, who were outgained, 424-234.

"As bad as it's been, we have our health and get to play football for a living," Bulger said. "We came out pretty strong but my interception hurt us pretty badly. It definitely was on me."