Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians has admitted that he was delighted with the effort shown by his players throughout the season despite their loss in the wildcard round of the playoffs.
The NFC West side were forced to play the majority of the season without starting quarterback Carson Palmer, while they also lost backup Drew Stanton for their final three matches of the campaign.
The injuries to the quarterbacks along with other key players proved to be too much for the Cardinals as they were beaten in the wildcard round by the Carolina Panthers.
"It was more smiles, watching those guys come to work every Wednesday after devastating injuries," Arians said. "The determination in the room was – it started in the first game.
"We lost Carson in the first game and we were 9-1. That stretch of games was amazing to be a part of. Now, we didn't finish it. They kept nicking away with the injuries. But the accomplishment of that was really special.
"The coaching staff just did an unbelievable job of preparing our guys, them buying into the game plans every week, and it was fun. I looked forward to coming to work every single day because of the guys and their preparation habits."
The Cardinals secured back-to-back seasons of over 10 wins for the first time since the 1970s.
Simon Sinclair
