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Cards notes: Boldin makes splash in his return
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Arizona Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin fends off the tackle of Seattle Seahawks defender Jordan Babineaux.
Ralph Freso, Tribune
A week after bitterly complaining that no one was “man enough” to tell him he wasn’t playing against the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Anquan Boldin returned to the field with a vengeance Sunday.
He led the Cardinals with eight catches for 105 yards, and his sprained right ankle didn’t seem to give him any problems in Arizona’s 31-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
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Boldin said the events before the Bears’ game had no impact on his performance Sunday.
“You can let things that go on around you affect your work. If that’s the case, you will be up and down all the time,” he said. “There are going to be some situations that you have to deal with in football and outside of football, but you can’t let it affect your work. You still have to work hard and get better.”
Did he have a chip on his shoulder?
“You can say I have a chip every week. I feel like that all the time,” he said.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt said that Boldin, “looked fresh and fast. It would be easy to sit here and say that I’m glad he had the week off last week because he sure looked good today. He was a big factor for us. I’ve always said this: We’re a better football team with Anquan.”
BIG KICKS
Punter Ben Graham had a huge game for Arizona. He averaged 43.4 yards per kick and had three punts downed inside Seattle’s 7-yard line.
“Ben has been playing at a Pro Bowl caliber,” wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “He has been a tremendous asset.”
UP AND DOWN
Safety Adrian Wilson blew a coverage on a 31-yard, second-quarter touchdown catch by Seattle tight end John Carlson, but he redeemed himself when he intercepted a shovel pass by Matt Hasselbeck with two minutes left to seal the win.
Hasselbeck bobbled the snap, throwing off the timing on the play and giving Wilson enough time to jump in front of running back Justin Forsett.
“That play is kind of a bang, bang play,” Wilson said. “You can’t bobble the ball and try to deliver it.”
Wilson needs one more sack to become the 10th player in NFL history to have 20 interceptions and 20 sacks.
“It has a nice ring to it,” he said. “I’ll just keep pushing on and keep striving.”
EXTRA POINTS
Starters Gerald Hayes (back), Chike Okeafor (back) and Ben Patrick (knee) were on the inactive list.
Boldin reached 7,000 receiving yards for his career.
Warner had his 51st 300-yard passing day, tying Dan Fouts for fourth on the all-time list, and he became the 29th quarterback to throw for 200 touchdowns.
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