GLENDALE, AZ - AUGUST 15: Quarterback Carson Palmer #3 of the Arizona Cardinals prepares to snap the football during the pre-season NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the University of Phoenix Stadium on August 15, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
It happened in a split second.
Carson Palmer rifled a pass through a tight window, Andre Ellington secured the ball and was off.
Fifty-seven yards later, the Cardinals were inside the Chiefs' five-yard line. Three plays, later Ellington was in the end zone.
That pass from Palmer to Ellington, though, was the key to igniting that scoring drive, something the players acknowledged is a byproduct of playing with each other.
"That's just a comfort, a confidence play, knowing that he's got an option to do a couple different things on that play," Palmer said, via the team website. "And to pull off the timing of that play probably doesn't happen in Year One or Year Two of the offense. That's a route I've thrown Andre thousands of times. Maybe 10,000."
That connection between the players breeds success.
With Palmer at the helm, the Cardinals have had plenty of it: Since Week 8 of 2013, he owns the best record among starting signal callers at 13-2.
Should Palmer remain healthy at age 35 and coming off a major surgery, it should bode well for the Cardinals chances of making a Super Bowl run.
(h/t AZCardinals.com)
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