Two Decembers ago, the Cardinals had 10 wins but found themselves five-point underdogs to the Rams. After Arizona finagled a 12-6 victory, coach Bruce Arians fired a shot at the Rams and coach Jeff Fisher.
“I love it when nobody says you have a chance to win,” Arians said at the time. “There is an 11-3 team and a team that is always 8-8. You figure it out.”
On Sunday, after the Rams beat the favored Cardinals, climbing to 3-1 and sending Arizona to 1-3, Rams coach Jeff Fisher got his revenge.
“This was their Christmas present,” Fisher told his players after the win, via Mike Silver of NFL.com. “We see them after Christmas. This was their Christmas present. We just gave it to them early, OK?’”
Fisher apparently now plans to give it to them often, too.
“Go back and see all the sh-t Bruce said against us a couple of years ago,” Fisher told Silver.
On Monday, Fisher downplayed the perceived shot at the Cardinals and Arians.
“I was complimenting the players, I wanted them to know what a big win it was,” Fisher told reporters. “Oftentimes, Coach Arians is complimenting his players from the same perspective. I just wanted to let them know that this was a big one for us and we’ll see them after Christmas. So Merry Christmas.”
And a Happy Effing New Year, which will begin with the Cardinals visiting the Rams.