Campbell accomplished a lot with his two sacks against the Panthers.
On his 37th snap after a long afternoon of football that saw the Carolina Panthers have 85 snaps and run 77 official plays (48 in the second half), Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell was a tired warrior after sealing the victory with a fourth-down sack.
Even though worn out, Campbell also revealed that how he felt afterward was an improvement from the week before.
“I definitely felt better this week than I did last (week),” he said. “Last week, I was pretty gassed at the end of the game, but I gave everything I had. That first game, I think everybody was gassed. That’s how it is. You can train all you want to, but playing football is the only way to really get in shape. Today, I was much better. I felt much better. I’m doing a lot of cardio, so it really paid off.
“The coach did a really good job of rotation, a lot of plays early. I kind of wanted to be in there, but I had to tell myself, ‘Pace yourself. Pace Yourself.’ That’s a little bit of a humbling experience as an older player. I wish I could be out there every play, but we have a good team, a deep roster of D-linemen and we all went out there (and) took turns making plays. I felt good.”
After seeing the Panthers slash a Cardinals 24-point lead to five, Campbell was asked about his message to teammates and he said, “Stay poised.”
He also noted the encouraging words from another newcomer, linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, who played 62 percent (53 snaps) after logging 37 percent of the defensive snaps against the Saints.
Campbell said, “Akeem did a really good job of communicating on the field. Like ‘Hey, we still got the lead and we just have to play our game. Settle down, play our game.’ I echoed that. We have a lot of guys that can step up and be leaders. My mindset is, it’s never over until it’s over.”
The subject of finishing games was in the minds of everyone, but it’s not as if there is a playbook that explains how to do that.
Campbell said it simply comes down to “execution, understanding what they like to do and take it away. It seems like when teams get into two-minute offense early and a lot of quick throws; as a D-lineman, I’m trying to remind guys to get our hands up. (Defensive lineman) Dante Stills made a great play on that batted ball, which gave us the opportunity to get off the field on fourth down (but they didn’t).
“It’s just get our hands up, find ways to understand what they’re doing so we can affect the ball game. That’s something we have to get better at. We’re getting some practice and (that’s) something we’ll continue to work on.”
It’s often said there are truly no ugly wins in the NFL, a league where the first two weeks have seen 20 of 32 games won by one score and nine of those by a field goal or less. Four other games were within one score at some point in the fourth quarter. Last season, the Cardinals were 3-5 in one-score games. This season, it’s now 2-0.
So, Calais, is it possible to be angry after a victory?
“In my 18 years, it’s hard to be angry after a win,” he said. “I’ve been on teams where we are a better team, we’re supposed to win, and we end up losing it late, so anytime you win in this business, I’m going to celebrate the win, always. Now, we’re going to grade the tape tomorrow and find out how to be better, of course.
“But it’s always better to grade the tape after a win than a loss. Now, I’m going to definitely try to light a fire under guys and just continue to control what we can control and work on the things we can get better at. Hopefully, we can find a way to continue to win the ball games.”
As for his return to State Farm Stadium, Campbell said, “I felt all the love. It was pretty surreal. The way the game went, being able to make a play at the end of the game while having the crowd go wild was a really good feeling.”
Concluded the guy that teammates joke is the team’s old man, “That will never get old.”
The numbers gameSunday’s homecoming for Campbell was eight years, eight months and 28 days since his last game for the Cardinals in State Farm Stadium against the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 18, 2016. In that game and this one, Campbell totaled nine tackles (eight solo/four for loss), 4.0 sacks, four quarterback hits and a 53-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in a wild 48-41 loss to the Saints. The two teams combined for 913 yards and 59 first downs as quarterbacks Carson Palmer (28-40, 318 yards, two touchdowns) and Drew Brees (37-48, 389 yards, four touchdowns) combined to complete 65 of 88 passes (73.9 percent) for 707 yards and six touchdowns.Sunday was the first of Campbell’s 263 NFL games that he had at least 2.0 sacks in the fourth quarter. Only five times in league history has a player older than Campbell (39 years, 13 days) recorded 2.0 sacks in a game. The two oldest are Clay Matthews of the Falcons in 1996 (40 years, 233 days) and James Harrison of the Patriots in 20-17 (39 years, 241 days). The other three were by Washington’s Bruce Smith, all in 2002 (39 years and 138, 163 and 187 days).Campbell now has 112.5 career sacks, which is third behind Chandler Jones (71.5) and Freddie Joe Nunn (66.5) in Cardinals history. He is third among active players behind Von Miller (130.0) and Cameron Jordan (123.0). He also has the most sacks in State Farm Stadium (30.5) to Jones’ 29.0.On Sunday, he moved from 29th all-time to 26th, passing Aaron Donald (111.0) and Justin Houston and Jones, who both have 112.0. Just ahead of him are Sean Jones with 113.0 and J.J. Watt with 114.5.Only five active players have more two-sack games than Campbell, who has 18: Jordan 25 and T.J. Watt 25, Miller 22 and Myles Garrett and Khalil Mack 21.Finally, Campbell’s 263 games played is the fourth-most ever by a defensive lineman. Julius Peppers, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024 is next at 266, then Smith with 279 and Jim Marshall at 282.
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