Cardinals QB Carson Palmer Says Matchup Against Bengals is ‘Not Just Another Game’

USA Today

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off their first loss of the 2015 NFL season. Andy Dalton and company headed into their matchup with the Houston Texans in Week 10 underestimating a struggling squad led by J.J. Watt. The once-undefeated Bengals paid dearly for underestimating their opponent and were handed a costly loss on their home field.

In Week 11, the Bengals will attempt to bounce back from their loss to the Texans against the Arizona Cardinals. It’ll be another tough matchup for Cincinnati with veteran quarterback Carson Palmer is not taking things lightly against his former team, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer.

C. Palmer: "It’s not just another game. I’m not going to bore you with that. There is definitely a lot on this one for me in particular."

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) November 18, 2015

Cincinnati traded Palmer to the Oakland Raiders back in 2011 wrapping up an ugly divorce between the two sides. Palmer never really talked much about parting ways with the Bengals, but one thing was clear, he still holds a grudge against his former team.

With the Cardinals being arguably the best team in the NFC right now, the Bengals will be facing their toughest challenge of the season. Arizona is 7-2 on the year and leading the way in the NFC West. It may be only a matter of time before the Cardinals wrap up the division title with the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks battling it out in hopes of clinching a playoff spot via the NFC Wild Card.

As for Sunday’s matchup between the Bengals and Cardinals, Arizona is currently favored with a -5 point spread, according to Sportsbook.ag. The Cardinals have won three in a row heading into this showdown with the Bengals and could take advantage of the flaws exposed by the Texans last week.