Cardinals vs. Eagles 2015 final score: Arizona clinches NFC West with 40-17 win

The Cardinals won their first divisional title since 2009.

The Arizona Cardinals steamrolled the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-17, to clinch the NFC West title and move closer to a first-round bye at 12-2. It's their first divisional title since 2009. The Eagles drop to 6-8 and now have to win out to make the playoffs.

The Cardinals had a fast start to the game, with Carson Palmer marching into the red zone on the opening drive, capped off with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by David Johnson. The Eagles had a scare on their first drive when Sam Bradford appeared to suffer a shoulder injury, but he returned after missing just one play. Philadelphia got on the board with a field goal.

The Cardinals had another long drive into the red zone, but Philadelphia's defense stiffened up thanks to star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, holding Arizona to a chip shot field goal to make it 10-3. Philadelphia eventually tied things up in the second quarter when Bradford hit Zach Ertz for a 22-yard touchdown.

The Eagles nearly got another huge play on special teams when Patrick Peterson fumbled a punt return, but Arizona recovered the ball. That non-turnover ended up flipping the scoreboard when Johnson rumbled 47 yards to the end zone on a Marshawn Lynch-esque run, breaking countless tackles along the way.

The Eagles drove back into the red zone hoping to get some points heading into halftime, but Ryan Mathews got stuffed on fourth and inches from the 8-yard line. The Cardinals took a 17-10 lead into the locker room, but suffered a potential big loss when Johnson left early with a knee injury.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, Johnson's injury wasn't serious and he returned at the beginning of the third quarter. He went on to score his third touchdown of the night, giving the Cardinals a 23-10 lead after a missed extra point. The Eagles attempted to get back into the game and had a promising drive going until Bradford got strip-sacked at Arizona's 44-yard line.

The Cardinals got yet another injury scare when Palmer seemingly mangled his finger smacking it against a defender's helmet, but he was back in on the next drive with his right index finger taped up.

With Palmer good to go, the rout was on for Arizona. John Brown struggled with drive-killing drops early in the game, but he redeemed himself late in the third quarter by catching a pass on the sidelines and spinning around an Eagles defender before walking in for the 16-yard touchdown.

Things went from bad to worse for the Eagles, with Bradford throwing a pick-six at the start of the fourth quarter. At that point, the rest of the game was a mere formality, with a 78-yard Jordan Matthews touchdown being the Eagles' sole consolation.

Three things we learned

1. It's David Johnson's world, we're all just living in it

David Johnson was thrust into the starting role when Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington went down with injuries. The third-round rookie has proven he's not only up to the task, but he could be a substantial upgrade over Chris Johnson, who himself was enjoying a resurgent season.

Johnson ran all over the Eagles defense to the tune of 187 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. With a winning combination of size, power, speed and cutback ability, he looks every bit the part of a feature back. Johnson will be one of the Cardinals' most important weapons during their playoff push.

2. DeMarco Murray can't buy playing time again

Murray's nightmare season in Philadelphia continued. He's been in Chip Kelly's doghouse ever since meeting with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie about his playing time. Murray was once again invisible on Sunday night, getting just two carries for 3 yards. If he played any more snaps than that, we didn't see it. Meanwhile, Mathews got 58 yards on 11 carries, while Darren Sproles touched the ball nine times for 25 total yards.

Murray signed an expensive contract with the Eagles and cutting him would burden their salary cap for years, but it's hard to see how this marriage can last beyond 2015. Moving on may be the best thing for both sides.

3. The Eagles still control their own destiny, somehow

Despite another listless performance, Sunday night's game wasn't actually all that meaningful to the Eagles' playoff hopes. They can still win the NFC East if they beat Washington and the New York Giants in the final two weeks. Those wins would put them at 8-8, give them a divisional record tiebreaker over Washington and drop the Giants to at least nine losses

Will the Eagles pull that off? It's hard to see, especially if they keep playing like they have lately. But this team also beat the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, so stranger things have happened in a strange NFL season.