Photo: Bill Kostroun/AP

New York Jets’ quarterback Brett Favre threw 6 touchdown passes, and their defense forced 7 turnovers in a 56-35 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Normally when a team gets thoroughly dominated, physically and mentally, there’s a lot to pick apart. And there is.

But it all gets put on the back burner, because with :27 left in a game that hadn’t had any intrigue since the first quarter, Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner tried to hit receiver Anquan Boldin in the end zone. Boldin was sandwiched between two defenders, and as the ball arrived, Jets’ safety Eric Smith launched himself helmet first into the helmet of Boldin. Boldin appeared to out cold by the time he hit the ground, and spent several minutes on the turf, before leaving the stadium in an ambulance.
Boldin was conscious after the game in the locker room, was talking and apparently had the use of all of his body parts.

Boldin’s injury was the capper on what was maybe the worst overall performance since the Cardinals moved to the Valley from St. Louis in 1988. Favre completed 24 of 34 for 289 yards and a career-high 6 touchdown passes. Favre made just one mistake in the ball game, a cross field pass that was intercepted by linebacker Chike Okeafor in the first quarter.

On the flip side, Kurt Warner struggled mightily. He ended up completing 40 of 57 passes for 472 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he lost three fumbles and threw three interceptions, including one that was returned by Darrelle Revis for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter that made it 14-0.

The Cardinals fall to 2-2, with home games upcoming against Buffalo and Dallas, who were a combined 6-0 heading into week 4. The Jets are also 2-2, and will have a week off.

The game itself raises many questions…

• What has happened to the Cardinals’ red zone offense? The Cardinals first two possessions had them in the red zone, and neither yielded points. The first ended in a Warner fumble, and the second saw a Neil Rackers’ 37 yard field goal blocked.
• Is Adrian Wilson that important to the success of the Cardinals’ defense? Wilson didn’t play on Sunday, and frankly none of his defensive mates did either. Favre had oodles of time to throw, and on 5 of his 6 touchdown passes, his receivers were wide open. Safeties were late coming over, corners fell down, the defensive line put very little pressure on the veteran all day. Although the offense repeatedly gave the Jets short fields to work with, the defense never asserted itself all day long.
• Why, with a mistake-prone quarterback with a gimpy ankle, was their not more of an effort to blitz Favre from all angles? I think we’ve seen enough of Brett Favre over the last two decades to determine that if he’s got time, he will kill you.
• When trailing 31-0 with :10 left in the first half, and the nightmare quarter you went through, why do you not take a knee, and get into the locker room as soon as humanly possible? We know what happened, the Cardinals inexplicably attempted a pass, and Kurt Warner fumbled the football, it was recovered by the Jets, and led to a gimme field goal by Jay Feeley to make it 34-0. If you’re at midfield, take a shot, but at your own twenty, it’s not a smart play, and it showed.
• Conversely, why not take a knee after the Boldin injury? The game was over, and any fuel the Cardinals had left in their tank had to be drained by the injury. Take a knee, and get in the locker room to check on your teammate. The Jets fans that were left in Giants Stadium booed heartily when Warner threw over the middle to Larry Fitzgerald. The boos were well-deserved.

NFL.com : Recap | Box score | Gamebook

Here’s what others are saying about the Cardinals’ embarrassing loss to the Jets on Sunday…

• Poor 1st half, Favre beat Cards [AZCentral]
• Sloppy Cardinals pounded by Jets, 56-35 [East Valley Tribune/AP]
• Favre in Vintage Form as Jets Rout Cardinals [New York Times]
• Jets’ offense roars in 56-35 win over Cards [Newsday]