Arizona's ageless quarterback paints a masterpiece

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Any doubt that Kurt Warner will go down as one of the greatest playoff quarterbacks of all time had to end with his wild card masterpiece. Against the No. 2 defense in the NFL, without one of his best receivers in Anquan Boldin, old No. 13 was nearly flawless. With widespread speculation he was about to retire, the 38-year-old quarterback threw more touchdown passes (five) than he did incomplete passes (four). He was 29 of 33 for 379 yards with no interceptions in Arizona's 51-45 overtime victory over Green Bay on Sunday. When the dust from this desert shootout had settled 24 hours later, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said he was even more impressed by Warner's performance than he had been when the game ended. "I didn't realize he had more touchdown passes than he had incompletions," Whisenhunt said. "I knew he was on fire. I knew he was playing well, but just the way he managed the game, in looking at the tape now after seeing it, he was sharp." Warner joined Daryle Lamonica as the only quarterbacks to throw for five touchdowns in a playoff game twice. Warner's came a decade apart. The first was in his playoff debut with St. Louis against Minnesota on Jan. 16, 2000. His 154.1 passer rating against the Packers is second all-time behind the perfect 158.3 Peyton Manning had in a wild card win over Denver in 2004. The list goes on. Warner is the first to throw for four TDs in three playoff games. Only two quarterbacks had a better completion percentage than his 87.9 percent. Phil Simms went 22 of 25 (88 percent) against Denver in 1986 and Tom Brady was 26 of 28 (92.9 percent) in 2007. Still, Warner's Cardinals barely were able to fend off the Packers in the highest-scoring game in NFL history. "You knew we needed every play," he said after the game. "It was going to take that kind of effort against these guys." Warner had his sixth 300-yard postseason passing game, tying Manning and Joe Montana for most in playoff history. Warner has been this good, or at least almost this good, in playoff games gone by, beginning with his stunning emergence from nowhere in 1999 to lead St. Louis to the Super Bowl championship. Remember, he already was 28 years old by then after scuffling through the Arena Football League and NFL Europe. In his first playoff game for the Rams, he completed 27 of 33 for 391 yards and those five scores. Two games later, in the Super Bowl win over Tennessee, he was 24 of 45 for 414 yards. Two years later, he brought the Rams to the Super Bowl again, barely losing to New England. Then it all unraveled. He hurt his hand and eventually lost his job. After an unsuccessful brief stint with the New York Giants, he came to Arizona, where he had to fight to become a starter. When he did, he lit up the stat sheet again, culminating with last season's improbable run to the Super Bowl. His journey makes his playoff record all the more impressive. Warner is 9-3 in the playoffs. He's thrown 31 touchdown passes, fourth-most among NFL quarterbacks. The three ahead of him have done it in far more games. Dan Marino threw 32 TDs in 18, Brett Favre 39 in 22 games, and Joe Montana 45 in 23 games. Now Warner's career will last at least one more game, next Saturday night's matchup with Drew Brees and the Saints in New Orleans. He has one more year on his contract, but he may choose to leave that $11.5 million on the table and retire. Warner and wife Brenda have seven children. He is a man of deep faith, heavily involved in the charitable foundation he and his wife run. When he missed a game with a concussion earlier this season, some old concerns about the quality of life he would have with his family resurfaced. "Right now I'm playing football this year as long as I can," Warner said after Sunday's win. "When that's done, we'll step away and we'll figure out what's the best thing moving forward. Right now, it's about one thing. Like I said, I play for the playoffs. That's what I've played for for a number of years and let's keep it going as long as we can." Then, he said, he will try to make a thoughtful choice. "I never want to make an emotional decision," Warner said, "and I think that's easy to do whether it's after a game like this to say 'I'm going to play forever' or after a bad game to say 'I'm done.' I don't want to do that although there's no question I will continue to think about it and I've thought about it over the last few years and again this year." Larry Fitzgerald, the recipient of so many of those passes, knows Warner has thought about retirement for the last few years. "He's 38 years old," Fitzgerald joked. "In NFL terms, that's dinosaur years, right?" He believes the chance to win will keep Warner in the game. "We all know he's passionate about what he's able to accomplish," Fitzgerald said, "but he just wants to be a winner. I think as long as we're doing that, I think he's going to play football. I know after the game in the locker room, there couldn't have been a guy that was happier to come out with a win. "I think those moments are special. I think those are ones that will keep him coming back."