Kurt Warner: 5 TD passes, 4 incompletions. In the playoffs!

It's all been said about Cedar Rapids native Kurt Warner. So what? You throw five touchdown passes and complete 29 off 33 passes for 379 yards in an NFL playoff game, it all bears repeating. Click on the writer's name for the full stories/columns.

From Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, after Warner's Arizona Cardinals beat the Green Bay Packers in overtime, 51-45:

After all 96 points had been scored in what will go down as one of the most memorable playoff games in NFL history, the difference between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals was clear.

It might have been somewhat ironic that a defensive play ultimately tipped the balance of a wild, wild-card matchup in which 1,024 total yards were accumulated, yet by the time the Cardinals' 51-45 overtime victory had been secured, the dividing line was behind center.

Arizona had Kurt Warner, a future Hall of Famer, who has secured his spot in Canton in the playoffs.

The Packers had a young Pro Bowler in Aaron Rodgers who was quarterbacking his first postseason game.

"He's still got it," said Arizona linebacker Karlos Dansby, who scored the winning touchdown in overtime by returning Rodgers' fumble 17 yards. "I'm just glad he's on my squad."

Mike Freeman of CBSsports.com:

Green Bay and Arizona on Jan. 10, 2010: one of those "where were you" games. In it, Warner demonstrated why if he isn't put into the Hall of Fame the building should be burned to ground and Rodgers showed why he'll one day be better than Brett Favre.

This was the best game I've witnessed in over two decades of covering the sport. Something like this may not happen again for another 20 years.

Two Cardinals players confirmed to CBSSports.com that Warner is seriously considering retiring after this season. Although the players also admit this is something Warner has done each year for the past two or three seasons. But if he's tiring of the game it isn't showing. He was just about flawless against the Packers. He tossed five touchdowns, which was one more than the number of incomplete passes he threw. When Warner is this accurate, this untouchable, this undeniable he is without question one of the most complete quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen.

The final stats of the Arizona offense are staggering. Warner missed just four of his 33 pass attempts, passed for 379 yards and had a 154.1 passer rating while spreading the ball to seven different receivers. The Cardinals amassed 531 total yards.

Warner was hit in the head, grabbed by the facemask, hit hard in the back, and overall took a nice beating but was unfazed by the punishment. On at least four different occasions his passes neatly threaded two Green Bay defensive backs with a John Elway-like zip. Each time the Packers responded Warner would in return and vice versa with Rodgers.

"He didn't want his team to lose," Rodgers said of Warner. "We got on a roll there and really got things going and Kurt just kept making plays. You've got to give him a lot of credit."

Michael Wilbon, Washington Post:

And while nobody will confuse the defenses involved here with the '85 Bears, Doomsday

or the Steel Curtain, the number of precise downfield passes and acrobatic catches was astounding, given what was at stake. Warner was every bit as spectacular as he was in his MVP days back in St. Louis, statistically tying or surpassing the likes of Joe Montana and Peyton Manning through the course of the afternoon. The Cardinals averaged 6.8 yards per rush. Anquan Boldin's replacement, Early Doucet, caught two touchdown passes. Warner, who some expected to retire after the game if Arizona lost, said, "It felt great, I loved our plan, it felt like I was seeing everything well."

Kent Somers, Arizona Republic:

Quarterback Kurt Warner was saying thank you, not necessarily goodbye, when he took a lap around the field at University of Phoenix Stadium and slapped hands with fans after Sunday's playoff victory over the Packers.

Warner's potential retirement became a story Sunday when ESPN reported that people close to Warner expect him to retire, unless he changes his mind.

Warner denied that he has made any plans, and the lap was not a farewell one.

"That was my way of saying thanks to the fans because I know we're not coming back here this year," Warner said of the lap. "I appreciate them. We haven't played our best football at home this year, but they've been incredible for us."

Warner is signed through 2010, and is due to make $4 million in salary and collect half of his signing bonus, $7.5 million.

Mike Celizic, NBCnewyork.com:

The Cardinals may not be the NFC favorites, but right now they are the most intriguing team remaining. After Sunday, you may not think much of their defense, but you also know there's no way you can afford to ever sell them short again, not as long as Kurt Warner is running the show.