Larry Fitzgerald has admitted that the Arizona Cardinals have been talking about winning the NFC West ahead of the 2014 NFL season.

The Cardinals narrowly missed out on a wildcard place in the playoffs last season, having finished third in the division behind the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

The wide receiver told ESPN: "We always talk about winning the NFC West. That's our goal first and foremost, getting to the playoffs. We did a good job after the bye week, finishing 6-2. Obviously it wasn't good enough to get us into the tournament but we finished strong and were able to execute more efficiently down the stretch.

"We understand and respect those teams. They're very talented and they've been to the playoffs for the last couple years. But we're very confident in our abilities.

"We match up very well with those teams and St Louis as well. We're confident in our ability to play at a high level against the best teams in the league."

The Cardinals last won the division in 2009.