Offense fails Arizona in first game
Cardinals offense never clicks as year begins with ugly loss
The Cardinals fell 35-23 to the Lions in their first game of the season, with running back David Johnson leaving in the third quarter due to a wrist injury.
While the Cardinals’ defense held up until tiring late in the third quarter, the offense couldn’t run and quarterback Carson Palmer threw three interceptions, including two in the first half.
“The turnovers, the conversions on third down, the red zone — the entire thing,” said coach Bruce Arians when asked what went wrong offensively.
In addition to Johnson, left tackle D.J. Humphries suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and tight end Jermaine Gresham needed to have his ribs X-rayed. Arians did not have updates on any of them.
DETROIT – If Bruce Arians’ axiom is true that a team’s true identity isn’t revealed until it plays games that count, the Cardinals coach will be spending much of the upcoming week praying that what he witnessed from his offense on Sunday was an anomaly.
The offense was bad early. It was bad late. And other than a few minutes to start the second half, it was bad in between. The result was a 35-23 loss to the Lions at Ford Field in the first game of the season.
The Cardinals couldn’t run (45 yards, 18 carries, one fumble lost)
and couldn’t pass (three interceptions). Their defense held up until late in the third quarter, when it seemed to tire after trotting back on the field after yet another turnover.
“The turnovers, the conversions on third down, the red zone – the entire thing,” Arians said when asked what went wrong offensively.
Running back David Johnson, whose goal is finish the season with 1,000 yards receiving and 1,000 rushing, had one of his worst days in the NFL. He finished with 23 yards rushing on 11 attempts and 68 yards receiving.
Worse, he suffered a wrist injury when he lost a fumble in the third quarter and didn’t return. Left tackle D.J. Humphries suffered a knee injury in the first quarter, and tight end Jermaine Gresham was going to have his ribs X-rayed.
Arians did not have immediate updates on any of them.
Quarterback Carson Palmer finished the game with no physical maladies, but he was in pain nonetheless. He had three passes intercepted, including two in the first half. The Lions scored touchdowns after both and late in the fourth quarter returned a third interception for a touchdown.
Palmer declined to say the entire offense played poorly. Instead, he said one player did.
“I just didn’t do a good enough job,” he said. “I’m disappointed in myself. I just felt like had I’d make a handful of throws, we’d have been in a different position. I just didn’t make those throws.”
Even with Palmer’s struggles, the Cardinals could have led by at least two touchdowns early in the game. Cornerback Justin Bethel returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, and a few minutes later, the Lions bungled a punt snap to give the Cardinals the ball at the Lions’ 13.
Three plays gained two yards, and on came Phil Dawson for a field-goal attempt. The Lions were called for leaping, giving the Cardinals another shot at scoring a touchdown.
They started at the Detroit 5 and three plays later were at the 6.
Dawson made the field goal, but it was 10-0 and not 14-0.
“It’s very concerning because you know you’re giving away opportunities,” Arians said. “We didn’t play very well the entire field offensively.”
The Cardinals had another red zone failure late in the half, and Dawson missed the field goal.
The Lions drove for a field goal to make it 10-9 at halftime.
That six-point swing at the end of the half was damaging, Arians said, but the Cardinals went on a 94-yard touchdown drive on their first possession of the third quarter to take a 17-9 lead.
Then Johnson lost a fumble that the Lions returned to the Cardinals’ 10. The Lions turned it into a touchdown and scored on their next two offensive possessions.
Afterward, the Cardinals tried to be philosophical. It’s one of 16 games, several players said, and there is plenty of time to bounce back.
They won’t do it by playing offense like they did on Sunday. And now Johnson is hurt and Palmer is coming off one of his poorest performances in fourplus seasons in Arizona.
After just one game, Arians was answering questions about Palmer’s arm strength (it’s fine, he said), and Palmer was responding to ones about a throwing regimen that has him skipping Wednesday practices. That won’t change, Palmer said. “I have a good schedule during the week and a way to compartmentalize different things,” he said. “We’re not changing what we do. The sky is not falling. It’s very early, on the road against a playoff team in their house.
“You have to look past it. We will get past it. I will get past it. I can’t wait to get that taste out of my mouth.”