STAR WATCH

azcentral sports NFL writer Bob McManaman rates how the star players performed during Monday night’s Cardinals-Cowboys game.

CARSON PALMER

Palmer completed his first 11 passes for 131 yards, which included a 5-for-5 effort for 79 yards on the first series of the game. He capped the opening drive with a 25-yard scoring strike over the middle to Jaron Brown. Unlike his first two games, Palmer showed much cleaner footwork in the pocket and looked far more comfortable, especially early on.

LARRY FITZGERALD

Palmer looked to Fitzgerald from the outset and the veteran didn’t disappoint, finishing the first half with eight receptions for 46 yards. He helped the Cardinals move the chains and keep the offense in a nice rhythm, which it had trouble finding through most of the first two weeks. Fitzgerald finished the game with 13 catches for 149 yards and a TD.

PATRICK PETERSON

Peterson wasn’t covering Cowboys star Dez Bryant, man-on-man, on either of the wide receiver’s first two catches of the game, which included a 15-yard touchdown in the third quarter when Bryant used a second, third and fourth effort to barrel his way into the end zone. Peterson was flagged once for defensive holding, but when he did shadow Bryant, he did his jo.

DAK PRESCOTT

In the first half, Prescott was just 5 of 6 for 25 yards and looked like he was in for a long night. Though he may not have passed for a ton of yards (183) overall, Prescott found all kinds of success while rolling out of the pocket and slinging the ball down the field. He did it twice to perfection on two huge plays in the fourth quarter.

EZEKIEL ELLIOTT

The Cardinals more or less bottled up Elliott in the first half, holding him to 31 yards on eight carries. But unlike last week, when Elliott found room to run, he made the most of it. He broke a few for some key first downs and added an 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help turn a 21-17 lead into a 28-17 lead. Elliott finished the game with 80 yards on 22 carries.