Takeaways from Cardinals’ preseason win
Getting the first look at the new-look Cardinals in an actual game, even if it was just of the preseason variety, is kind of like waiting to see what this month’s electric bill is going to be. You brace for the worst and try not to get surprised at anything.
After all, the oddsmakers don’t expect this team to win more than four games all year.
Friday night’s last-second, comefrom-behind 18-17 victory over the Denver Broncos at State Farm Stadium was something else, though. Yeah, it was only a preseason game. But there were more positive moments than expected, the bad things weren’t really that terrible, and maybe the wild finish will help give this franchise the kick it needs entering the 2023 season.
Speaking of the latter, the Cardinals were trailing 17-10 after Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin scored on a 4yard touchdown run with 1:30 left to play. David Blough, the Cardinals’ third quarterback to play in the game, helped engineer a dramatic 10-play, 75-yard, gamewinning scoring drive that.
Blough completed 6 of 10 passes, including a key 25-yard strike downfield to wide receiver Daniel Arias, an undrafted rookie free agent. On third and two from the Denver 22, Blough hit rookie running back Emari Demercado on the sideline for a 4-yard gain and a first down.
Coach Jonathan Gannon called a timeout with 14 seconds remaining and on the ensuing play, Bough rolled out right to evade pressure, bought himself some time, and found a wide-open Brian Cobbs in the corner of the right end zone for an 18-yard touchdown with two seconds left on the clock.
A two-point conversion would win it for the Cardinals and that’s what Gannon elected to do. Demercado, who went undrafted out of TCU, got the handoff and looked to be stopped at around the 2-yard line. But a second push from the offensive line and some tough running from Demercado got him over the goal line for the win.
“Like I just told the team, the most important thing is that the good, the bad and the ugly we’ve got to learn from it,” Gannon said. “So, we’ve got to clean up some mistakes in all three phases and we’ve got to get a little bit better from this tape. With saying that, I liked how they competed. I thought they ran well and hit well and we had some things that we executed down the stretch there that really were the difference between winning and losing games.”
The locker room was noticeably boisterous afterward and Gannon said it was a pleasure to see them reward themselves with the win.
“Yeah, it was good. You’re happy for the guys,” he said. “They’re all juiced up. But they know, they go back to work tomorrow. But yeah, anytime you put that much in, even if it’s a preseason game, any game you play to win and you put a lot into it and it’s important for us to win.”
Let’s review:
What went right
The first-team offense looked OK: For the most part, the starters only played one series together and they opened the game with a nine-play drive that lasted a good six minutes. There wasn’t anything flashy as the longest play only covered six yards on a short dump off pass by Colt McCoy to running back Corey Clement, but the first unit picked up a pair of first downs and looked steady enough. McCoy was 4 for 4 for 17 yards and was not sacked.
The pass rush was consistent: Whatever you do, don’t judge the Cardinals’ pass rush solely on the two sacks it created. It was much, much better than that as Arizona’s front seven had Russell Wilson scrambling for his life on several plays during the quarter and a half he spent in the game. Everyone up front took turns making things difficult in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage, which was impressive to see.
The run game was decent: Led by rookies Ty’Son Williams (10 carries for 51 yards) and Demercado (six carries for 21 yards and the all-important, two-point conversion). Overall, the Cardinals rushed for 101 yards on 27 total carries. Arizona plans to run the ball a ton this year, especially with James Conner, who didn’t play Friday night.
What went wrong Clayton Tune looked like a rookie:
The first-year quarterback went 13 of 23 for 135 yards with one touchdown and one interception and was sacked three times for 19 yards. He had some very good throws, like his quick 7-yard strike over the middle to Kaden Davis for a game-tying touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The interception wasn’t his fault as his intended target, Rondale Moore, slipped and fell as the pass was arriving. But Tune had his share of sloppy overthrows and he missed a handful of wide open receivers by throwing the ball out of reach.
The late pass interference penalty:
The Cardinals had a chance to halt the Broncos on a potential game-winning drive, but on second and five from the Arizona 26, Ben DiNucci went deep down the left sideline for rookie Taylor Grimes. The pass was too low to catch but veteran cornerback Antonio Hamilton unwisely made contact too early and the penalty gave Denver the football at the 4-yard line. One play later, rookie Jaleel McLaughlin scored on a 4-yard touchdown, giving Denver a 17-10 lead with 90 seconds left to play.
The timeout at the end of the first half:
With 15 seconds remaining, Gannon called timeout after a short Broncos’ pass play on third down. Denver was out of timeouts and it would have been a mad rush to get the kicking team on line and set for a long field goal try. Elliott Fry ended up making a 55-yarder.
“Looking back on it, that was a little bit of a mistake by me,” Gannon said, adding. “Two things went into that. I didn’t know if their operation was clean … and the other thing, too, probably not in a real game, but we wanted to get another snap on the kickoff return. But yeah, looking back, probably a mistake there.”
Did you notice?
Gannon chose to sit a handful of his veterans as safety Budda Baker, wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, running back James Conner, left tackle D.J. Humphries and inside linebacker Kyzir White each did not play.
Humphries was the only starter among the five starting offensive linemen who didn’t see a single snap. Kelvin Beachum played left tackle and stayed in the game throughout the first half. Beachum started all 17 games for Arizona last season at right tackle, but rookie Paris Johnson Jr. has seemingly won that job in 2023.
With some of their tight ends not at 100 percent health, the Cardinals used a jumbo formation three times on their opening possession with 6-foot-6 lineman Dennis Daley lining up outside of right tackle as an extra blocker and an eligible receiver.
What to watch this week
The injury fallout: Gannon said the Cardinals came out of the game relatively injury-free although at least a couple players had some minor nicks. Nothing serious seemed to occur and we’ll see if anyone misses practice time next week.
Will starters get more playing time?: Gannon refused to be specific about playing time in the days leading up to Friday’s preseason opener and there’s no telling how open or shut he will be about how much his starters will play next week. Stay tuned.
The grades
Offense (B-): The Cardinals had 339 yards of total offense and ran 72 plays overall. They weren’t too bad on third downs, converting nine of 18 and they finished with 20 first downs. The Broncos had five sacks, but nobody laid a hand on quarterback Colt McCoy during his one and only series with the firstteam offense.
Defense (B+): As previously noted, the pass rush was effective and everyone played a hand in it, which Gannon loved. Overall, Arizona surrendered 322 yards including 122 on the ground. Russell Wilson was under pressure during much of the quarter and a half he played, although he did throw one touchdown.
Special teams (C): Kicker Matt Prater missed a 53-yard field goal attempt wide left in the second quarter. Matt Haack was the primary punter and looked solid. The biggest star here, though, was Demercado fighting his way in for the gamewinning, two-point conversion.
Up next
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs visit the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium next Saturday in the stadium where they won their title in February. The Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, walloped the Cardinals in the regular season opener here last year, 4421. Arizona finished the season 4-13, losing its final seven games.