The Arizona Cardinals kicked off the 2017 season in less than stellar fashion, losing to the Detroit Lions, 35-23 at Ford Field. Here’s the breakdown from Game One:
The Arizona Cardinals vs. the Detroit Lions
Offense
All offseason long we sang and heard the praises of the great play of running back, David Johnson but when a running back has no space to run, no running game exist. And that was certainly the case. Johnson was held to 23 yards rushing but did contribute 68 yards receiving before exiting the game with injury.
Passing-wise, the Cardinals weren’t much better. The passing game was never in sync. Either miscommunication on routes, missed targets, interceptions or dropped passes; too many issues affected the Cardinals offense today. Carson Palmer ended up 27 of 48 for 269 passing yards along with 1 TD and 3 interceptions. Larry Fitzgerald lead the receivers with 6 grabs for 74 yards. A lot is left to fix here…
Defense
The Cardinals defense didn’t look as bad as the final score may lead you to believe. Turnovers and short offensive drives kept the defense on the field way too long, today. Early on, the defense put a ton of pressure on Lions QB Matt Stafford and eliminated their running game but the Lions capitalized on the Cards errors and made the necessary adjustments to blow by Arizona and put it out of reach.
Cornerback Justin Bethel did give Cardinals fans early hope with his interception return for a touchdown. Cardinals Safety Tyvon Branch lead the team in tackles with 10.
Cardinals Injuries
- RB David Johnson– wrist injury. x-rays negative
- LT D.J. Humphries– knee injury
- TE Jermaine Gresham– rib injury
Up Next
The Cardinals return to action on Sunday the 17th when they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts. Let’s get back to 1-1 and on track towards those playoff aspirations!
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