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The Arizona Cardinals won ugly over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, holding just firm enough to secure a 20-13 victory on the road.
It’s always satisfying to begin a season 1-0, no matter how the result may be achieved. There were certainly encouraging aspects of Sunday’s game, but the overall tone felt subdued — one of immense relief, rather than confident joy and anticipation for the remainder of the season.
Perhaps that is the type of season Cardinals fans are in for: a season filled with ugly wins, goal line stands and the ever-present feeling of more lying just beneath the surface. If it results in wins, that is not a bad way to spend an NFL season, but it does raise some disappointingly familiar questions.
Arizona’s defense was strong on Sunday, but not in the manner that might’ve been expected after a trenches-focused offseason. Its offense was nearly an echo of 2024’s frustration, with some slight improvements.
But ultimately, when the clock hit 0:00, the Cardinals found themselves undefeated.
Arizona Cardinals’ Defense Limits Downfield Attack
After a lengthy offseason’s worth of talk about the Cardinals’ improved defensive front, there was hope that a group comprised of Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson, a healthy Darius Robinson — among many other names — could have taken over and dominated a game like Sunday’s.
Spencer Rattler came in 0-6 as a starting QB. He had played in just seven career games. Arizona had a prime opportunity to get in Rattler’s head early and force the Saints into retreat mode.
Instead, Rattler looked comfortable. He fired off passes quickly and efficiently before the Cardinals’ pass rush could get home. Arizona managed just one sack by OLB Baron Browning in the opening drive of the second half, and the ball was out of Rattler’s hands too quickly and too frequently for individual pressures to be a limiting factor on New Orleans’ offense.
The Cardinals also struggled to contain the run. Though RB Alvin Kamara recorded just 45 yards of his own, the Saints combined for 107, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. The push simply wasn’t there, and the linebacker unit displayed its relative weakness.
But what Arizona did well was contain New Orleans’ speedy WRs. Head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis were determined not to let the Saints beat them downfield, and their secondary did just that. Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave were held to just 87 combined yards.
CBs Max Melton and Garrett Williams were strong in coverage, but perhaps the most notable performance was that of rookie second-rounder Will Johnson.
Johnson nearly came away with his first career interception, taking Shaheed step-for-step into the end zone and making an excellent play on a slightly-overthrown ball. It was negated by a questionable penalty on Melton, far away from where the ball was thrown.
But Johnson showed with nearly every rep that he was more than capable of matching up with some of the NFL’s speediest threats. He was excellent in coverage, avoided rookie growing-pain plays, and even sniffed out a screen pass, laying out Olave in the backfield with a massive hit.
If this is a glimpse of what Arizona stole in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, their future (and present) secondary is in good hands, as Melton and Williams continue to grow as well.
And it was that secondary that secured the game for Arizona. With the Saints just 18 yards from a game-tying touchdown, Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker converged on WR Juwan Johnson, dislodging the would-be score. Another incompletion later, the Cardinals went home victorious.
If the secondary is playing this well without immense up-front pressure, Arizona’s defensive outlook could be sky-high this season. With a brand-new group of front-seven players, a growing period is to be expected. The pressure should ramp up in the coming weeks, but the lack thereof is certainly something to watch.
Arizona Cardinals’ Offense Shows Familiar Struggles, But…
…Marvin Harrison Jr. looked like a new player. The Cardinals’ No. 1 wideout appeared more confident, powerful and physical. He hauled in a contested catch for an explosive 45-yard gain and found consistent open space.
Harrison led Arizona’s receivers with 71 yards on five receptions — just the fourth time he’d eclipsed the 70-yard mark since he was drafted. He later hauled in his first touchdown of the season on the very same drive.
But the Cardinals’ trademark run-first offense did not look particularly dominant. James Conner ran for only 39 yards on 12 attempts, and was overshadowed by Trey Benson with 69. That is certainly a positive sign from Benson, especially considering 52 of those yards came on one explosive run.
Arizona’s offense simply looked too much like it has in the past. With no dominant run game, Kyler Murray had little in the way of a downfield attack. Similar to 2024, Murray completed 21 of his 29 passes, but only managed 163 passing yards, and missed a wide-open Harrison in the fourth quarter for what might have been a dagger of a 90-plus-yard touchdown.
He was also sacked five times, including a momentum-shifting 15-yard loss with just over two minutes to play that helped hand the ball back to New Orleans.
Part of that falls on the offensive line — a unit that looked both disjointed and committed a bevy of penalties. But Murray looked antsy in the pocket and held onto the ball a tick too long on multiple occasions.
Murray did pop up on the injury report with an illness pre-game, but the overall energy of Arizona’s offense was lackluster in an all-too-familiar way.
Many an NFL playoff team has made a living on the shoulders of their defense, and the Cardinals seem to have the personnel and coaching to do so in 2025. With that said, the offensive jump fans have been clamoring for may very well be no closer than it was a year ago.
But a win is still a win. Good teams find a way to win ugly, and the Cardinals won ugly on Sunday.
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