Carson Palmer threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns and Arizona (1-1) intercepted Jameis Winston four times in a rout of Tampa Bay (1-1).
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Coming off of a disappointing loss to the Brady-less Patriots might have made Arizona look vulnerable to some, but from the start of the game it was clear Bruce Arians had his team ready to redeem themselves. The Cardinals want to get over their Week 1 disappointment and reassert their place atop the NFC pecking order. Through the Cardinals’ 34 wins over the past three years, the defense – and turnovers – have been a staple of their success. “I thought our guys had a heck of a week of practice and it showed up on the field”.
Marcus Cooper, 7th round pick in the 2013 draft, in his first action at corner back for the Arizona Cardinals logged 2 interceptions returning one for a TD yesterday.
Palmer, meanwhile, threw touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and Jaron Brown. He’ll have another opportunity next Sunday at Buffalo, which gave up 374 passing yards to Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on Thursday. Jameis Winston had an impressive season debut, completing 23 of his 32 attempts for 281 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception.
There were games a year ago when opposing quarterbacks barely even looked at cornerback Patrick Peterson. “He struggled. A lot of guys were finishing the game for both teams. I wanted to make him uncomfortable as much as possible”. “We turned it over way, way too many times”. He was also picked off on the team’s first possession of the second quarter, and lost the ball later in the quarter as he brought it back and it appeared to hit the shoulder pad of running back Charles Sims. He had seven carries for 23 yards before exiting for good.
Explosive plays plagued the Falcons defense against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the coaching staff and the players are convinced that’s something they can correct going into Week 2 against the Raiders and beyond. Cooper is a good player who will be in the league for a while but his time in Kansas City had come to an end so the Chiefs traded him to Arizona where he played for the Cardinals on Sunday. If Winston gets enough time, he will likely find his usual targets of Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans down the field.
Defensive end Robert Ayers Jr. left with an ankle injury late in the second quarter. “He keeps level-headed and lets us know, especially me, that I have some work to do”. “Brandon is a good cornerback”. I’d just like to see Palmer be a bit more consistent for a full 60 minutes going forward. He also lost a fumble.
– Miles Dittberner, is a Managing Editor at cover32 and covers the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings. Arians chose not to run out the clock, however.
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The Arizona Cardinals didn’t quite get the ideal home opening they were hoping for, and they’ll have another tough opponent in Week 2 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to town. “. All those interceptions were on me”.
