The Cardinals made it to the NFC championship game last season, but Garoppolo threw for 264 yards and a touchdown to lead the Patriots to a 23-21 victory on Sunday night.
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Despite slogging through much of the game, Arizona had a chance to grab a lead with:36 left, but Chandler Catanzaro’s 47-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, handing Jimmy Garoppolo his first win as an National Football League starter and the Cardinals their first loss in a season opener since Bruce Arians’ first year as head coach in 2013.
“This is awesome. I don’t even have words to express what this probably means to the whole team”, said Hogan, who made his Patriots debut. Crummy things happen to good players and I’ll be looking forward to seeing him in a month. If Jimmy Garoppolo continues to complete 72 percent of his passes in Brady’s absence, that’s nearly certainly true.
The only turnover of the first half led to Arizona’s lone first-half score.
Finally, Arians expressed displeasure with the performance of rookie defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche: “He jumped offside when they weren’t even set on a big third down”.
Keim held back nothing when he described the Cardinals’ performance in the 23-21 loss, which ended with kicker Chandler Catanzaro missing a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal in the final minute.
Cue Riggle, as a wide-eyed Garoppolo clutching his Pats clipboard as he ventures down the stairs to remind everyone of his name: “I’ve waited all my life for this, does anyone know where my helmet is?”
Chris Hogan gave the team just what fans had hoped as the deep touchdown threat and a second reliable receiver, both of which were in short supply last season. Who is more important to the Patriots’ success: their greatest-of-all-time quarterback, or their greatest-of-all-time coach?
Chiefs 33, Chargers 27 (OT): In Kansas City, Alex Smith dived for a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, completing the Chiefs’ frantic rally from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Chargers in their season opener. Just six days later, Winston delivered four touchdown passes to take down the Falcons in their last game at the Georgia Dome. “I get nervous before every game”.
“There’s a long way to go and regroup and see if we can win the next one”. I believe in what we are doing here.
“We were 50 percent on third down but it wasn’t good enough”, Arians said. If they learn from it though, it may be time to rewrite the rulebook at the end of the season proving that the Birdgang can handle hype and that you can bet against Belichick. “You get so many different angles and replays and you donât get those things when youâre playing”. “There is too much football ahead of us”.
Sunday Night Football, the biggest game of the day on Sundays.
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Chargers head coach Mike McCoy wouldn’t admit after the game that Allen would miss the rest of the year. And when Garoppolo was called upon to make key throws in crucial situations the young slinger was often protected in the pocket by his offensive line and often found New England’s most reliable receiver – Julian Edelman. It was a good test for us. The team went in there and looked like they were focused and prepared.
