Now the Cardinals (1-1) head across the country to Buffalo (0-2) for their first road game.
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Marcus Cooper, acquired for a conditional draft pick in a trade with Kansas City on September 2, had two interceptions, returning the second 60 yards for a score.
“It was just a bad day all around, ” Tampa Bay cornerback Brent Grimes said. “We can’t beat ourselves”. The Cardinals held Winston to just 77 yards at the half as he struggled to compete a pass, going just 11 for 20 with two interceptions and a fumble.
Just as we shouldn’t overreact to Week One, we shouldn’t overreact to Week Two, either. Carson Palmer was able to complete 24 of 37 passes for a total of 271 yards.
He was reflecting on a lopsided loss to Arizona that not only denied the team’s bid to begin a season with consecutive wins for the first time since 2010, but will test the resiliency of Winston and a largely young supporting cast. “He’s going to make some plays you don’t expect him to make, he’s going to miss some plays that I’m going, ‘Jameis, you’ve got to make that play.’ And he’s the same all the time”. In the receiving end, Larry Fitzgerald posted 81 yards and two touchdowns in eight receptions while Michael Floyd added 61 yards in three catches.
“We haven’t been tested yet this season in that department, but the fact that we’re coming into our own home stadium for our home opener, that’s definitely going to be what we’re working for”.
So, what’s the prognosis for the two quarterbacks who fit the bill for the rest of the 2016 season: Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota?
This defensive performance didn’t start out horribly, and the four turnovers that mattered certainly didn’t help Smith’s defense, but this defense looked awful.
Tampa Bay took the second-half kickoff and drove for a score. Luckily, David Johnson excels as a pass catcher too, so he will get touches one way or another.
“I saw Julio Jones walking around, Julius Peppers, all those guys like that”, he said. “You don’t take hot hands out”.
Now Cooper may have the job all to himself. Bruce Arians said that they “liked him on film”, and that “Coop had a heck of a ball game”. “He could potentially be the starter over there”.
Doug Martin racked up 62 rushing yards on 18 attempts to lead the Buccaneers on the ground while Mike Evans led the Aerial assault for the Bucs, hauling in 5 balls for 99 yards and a touchdown, Winston’s fourth of the game.
In one week, the fortunes of the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers flipped. The offense went up-tempo this preseason with very promising results and that success continued in Week 1.
Brown, who finished with two catches for 78 yards and that touchdown, credited the turnaround for the teams to a must-win mentality. Most of all, it couldn’t keep the Cardinals out of the end zone.
Cooper returned an interception 23 yards to the Tampa Bay 19, leading to an Arizona field goal. Johnson gained 89 yards on 16 attempts and caught four for 43 yards.
Obviously, there is a long way to go before Anger is truly in position to break any team punting records. You may get the app – depending on the device platform – on iTunes, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Android, and more.
“When you look around the league, that’s sort of how the NFL is”, coach Dirk Koetter said Monday. “He stayed in. The decision is made”.
“We’re always happy when another guy scores”.
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INJURIES: Injuries hit the Buccaneers hard.
