How Arizona Cardinals Stole Week 1 vs Saints

It was a topic of conversation all offseason, and the way Marvin Harrison Jr. looked connecting with Murray proved to be a huge part of Arizona’s offense against the Saints.

When it was all said and done, Harrison caught five passes for 71 yards, including one touchdown. On the drive Harrison finished with a score, he also caught a 45-yard pass from Murray in what could be considered the play of the game for Arizona.

On a go route on the right side of the field, Harrison made an incredible catch with defenders in his face, pulling in a beautifully thrown ball from Murray. Arizona’s QB wasn’t on point at times throughout the game, but when he was targeting Harrison, he didn’t skip a beat.

To cap off the Cardinals’ first touchdown drive of the season, Murray found Harrison in the end zone to make it 10-7 five minutes into the second quarter.

This was the height of Harrison’s impact on the game, but the damage was certainly done. He showed everyone a glimpse of what the Murray-to-Marv connection can be, even though the offense wasn’t clicking during most of the game.

Murray didn’t look composed under pressure against the Saints, but when he was throwing the ball to Harrison, he looked to be at his best. While it was just one drive where the two really made their mark, it gave the Cardinals their lead back and set the tone for the defense to protect the advantage.

Cardinals made big plays, New Orleans didn’t

I’ve already mentioned the 45-yard reception from Harrison, but it wasn’t the only big play preceding points for the Cardinals. Trey Benson executed a 52-yard rush in the third quarter as he evaded defenders through nifty footwork.

Arizona wasn’t able to score a touchdown after Benson’s huge rush, but Chad Ryland knocked in a 50-yard field goal extending Arizona’s lead to 20-10. It was just one play, but Benson putting the Cardinals in field-goal range himself allowed for more points in a matchup where they were definitely hard to come by.

Harrison’s catch in the first half and Benson’s run in the second half totaled two big plays for the Cardinals throughout the game. While this isn’t exactly a groundbreaking number, compared to what we saw from New Orleans, it was all the difference.

The Saints’ longest play from scrimmage was just 21 yards on a pass from Spencer Rattler to Juwan Johnson, as they failed to make any sort of game-changing play on offense. This caused New Orleans’ attack to be slow and inconsistent. Rattler was impressive at times, but he couldn’t put together a touchdown drive outside of a series dominated by run play after run play.

When the rushing attack slowed down (we’ll get more into this later), the Saints couldn’t make any sort of explosive plays. New Orleans mustered just three points after halftime, which proved to be its demise in the eventual Cardinals win.

Even in the final minute, Rattler and the offense had opportunities to make a big play and tie the game with a touchdown. They simply couldn’t execute. Credit has to be given to Arizona, but a lot of it goes on the inexperience and lack of talent on the Saints’ part.

Run defense shows up in second half

In the Saints’ one and only touchdown drive of the contest, they were able to run the ball at will. Alvin Kamara looked like his usual self, with New Orleans’ running back rushing for the 18-yard score to give his team the lead in the first quarter.

In the second half, however, Kamara rushed for just six total yards. Whatever the Cardinals figured out at halftime worked, and the front seven was dominant for the last 30 minutes of the ballgame.

Rattler seemed to be more comfortable in the second half, but the Saints’ running game simply wasn’t. This led to just three points scored between the third and fourth quarters, a number allowing Arizona to escape with the victory despite its own offensive struggles down the stretch.

With players like Calais Campbell and Josh Sweat impressing on the defensive line and Akeem Davis-Gaither and Zaven Collins at linebacker, Arizona’s defensive front made a critical adjustment at halftime, and it worked.

Kamara wasn’t able to be as explosive as the Cardinals tried to keep him between the tackles, limiting what New Orleans was able to do on offense. As a result, just three Saints points in the second half and an eventual Cardinals win.

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