By Mike Rifkin
On Sunday the Arizona Cardinals opened up their season playing some sweet music in the Music city. The Cardinals defeated the Tennessee Titans by a score of 38-13. This was a big game for the Cardinals after a disappointing end to their 2020 season, where they lost their last 2 games and missed out on the playoffs.
The stars came out to play for the Cardinals led by quarterback Kyler Murray who threw for 289 yards and 4 touchdowns, he also had a rushing touchdown. Receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk both had 2 touchdown receptions. The Cardinals were very balanced on Sunday they ran 67 plays (32 pass 33 rush). Arizona had 416 yards of total offense, and were 4-5 in the Red Zone and was 7-13 on third downs.If the Cardinals want 2021 to be successful they need to maintain that balance for the season.
On the defensive side of the ball defensive end Chandler Jones had 5 of the team’s 6 sacks. Jones missed most of the 2020 season with a Biceps injury. In his debut with the Cardinals JJ Watt had 2 tackles, but he had a major presence in this game. But this Cardinals defense was tremendous in week 1 as they held the Titans to a total of 248 yards and forced three turnovers. They held Derrick Henry, the 2020 rushing champion to 58 yards and he averaged 3.4 yards per carry. Receivers AJ Brown and Julio Jones combined for 7 catches 78 yards and a touchdown. Give credit to defensive coordinator Vance Joseph who devised a great game plan against an explosive Titans offense.
Next week the Cardinals will have their home opener against the Minnesota Vikings. This game will mark the return of Patrick Peterson who left Arizona as a free agent in the offseason.
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