Cardinals Defense Arrived Just in Time in Win Over Raiders

It wasn't the prettiest effort, but the Arizona Cardinals' defense came through when they needed to.

Donnie Druin | Sep 18, 2022

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Arizona Cardinals

LAS VEGAS -- True to the nature of many gamblers here in Las Vegas, the Arizona Cardinals refused to quit.

Down 20-0 at halftime to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Cardinals were staring an 0-2 record in the face. They knew they'd have to answer for what transpired on the field, and rather than answering their critics, they decided to answer the bell.

Things started off great for Arizona's defense, as defensive end J.J. Watt (in his first action of 2022) sacked Derek Carr on just the second play of the game.

However, that was about the only bright spot for the rest of the first half defensively.

Las Vegas scored on their first four possessions of the game, amassing a 20 point lead that frankly spelled more of the same for a Cardinals defense that bled just as bad to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs the week prior.

Josh Jacobs looked strong on the ground, and Davante Adams was able to take a step back as Hunter Renfrow and Mack Hollins were taking advantage of mismatches throughout Arizona's secondary.

Yet there was a turning point in the locker room during halftime, one that helped stopped the bleeding. The Cardinals allowed just three points after halftime.

After all four first half possessions went at least seven plays. In the second half, all but one Raiders drive were five plays or less.

Just two drives finished in Cardinals territory, the second (and last) being the forced fumble from Isaiah Simmons to win the game in overtime.

After scoring a touchdown on the opening drive, Adams was held quiet for the rest of the game. Jacobs finished with 3.6 yards per carry and not many else on the Raiders were able to rescue the meltdown that occurred for the Raiders.

Las Vegas ended the first half with 15 first downs. They finished with just 20. They also finished with just 324 net yards after accruing 253 after two quarters of play.

Each position group contributed and did their part. While the film still needs to be evaluated, there's no denying the Cardinals stepped up when it mattered the most.

Arizona has been a good team since acquiring DeAndre Hopkins and watching Kyler Murray mature. We've seen Arizona fall apart at the end of the last two seasons, and after six quarters of regular season football, nothing but darkness lied ahead for the Cardinals.

Yet good teams find ways to pull out wins, and that's exactly what Kliff Kingsbury and co. just did.

Super Bowl bound? Not quite, even if the game is played in their own stadium.

Yet Arizona will ride the momentum all the way back to Glendale ahead of next week's NFC West meeting with the Los Angeles Rams knowing what they're capable of doing.

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