What Went Right, Wrong for Cardinals in Week 1 Loss

The Arizona Cardinals held a 13-10 lead at halftime, but second half offensive mistakes caught up to their stellar defensive performance.

The Arizona Cardinals kept this game close. Coming into the game as underdogs, with less than zero expectations on their ability to perform, there were a number of positives evident in their 20-16 loss to the Washington Commanders. 

However, the team's lack of experience, along with sub-par QB play ultimately doomed Week 1 to the loss column.

Here's what went right - and wrong - in Arizona's beginning to the regular season:

What Went Right

Defense

The obvious praise for today's performance is directed towards the defense. The Cardinals' defense had a stellar outing, holding the Commanders to under 300 total yards. They held them to 20 points, 10 of which came from short-field possessions. 

The pass rush pressured Sam Howell constantly, taking him down six times. LB Dennis Gardeck had two sacks and was a nagging presence on Howell, though five different Cardinal defenders recorded a sack today.

The defense forced three turnovers, two by Zaven Collins. Collins intercepted a batted ball from Sam Howell and recovered a fumble punched out by LB Victor Dimukeje. 

The biggest play of the game came off a Gardeck strip-sack, as Cameron Thomas picked it up and took it to the house for Arizona's only touchdown of the afternoon.

*DENNIS GARDECK STRIP SACK* CAM THOMAS TAKES IT HOME.#AZCardinals lead 13-10 at half. pic.twitter.com/W0q2bduVHm

— Alex D’Agostino (@AlexDagAZ) September 10, 2023

The pass rush wasn't the only part of the defense that did its job. The Arizona secondary held Howell to just over 200 yards on 19 completions. The tackling looked stronger, and CB Marco Wilson held star WR Terry McLaurin to just 31 yards on 2 receptions. 

While there were some holes over the middle of the field, the entire defensive unit looked like it was flying to the ball and not allowing as many YAC as previous years.

Nick Rallis' defensive unit, despite not having clear-cut stars, looked inexperienced but fiery and alert. Much more than can be said for previous seasons. There are, in fact, "killers" on that squad.

Run game

Despite having some difficulties running the ball late in the game, the Cardinals' new-look downhill run game showed potential. 

James Conner rushed 14 times, averaging 4.4 yards per carry on 62 ground yards. He also caught 5 passes for a meager 8 yards. Yards were tough to come by facing a strong Washington defensive front, but Conner was still able to break for a few tough-running gains. 

Cody Barton just watches James Conner run right by him for a big gain… pic.twitter.com/zHh0M32061

— Mark Tyler(Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) September 10, 2023

Marquise Brown also took an end around for 29 yards. The Cardinals fell just shy of a 100-yard rushing day, stifled in part by several negative plays from QB Josh Dobbs and backup RB Keaontay Ingram.

It's early in the season, but it would be nice to see OC Drew Petzing put the ball in Conner's hands more. With shaky QB play, let your reliable workhorse back control the pace of the offense and set up play action for key passing plays.

What Went Wrong

Penalties

The Cardinals defense put a solid effort out there, but some key sloppy plays led to an insane penalty total. On Washington's second drive, LB Kyzir White and S Jalen Thompson picked up a pair of 15-yard penalties for unnecessarily making helmet-to-helmet contact. Just two plays later Marco Wilson was called for a 37-yard defensive pass interference. 

With 67 penalty yards on one drive, the Cardinals defense gifted the Commanders a touchdown drive mostly thanks to undisciplined play. 

Arizona finished the game with 122 penalty yards on nine flags. While the majority of calls came from the defense, the offense had a couple of key plays negated by ineligible men being downfield. 

Arizona has been a source of penalties in the past. In 2022, they led the league with 6.94 penalties per game. If Arizona wants to have a chance to win games and turn their culture around, sloppy/illegal plays have to be addressed by HC Jonathan Gannon and eradicated as much as possible.

QB Play

When the Cardinals cut veteran QB Colt McCoy and traded a 5th-round pick for Josh Dobbs, it was mostly assumed Dobbs would be the Week 1 starter. Although Dobbs hadn't been a part of this team for long, the glaring negatives of his play cannot be ignored.

Dobbs, despite completing 21/30 of his passes, averaged an extremely poor 4.4 yards per attempt, collecting only 132 yards through the air. 

Dobbs missed key passes, including overthrowing a pass to TE Zach Ertz that could have been an easy touchdown. Dobbs also fumbled three times, losing it twice and setting the Commanders up for a short-field go-ahead TD drive, as well as essentially giving the game away on a botched snap down 17-16 with under five minutes to play.

“On offense we’ve got to finish drives," said Dobbs in a press conference following the game, "we’ve got to score touchdowns, and that starts with me, especially with the turnovers”

🎥 Josh Dobbs addresses the media following the team's 16-20 loss. pic.twitter.com/mRHJgVJDdr

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 10, 2023

It might be too soon to call for rookie QB Clayton Tune to take over, but a healthy Kyler Murray in all likelihood wins Arizona this game. Dobbs needs to be better, or Gannon needs to make a tough decision.

The Arizona Cardinals came out fighting. In a season where no one expects them to truly compete, they did just that against Washington. 

Overall, it was a winnable game that was held back by key mistakes, rather than a dominant Commanders victory.

The Cardinals have some life in them, but are in desperate need of cleaner play.