Recap
Before the big fight last night, there was preseason matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons. The final score was Cardinals 24, Falcons 14. Matt Ryan was 4/11 for 36 yards and one interception. Carson Palmer was 8/13 for 86 yards and one touchdown. Overall the Cardinals finished with 209 passing yards, 83 rushing yards, 29:58 time of possession, three turnovers, and 41.67 percentage conversion on third down.
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Four Main Takeaways
John Brown is Back
John Brown has been a mystery all offseason with his injuries. But last night, everything came to fruition, when he exploded on to the scene. John Brown caught a 28-yard touchdown from Palmer in the beginning of the second quarter. Excellent to see John Brown beat man coverage and for Palmer to be looking for him the entire time.
FAST start to the 2nd quarter.
Palmer to John Brown for the score! pic.twitter.com/me4ZbxRhIL
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 26, 2017
But John Brown was not finished there. He would add another touchdown catch from Drew Stanton later in second quarter. This was a 21-yard score. Brown made a terrific catch.
John Brown AGAIN.
Second TD tonight for the @AZCardinals WR! #AZvsATL pic.twitter.com/VJQVXaoTKi
— NFL (@NFL) August 27, 2017
After last night’s performance Bruce Arians has to be pleased. If John Brown can remain healthy he will be the number two receiver for the Cardinals. Hopefully, it is not too late for fantasy owners to take a chance on John Brown.
Karlos Dansby
Getting this guy made a big difference for the Cardinals’ defense. His impact was felt immediately. He tipped the first Matt Ryan pass attempt which lead to a Cardinals interception. He was also helpful in the run game. The Cardinals as a whole were much better against the run. The gave up 71 rushing yards which was much improved from a week earlier. Getting Dansby back was a great boost for the interior of the defense.
Matt Ryan's pass is deflected and Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) makes the diving interception! pic.twitter.com/QSL2f8WcR3
— Chat Sports (@ChatSports) August 26, 2017
The offensive line holds up
A big concern for the Cardinals was whether or not the offensive line could hold up. They did a nice job Saturday night. Carson Palmer had time to throw, and was not sacked. The offensive line only gave up two sacks as a whole so that is very encouraging to see.
Penalties and Turnovers
Overall Bruce Arians probably would have been pleased with his team’s performance against the reigning NFC champs, but the team constantly keeps making stupid mistakes from penalties to three lost fumbles. Chris Johnson a seasoned veteran fumbled twice, but luckily only lost one of them. This has to get cleaned up before the regular seasons starts. Six penalties should not happen. Especially when there are dumb penalties like false starts and offsides.
– Andrew Erickson covers the Cardinals for cover32. Like and follow on Follow @AndrewErickson_ Follow @cover32_ARI
