TEMPE — Throughout the offseason and leading up to last week, questions swirled around the Arizona Cardinals’ pass rush.

And although the Cardinals proved naysayers wrong in Week 2 behind a five-sack effort spearheaded by outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck, Arizona faces a whole other tier of offensive linemen against the Detroit Lions this Sunday.

It’s like going from algebra to calculus in the matter of a week.

Unlike the injury-riddled Los Angeles Rams offensive line that was missing multiple starters, the Lions enter Week 3 pretty much intact. Starting left guard Graham Glasgow is listed as questionable, though head coach Dan Campbell told reporters Friday that “he should be good.”

That means Gardeck and the rest of Arizona’s pass rushers are going to get the full brunt of a cohesive O-line that’s one of five other units to allow just two sacks through two weeks. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Detroit’s sack rate of 2.3% allowed is lowest in the league.

The offensive line play has helped the Lions turn in a top two offense (413 yards per game) and passing game (262 yards per game). Can’t forget about Detroit’s top 10 rushing attack (151 yards per game), either.

But for as good as Detroit’s line looks on paper, there is potential for the Cardinals pass rushers to apply pressure on Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, the Lions have allowed the fifth most pressures (29) among teams who have yet to play in Week 3. They’re 17th in quarterback pressure rate (32.6%), just two spots ahead of the Cardinals (32.8%).

For a Cardinals defense, they’ve got to continue to be advantageous when pass-rushing opportunities arise. While Arizona is among the bottom six teams in total pressures (18), it’s tied for the fifth most sacks (seven) in the league.

A big piece of those totals has come from Gardeck alone, who has four pressures and three sacks on 38 pass rush attempts to go along with four tackles for loss and three QB hits.

And much like he did in his three-sack performance against the Rams, Gardeck will be counted on once more to be among Arizona’s biggest tone-setters defensively.

“He really did an extraordinary job (last week) executing the rush plan to a tee and still setting up his rushes,” outside linebackers coach Robert Rodriguez said on Friday. “It’s not that easy to do. I think there’s a nuance to it. Some guys just rush like crazy. Other guys have to be a little bit smarter.

“It’s cool that he puts on display his talent and his ability but also his intelligence, so it’s a whole lot of fun to watch him execute that.”

It can’t all be on Gardeck’s shoulders in the outside linebackers room, though.

Zaven Collins, who should have another sack on the year and is “lightyears ahead” of where he was last year in Rodriguez’s eyes, must continue to make positive strides and have them show up on game day.

Zaven Collins vs. Jackson Barton. #AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/PpzaSL6LOG

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 19, 2024

Rookie Xavier Thomas on the other hand has to get up to regular season speed after standing out in the preseason.

“Immediately out of the preseason, we made it clear with him, ‘There’s a difference between sacks in the NFL and preseason sacks in the NFL. The thing is you put on display you can rush at this level and you can handle what we’re giving you,'” Rodriguez said.

“I’ve seen growth from him just in these last three weeks that I’m really still encouraged by him, but I’m not going to put a number or a cap on him because he can exceed it or it can crush him. I don’t want to put that line on top of him. Let’s just let Xavier be Xavier.”

If last week’s victory didn’t already, a win against the Lions would firmly put the Cardinals on the NFC’s radar. Generating consistent pass rush and getting home on Goff are two big ways in making that become a reality.

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TEMPE — Much like the Arizona Cardinals, the Detroit Lions led by head coach Dan Campbell pride themselves on playing with violence and a high motor.

And much like safety Budda Baker, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson encapsulates exactly what his team is about.

The third-year pro is well on his way to a consecutive double-digit-sack season, entering Week 3’s matchup against the Cardinals with a league-leading 5.5 sacks.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Hutchinson’s 11 pressures and 67 pass rush attempts are both tied for the fifth most among league defenders through two weeks. He’s 17th with a quarterback pressure rate of 15.9%.

DENIED! Strip sack by none other than @aidanhutch97 🔥

📺: #TBvsDET on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/8PIsOuNg6C

— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024

“You have to be (aware of where he is at all times),” quarterback Kyler Murray said Wednesday. “He warrants that, he’s a great player. The things he has done in his short career are pretty impressive.

“He is who he is and he’s going to continue to be that guy for the rest of his career. We definitely have to be aware of him.”

And although he mostly lined up on the left end a majority of the time in Week 2, Hutchinson has the versatility to rush off both sides.

So, while right tackle Kelvin Beachum is expected to see a big dose of Hutchinson on Sunday, left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. could also be in for some action against the No. 2 overall pick out of Michigan.

“He is in a really good scheme. They give him some freedom and he’s got a skill set,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said Monday. “Wherever he got drafted, you could tell why he got drafted that high.”

Hutchinson presents a big challenge for an Arizona offensive line that is coming off a stellar showing against the Los Angeles Rams.

He is far from the only Lion to watch, though, especially when looking at the offensive side of the football:

The Lions’ two-headed monster

Detroit has plenty of receiving weapons (more on them later), but the offense runs on a strong ground game behind the duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

The complementary backfield has been nearly an even split, with Montgomery (28) outpacing Gibbs (24) by just four carries. The difference in rushing yards is even tighter with two separating the former (126) and latter (124). Montgomery also has the lead in touchdowns (two) over his counterpart (one).

Montgomery brings added physicality to the position. Gibbs on the hand brings added shiftiness and ability as a pass catcher.

Among Lions pass catchers, Gibbs trails only wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) in catches with 11 for 56 yards.

More slot problems

The Cardinals came away victorious when it came to limiting slot wide receiver Cooper Kupp in their win against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.

If they want to have the same result against the Lions, keeping the versatile Amon-Ra St. Brown in check could go a long way towards achieving that.

Cardinals safety Budda Baker on WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Lions offense as a whole: pic.twitter.com/nyMVCKB4vA

— Cardinals Corner (@AZCardsCorner) September 19, 2024

After posting a lackluster stat line of three catches for 13 yards in Week 1, the four-year pro bounced back with an 11-catch, 119-yard showing in Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Don’t let his inconsistent start to 2024 fool you, either. St. Brown is coming off 11 games of at least 90 receiving yards on his way to 1,515 just a season ago.

Quieting St. Brown won’t fall solely on nickel corner Garrett Williams, either, with the wideout finding plenty of success lining up out wide.

“St. Brown’s a great player, a guy who can run the whole route tree,” Baker said Thursday. “An all-round great player and a player that of course we gotta understand where he is on the field. Ultimately whatever (defensive coordinator Nick Rallis) calls, it’s about doing our job and taking it one play at a time.

“St. Brown is a great player, but that offense is a great offense. It’s about understanding our rules and bringing our rules to the field as soon as we get the play calls in.”

Jamo

St. Brown may be quarterback Jared Goff’s favorite target, but it’s Jameson Williams who is pacing the team in yards (200) and receiving touchdowns (one) entering Sunday’s tilt.

Aside from his speed, what makes Williams such a menace is his playmaking ability with the ball in his hands.

Of his 200 receiving yards, 86 have come after the catch.

27-yard gain by matching Jameson Williams with an underneath linebacker

Amon-Ra and LaPorta push coverage downfield. Creates a void.

Ragnow 77 peels back to get just enough pic.twitter.com/sBmG3cwTkE

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) September 10, 2024

“He’s fast, very fast,” Baker said. “Can run the whole route tree. I would say the speed and the athleticism that he has when he catches the ball, he can get a lot of YAC.

“That’s definitely something that we understand and know. … He can run anything. He’s probably about (180 pounds). We understand that change of direction is very good.”

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker on what stands out about Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams: pic.twitter.com/uki26MFUT7

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 19, 2024

Don’t overlook LaPorta

Compared with those listed above, fellow playmaker and tight end Sam LaPorta is having a slow start to the year.

After reeling in 86 balls on 120 targets for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns, LaPorta has just six catches on eight targets for 58 yards in two games played this year.

“Last week it was [Amon-Ra] St. Brown. This week it’s LaPorta. Next week it’s going to be somebody else,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson told reporters Thursday. “That’s just the nature of the beast. … We’ve got a lot of weapons and it’s hard to guarantee someone five to eight targets every single game. That’s just not how it works.”

The Cardinals haven’t had much trouble against tight ends the past two weeks. Let’s see if they can keep that trend afloat for another game.

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TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Greg Dortch is finally getting the opportunity he’s fought for since entering the league in 2019.

A more consistent presence in the Cardinals offense as Arizona’s starting slot man, Dortch has already paced the team in receiving yards once (Week 1).

“When you have that role and you have that security — he’s a hungry dude anyways; he’s had to earn everything he’s received in his life — it’s definitely allowed him to just be himself,” quarterback Kyler Murray said Wednesday.

Where is Cardinals WR Greg Dortch’s confidence level at after stacking joint practices on top of his strong training camp?

“Confidence has always been high. … Hopefully when I play you can see it.” pic.twitter.com/c8LyT8gzvZ

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 16, 2024

Now up against a Detroit Lions defense in Week 3 that struggled mightily against Tampa Bay Buccaneers slot man Chris Godwin this past Sunday, there’s a real chance Dortch could find himself atop the stat sheet for a second time in three weeks.

All but one catch throughout Godwin’s 117-yard, one-touchdown performance came out of the slot. All six went for no less than 10 yards. That included a 41-yard TD, three more catches of at least 17 yards and four first downs gained.

Outside of Godwin’s performance, it was a relatively quiet day for some of the Buccaneers’ other playmakers. Mike Evans finished with three catches for 42 yards. Quarterback Baker Mayfield led Tampa Bay’s rushing attack with 34 rushing yards and a touchdown on five carries. Former Arizona State Sun Devil and running back Rachaad White accounted for 18 yards on 10 attempts.

Even if Dortch doesn’t put up Godwin-like numbers out of the slot in Week 3 — the Cardinals do have more pass-catching talent overall than the Buccaneers — there’s still a good chance he leaves a noticeable mark on the game after seeing what Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp did to Detroit in Week 1.

While Kupp caught half of his 14 receptions out of the slot, he didn’t explode yardage-wise behind 40 yards.

Most of those catches, however, came in early-down situations and helped put L.A. in more advantageous positions. Only one of the five catches to start a series went for at least five yards. His two second-down grabs resulted in first downs.

And much like Kupp and Godwin, Dortch brings added versatility and determination his signal-caller covets.

“You can throw him a bubble, you can throw him a hitch, you can throw him a fade. G can do it all,” Murray said of his wideout. “I love the stature that he is, because he’s inspiring to not only me, but smaller receivers around the world or young kids that want to say they can’t do it because they’re 5-foot-7, 5-foot-8, whatever it is, Greg’s doing it and he’s doing it at a high level.”

Another layer to Dortch’s game

You know what else the 5-foot-7 wideout can do that adds to the potential for a Week 3 impact?

Win 1-on-1 matchups. Or as Murray put it in June, the wide receiver is “unguardable” in such situations.

And that’s just what head coach Jonathan Gannon, who has the utmost confidence in Dortch’s abilities, is calling for against this Lions’ secondary.

“They have a really good back end. (Lions passing game Coordinator/DBs coach) Deshea Townsend’s a really good football coach. … They’ve got really good players,” Gannon said.

“We’re going to have to win some 1-on-1s if we want to make some plays, which I feel really good about.”

If the combination of Carlton Davis III, Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson and the rest of the Lions’ secondary aren’t careful — and don’t clean things up at practice this week — they very well could become the Dortchure chamber’s next victims on Sunday afternoon.

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TEMPE — Kyler Murray turned in one the best games of his career in the Arizona Cardinals’ dominant 41-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Completing an impressive 81% of his throws for 266 yards and three touchdowns for a perfect passer rating of 158.3, Murray was on one throughout Arizona’s home opener. Can’t forget about his 59 rushing yards on five carries, either.

The effort marked just the second time in NFL history a player put up at least 250 passing, 50 rushing yards and a perfect passer rating since Ken Anderson did so with Cincinnati in 1974.

It was also Hall-of-Fame worthy, with Murray’s game-worn jersey and game ball from Week 2 heading to Canton where they will be displayed at the Pro Football HOF.

But which plays from Sunday’s showing stood out the most?

A look at Murray’s top plays from Week 2 before turning the page to Sunday’s matchup against the Detroit Lions:

Not enough love

Murray had plenty of big-time plays that had a whole lot of people talking.

But it was a seven-yard pass to running back Trey Benson that really caught the eyes of his head coach and offensive coordinator when watching the tape back.

After finding wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 32-yard gain, Murray kept the ball moving in the right direction with the dump off to Benson.

@BurnsAndGambo here’s the throw Gannon mentioned pic.twitter.com/t4NVYjgOeO

— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) September 16, 2024

Most people would see it as a ho-hum play from the signal caller. Take a closer look, though, and you’ll see Murray’s knowledge of the system and game on display.

“He went from bubble to over-route to checkdown in less than a second for a (seven-yard) gain, because that’s where the ball should go,” head coach Jonathan Gannon told Burns & Gambo on Monday. “That’s pretty special. … That’s accelerated vision, that’s high IQ, that’s never being sped up, that’s playing extremely fast with 100% command.”

“The ability to play that fast in the pocket and get that quickly through a progression in a critical situation when you know protection’s not going to hold up forever is huge,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing added. “Now, it puts a lot more stress on the defense of, ‘We can’t take away the first two reads and expect him to break down and run out of the pocket.'”

Vintage K1

OK, now it’s time for the real fireworks.

All three of Murray’s touchdowns were impressive in their own right. But the 18-yard touchdown strike to tight end Elijah Higgins to give Arizona an early 21-0 lead might take the cake for most impressive.

KYLER MURRAY ARE YOU SERIOUS?! 😱

📺: #LARvsAZ on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/gfHzqbrZ0w

— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024

Kicking off the second quarter with a bang, Murray did Murray things. After making Rams pass rushers miss on multiple occasions — looking at you Jared Verse — Murray bought himself a wealth of time before finding Higgins in the back of the end zone for the score.

Murray celebrating before Higgins secured the catch was the icing on the cake.

pic.twitter.com/Bi4c2XHkx1

— Kyler Murray (@K1) September 17, 2024

Per Zebra Sports, Murray held onto the ball for 8.55 seconds before the TD strike. Since the inception of Next Gen Stats (2016), that’s the seventh longest time to throw and third longest since 2019.

The catch meanwhile had a completion probability of 24.7%. That’s the lowest mark for a tight end in Week 2 and the 10th lowest among all pass catchers in 2024.

Giving the people what they want

Harrison’s one-catch effort on three targets in Week 1 was far from what many expected to see from the K1-MHJ connection.

Early on in Week 2, however, the two quieted the noise and gave everyone a glimpse of what’s possible.

Kicking off Sunday’s scoring barrage, Murray and the rookie pass catcher linked up for a 23-yard touchdown that raised eyebrows across the league.

On top of it being Harrison’s first touchdown of his NFL career, it was the way it all went down.

MARVIN HARRISON JR.’S FIRST NFL TOUCHDOWN HAS ARRIVED pic.twitter.com/EFquDWaM8V

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 15, 2024

Per Next Gen Stats, the touchdown grab had a completion probability of 13.7%, the most improbable score of the season.

That’ll happen when Harrison had just 0.7 yards of separation and 0.7 yards to work with when the ball got to him.

Chemistry building

Murray’s first touchdown to Harrison was something else.

His second TD strike to the rookie isn’t that far behind, albeit for a different reason.

Marvin Harrison Jr. we love you pic.twitter.com/GE6a9vVabw

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 15, 2024

Despite having running back James Conner and tight end Trey McBride as his first two reads, Murray rolled out to his right to find Harrison breaking his route down the field.

All Murray had to do was fire a dime on the run and let Harrison do the rest.

Scramble drill

While this one didn’t result in a touchdown like the last three, it was still a major play from Murray.

“You gotta be kidding me.”@K1 and @MarvHarrisonJr have many in disbelief in the first quarter 😱

📺: #LARvsAZ on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/bwBNmggHuB

— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024

Looking to keep the drive alive in the first quarter, Murray again made a pair of defenders miss before finding Harrison down the sideline as he drifted out of bounds.

Harrison again made a great read off his QB, breaking down the field for a wide-open catch. Had Murray put a little more juice on it, there’s a real possibility we’re talking about yet another touchdown between the duo.

“The one-off schedule play on third down I think was awesome, but we practiced that — scramble drill,” Gannon said postgame. “When you have a mobile quarterback, you practice that. The touchdown to start the game, they played a coverage and the safety was sitting low and that’s where the ball should go. That’s what happened in practice. That’s what happened today.”

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TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals did something on Sunday that they hadn’t accomplished in a decade.

They successfully defended their home turf against the Los Angeles Rams for the first time since 2014. Back then, the Rams were still in St. Louis.

Throughout Sunday’s 41-10 beatdown, it looked and felt like the Cardinals could do no wrong — even when they probably should have.

But what numbers truly tell the story of Arizona’s Week 2 victory?

A closer look at how the Cardinals bucked a trend no team wants to follow along with a few interesting nuggets from Sunday:

That’s just barbaric

If the Cardinals were going to have a chance on Sunday, their pass rush needed someone to rise to the occasion against a Rams offensive line wrecked by injury.

Enter Dennis Gardeck.

The veteran pass rusher came to play on Sunday, racking up six tackles, four of which were for losses, three sacks and three QB hits across 26 defensive snaps (50% of available reps).

Of his 16 pass-rush attempts, Gardeck generated four pressures for a 19% pressure rate. That comes in tied for 12th among NFL pass rushers in Week 2 ahead of Monday Night Football.

“There was a little bit of extra of, ‘Let’s go get after them and let’s let people know,'” Gardeck said postgame.

“It was cool, it was fun. I love playing football with my friends,” he added.

It truly was a full day of work for Gardeck, who also paid tribute to former Cardinals teammate Markus Golden. The recently retired pass rusher was in attendance for Sunday’s action.

Along with Gardeck, Zaven Collins and Krys Barnes got home on Matthew Stafford for a sack apiece to bring Arizona’s game total to five.

The success clearly didn’t go both ways, either, with the Rams accounting for just one sack on the afternoon.

Less than a yard

Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. finding the end zone twice on Sunday was a massive accomplishment without any added context.

But how he achieved the first one is pretty unreal.

Per Next Gen Stats, Harrison had just 0.7 yards of separation from his defender and was 0.7 yards from the sideline when the ball got to him.

Throw those numbers into the equation and you’ll come away with a 13.7% completion probability, making Harrison’s snag the most improbable touchdown of 2024 so far.

“That’s why we got him. He’s doing his thing,” running back James Conner said Monday.

“That’s why we got him. He’s doing his thing.”

Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner speaks on WR Marvin Harrison Jr. and his stellar Week 2 showing: pic.twitter.com/pxWvKFDZHP

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 16, 2024

Perfection

You thought this section was reserved for quarterback Kyler Murray, didn’t you?

Nope!

Instead, this part of the program belongs to head coach Jonathan Gannon. Not only did he notch his first divisional win on Sunday, he also got it done with his challenge flag.

With his successful first-quarter challenge on Sunday, Gannon is now 2-0 in his career.

After not challenging a play until Week 18 of last season, Gannon didn’t waste any time in 2024.

Deep dimes

OK. We’ve now entered Murray’s space.

The franchise signal caller turned in arguably his best game as a pro on Sunday. He completed 17-of-21 passing for 266 yards and three touchdowns for a perfect pass rating of 158.3.

He added another 59 yards on five carries.

But while everyone is talking about his impressive stat line, and rightfully so, it was his long-bomb ability that really stood out on Sunday.

Per Next Gen Stats, Murray completed all five of his passes of at least 20 air yards for 156 yards and three touchdowns. That perfect completion rate had a probability of just 0.3%.

After not seeing a pass go for more than 10 yards down the field a week prior, it was a promising sight to see for the high-powered offense.

“I got all the nicknames for him. Houdini, Superman, all that,” Conner said Monday. “When he’s rolling like that, we’re the best in the game.”

Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner on QB Kyler Murray’s (@K1) Week 2 performance:

“I got all the nicknames for him. Houdini, Superman, all that. When he’s rolling like that, we’re the best in the game.” #AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/fOmm51jsRT

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 16, 2024

Nice

With Arizona’s dominance on Sunday, the Cardinals now sit second behind only the New Orleans Saints (91) in points scored through two weeks with 69.

200-plus

The Cardinals turned in their fifth game of at least 200 yards rushing since last season with 231 yards on Sunday.

Detroit, Arizona’s Week 3 opponent, is the next closest with three.

Conner accounted for a majority of the ground work behind 21 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown.

It’s clear good things happen more times than not when Conner gets a healthy dose of carries.

Since joining the Cardinals in 2021, Arizona is 7-3 when the running back sees at least 20 rushing attempts. Across his career, Conner is 14-3-1.

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GLENDALE — It’s wild what a week can do. After being held to just one catch in Week 1, Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. lived up to his first-round billing in Arizona’s dominant 41-10 win at home over the Los Angeles Rams.

Nearly tripling his targets from a week prior, Harrison finished as the game’s leading pass catcher with four catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The next closest was tight end Trey McBride with six catches for 67 yards, while the rest of Arizona’s wide receivers room accounted for 42 yards on four catches combined.

The stats don’t tell the full story, either, with Harrison’s first score of the afternoon sporting a completion percentage of just 13.7%, per Next Gen Stats. He had just 0.7 yards of separation and was 0.7 yards from the sideline when he caught the ball. The 23-yard strike currently ranks as the most improbable touchdown of the year so far.

Talk about a bounce-back effort.

But while Harrison is deservedly getting his flowers after a huge home opener, the wideout seems more concerned with the plays he left out on the field than the ones he made. He did after all do all of his damage in the first 13 minutes or so.

“It was solid. I think the offense played a good game. They definitely executing in the run game and pass game as well,” Harrison said postgame. “I’m not going to lie to you. I saw (quarterback Kyler Murray’s) stat line. He had four incompletions, all of them were to me.

“I’m not very happy about that. Definitely gotta get that fixed and continue to build on our chemistry as the season goes on.”

He’s not wrong. While Murray walked out of State Farm Stadium with a perfect passer rating (158.3) behind 266 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-21 throwing, the signal caller’s only misses of the night were Harrison’s way.

It’s been a roller coaster beginning to Harrison’s NFL career. He went from nonfactor to unguardable in the span of a week.

But even with the peaks and valleys, the wideout remains even-keeled.

“You can never get too high or too low. Last week, I knew I couldn’t get too low. This week, I’m not going to get too high after a successful day,” Harrison said Sunday. “I try to approach each game with the same mindset, have the same preparation, the same routine. No matter how the results are.

“Obviously, if things are going bad, I have to change some things. I’ve never had a lack of confidence in myself or the rest of the team, so we will continue to get better each and every week and continue to grow.”

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Kyler Murray threw a perfect game — in passer rating terms — rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. showed up big-time and the Arizona Cardinals pass rush got to the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford.

The combination of such things led to a 41-10 win for Arizona (1-1) against a team it hadn’t beaten at State Farm Stadium since 2014.

After a close loss at Buffalo to begin the year, we touched base with our show hosts and writers to take the temperature of the Cardinals immediately after the Week 2 victory.

Here’s what they’re taking away from a dominating performance against Los Angeles.

Our reactions to Cardinals blowing out Rams in Week 2

Luke Lapinski, co-host of Wolf & Luke: The Cardinals came into this game 3-19 in their last 22 games at State Farm Stadium. They hadn’t beaten the Rams in Arizona since 2014 — when they were the St. Louis Rams and Andre Ellington was the Cardinals’ leading rusher — and they were just 2-13 in their last 15 against the Rams overall.

Oh yeah, they were also 1-11 in the division since 2022.

Their response? Hand Sean McVay his most lopsided loss ever.

That’s a pretty good response, and it started with Marvin Harrison Jr. The first two scores of the game came courtesy of Marv, and they were the kind of electrifying plays that make you believe this offense is capable of anything now that he’s here.

Maybe it is. The Cardinals have put up 69 points through two games — second only to New Orleans as I write this — and they’ve done it against two pretty strong opponents in the Bills and Rams. Kyler Murray’s passer rating Sunday was a perfect 158.3. The Cardinals outrushed LA by 178 yards (231 to 53).

And it’s possible MHJ might simply be uncoverable on some plays.

On top of all that, you could make the argument that Sunday’s performance by the defense was the most encouraging part. Budda Baker was everywhere, starting with a huge fourth down stop on Cooper Kupp early. This was one of those games where it looked like there were seven or eight Buddas on the field, and his teammates followed his lead. Dennis Gardeck had three sacks, Zaven Collins and Krys Barnes each added one apiece, L.J. Collier recovered a fumble and Arizona stifled Kyren Williams — the running back who torched them for 362 total yards and three touchdowns last season — to just 25 yards on the ground.

Baker summed it up afterward the way you would expect him to sum it up: “This proves we can win one game.” He’s right of course, but now that narrow loss in Buffalo last week looks a lot more acceptable, if not flat-out encouraging, especially after what the Bills did in Miami on Thursday. And the Week 2 performance was a glimpse of the best-case scenario that the most optimistic Cardinals fans have been envisioning since April. It’s not a mere hypothetical anymore though, it’s reality. It happened. Now they just have to figure out how to do it consistently.

Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo: You’ve heard of things ending not with a bang but a whimper? This was a bang. A big, loud, window-rattling bang. An eight-game division losing streak. Over. A decade without a win at home over the Rams. Done. Nineteen losses in their last 22 games at home? I suppose TBD, but that sure feels like it’s over. If it is, and if the Sean McVay reign over the Cards is over (or at the very least on hold), now we’re talking.

I suppose you could say that given the Rams’ injury situation, that this was expected, and with the state of their offensive line maybe we shouldn’t be surprised the Cardinals won. It was the dominance of the win; a roundhouse 40-burger dropped on their personal tormentor in front of a home crowd that’s been starving for that moment in this building. The defense hit some notes that most didn’t think they had in them. James Connor continues to do the nasty work.

But mostly this will be remembered as the day Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. displayed the chemistry that would make Walter White jealous. It was humorous and revealing to hear Harrison bemoan that Murray’s only four incompletions were to him. The two jaw-dropping touchdowns and Murray’s literal perfect passer rating weren’t enough to satisfy. He wants more and so do we.

Is this the win that validates the belief — or at the very least the possibility — that the Cardinals are better than most think? It is truly too early to say. But this result, in this building, against that coach, with those two players leading the way is as good of a starting point as anyone could ask for.

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo: Simply the best game I believe I have seen Kyler Murray play. We wanted elite. We got elite. Forget the perfect rating. To me, his ability to make precision passes, the touch on his deep ball, the ability to create time and space for his receivers to get open and his football IQ were on full display.

The Cardinals exorcised some demons against McVay and the Rams and turned this game into a bloodbath early. Murray could not have played any better. First drive: touchdown. Second drive: touchdown. Third drive: touchdown. Fourth drive: field Goal.

First drive of the second half: touchdown. Cardinals up 31-3. Game over. Absolutely nothing not to like.

The degree of difficulty on the first touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. — I mean how many quarterbacks in this league can make that pass? The second touchdown to MHJ in which he rolled right to buy time as Harrison crossed the field then turned up the field was a thing of beauty. My favorite play was the third touchdown: Murray’s improvising and scrambling ability made Jared Verse miss tackling him not once but twice and Braden Fiske as well as he found Elijah Higgins for a touchdown to cap a 13-play, 99-yard drive. Nothing not to like today. Kyler played like a top-tier Quarterback and gave Cardinals fans a reason to believe in not only him but this season.

Tyler Drake, Cardinals reporter and co-host of the Cardinals Corner podcast: We gave the Cardinals a lot of (warranted) grief last week for their midgame adjustments, or lack thereof. Marvin Harrison Jr. was a nonfactor, there were no deep balls and the defensive pressure was nearly nonexistent. Just a tough look overall for a team that came out firing in Buffalo.

Against the divisional bully Los Angeles Rams, though, the Cardinals made all those adjustments we all were screaming about just a week prior.

Harrison nearly saw his target share (eight) triple and found the end zone twice. The Cardinals also looked deep at a much higher rate. They didn’t hit on all them, and they didn’t need to! Just the threat alone was huge. And last but not least, the Barbarian showed flashes of his 2020 self, racking up three sacks in the win and leading a much-improved pass rush.

Even when things went wrong – James Conner fumble into a Trey McBride touchdown – the Cardinals still came out on top on Sunday.

There haven’t been many complete games like this for Arizona in quite some time. Relish in this one a little more, Cards fans, especially knowing the stranglehold L.A. has had on Arizona for just about the past decade.

Kellan Olson, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night: I’m going to go under a decent assumption here that most of the words you’re reading are about Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr., deservedly so. I’ll zag here and toss a ton of credit the defense’s way. Yes, the Rams’ offensive line was shorthanded. Yes, Puka Nacua was out and Cooper Kupp only played half this game. But Arizona’s defense was in such a shaky position coming into the season and after Week 1 that we didn’t know if it could take advantage of a vulnerable group like the Rams.

The Cardinals did. Emphatically. Outside of Budda Baker’s lone blunder on a deep completion, it was a signature performance from him. The front seven did well to close up gaps in the run game while a questionable secondary wasn’t put to much of the test thanks to a pass rush that was indeed capable enough to pounce on a wounded pass-blocking unit. Dennis Gardeck had three sacks, continuing to be a compiler no matter his role.

This just looked like a game when defensive coordinator Nick Rallis pushed all the right buttons and was a step ahead of Sean McVay. A reminder to toss just about zero blame his way when this defense inevitably falters due to its shortcomings.

This was the type of stuff good football teams do. You have a divisional rival in town you know you can beat in what is very likely the second-most winnable game on the schedule until December. Arizona dominated ’em. If you want to talk about litmus test games, let’s see what this team is really all about next week against a 1-1 Detroit Lions squad.

Mitch Vareldzis, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night: BEAT L.A. BEAT L.A. BEAT L.A. That was the most fun I’ve had watching the Cardinals play a football game since I started working here in 2018.

*Stefon from SNL voice*

This game had everything! Marvin Harrison Jr.’s breakout with two touchdowns. A pass rush led by Dennis ‘The Barbarian’ Gardeck. And Kyler Murray getting that pest of a monkey off his back in beating the Rams, Sean McVay and doing it in front of a home crowd. I’m additionally way more excited for when the Lions come to town next week. The Cardinals have a chance to show dominance for a second consecutive week against one of the best in the NFC.

Kevin Zimmerman, ArizonaSports.com lead editor: I was told by a man — whose name starts with a W and rhymes with “gulf” — not to apply the transitive theory when the Bills rolled over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday. But I am going to lean on that result harder in judging the third-party Cardinals and say it appears that Arizona competing with Buffalo said a lot.

Because against the Rams, the defensive line didn’t look bad. The offensive line got the run game going easily. And of course, the passing game found Marvin Harrison Jr. — for a quarter at least.

It was predictable a good football team could beat the Rams, whose offensive line was decimated and whose receiving corps was without its Nos. 1 and 2 by the end of the game Sunday. But to beat Los Angeles by 31 — and to beat coach Sean McVay by 31 — means a loss to Buffalo should at the very least not mean the high preseason expectations haven’t been met on Arizona’s end.

After two games, they’re within reach of the highest of expectations.

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Melton entered the week in concussion protocol after going down late in Arizona’s Week 1 loss to Buffalo. He did not practice on Wednesday before getting in limited work in the two days following.

He was listed as questionable before getting the green light on Sunday.

Melton gives Arizona’s secondary another premium option alongside Sean Murphy-Bunting, Starling Thomas V and Garrett Williams.

Those not suiting up for the Cardinals include cornerback Darren Hall, linebacker Jesse Luketa, defensive lineman Dante Stills, offensive lineman Jon Gaines II, tight end Travis Vokolek and wide receiver Xavier Weaver.

Weaver entered the matchup as questionable, with an oblique injury that held him out of Week 1’s action.

He practiced on a limited basis throughout the week.

The biggest surprise among Arizona’s inactives was Stills, who has served as a solid rotational piece along the defensive line.

With him inactive, look for L.J. Collier to take on a bigger role in the rotation.

As for the Rams, running back Cody Schrader, linebacker Brennan Jackson, offensive lineman Dylan McMahon, tight end Davis Allen and defensive lineman Tyler Davis are inactive.

Catch Cardinals-Rams at 1:05 p.m. on the Arizona Sports app, 98.7 and ArizonaSports.com.

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Now, Arizona gets a Los Angeles team that’s had little resistance against the Cardinals over the years. Since Sean McVay got to town in 2017, L.A. has won all but two of its 14 divisional games against the Cardinals. There’s also that decisive Wild Card win in 2021.

Pull back the scope even further for the Cardinals and you’ll find a winless home mark against the Rams since 2014.

It’s safe to say L.A. has had Arizona’s number for some time. But with yet another regular season, comes the chance for the Cardinals to buck the trend in Year 2 of the new regime. That is if they make the right adjustments following last week’s loss.

A look at the biggest changes Arizona can make in hopes of successfully defending its home turf against the Rams:

Get Marvin Harrison Jr. the ball!

Even the Marvin Harrison Jr. haters couldn’t have expected the rookie’s Week 1 showing to be so rough.

Seeing just three targets come his way, Harrison walked out of Buffalo with one catch (and a drop) for four yards on the day.

It was clearly not the NFL debut anyone drew up for Harrison. And it’s a performance that cannot be repeated in Week 2.

While quarterback Kyler Murray got a lot of flak for “missing” the No. 1 wide receiver near the end of the game, the wideout struggled to get open more times than not. Sometimes that was due to the coverage the Bills deployed on the rookie, throwing an addition defender his way. Other times, Harrison just couldn’t finish his routes thanks to Arizona’s short passing attack and Buffalo’s pass rush.

So, what changes can be made in a week’s span?

Yes, Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray was practicing on Friday (this time without the leg sleeve). #AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/vwJArSlOKf

— Cardinals Corner (@AZCardsCorner) September 13, 2024

For one, they can get Harrison on the move pre-snap. That didn’t happen at all last week, with head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing opting to utilize the wideout primarily at the X. Moving him to the slot and/or at the Z will at least give the defense different looks of the No. 1 wide receiver.

It’s also on Harrison to think less and just play, something he admittedly didn’t do consistently throughout Week 2.

As for Murray’s role in all this, he’s got to find the right spots to force the issue at times, with or without added reps.

The connection with Murray and Harrison should improve with every week, especially since these first two are the very first instances of them playing in a game with one another.

Go deep(ish)!

You know what was missing in the Cardinals’ loss to the Bills last week? Successful down-the-field shots.

Only three times did Murray attempt a pass of at least 20 air yards, all incompletions and none going Harrison’s way. Still, Murray finished middle of the road (14th) among starting quarterbacks in deep ball percentage at 9.7%. Another four passes came in the intermediate range (10-19 yards). Only one was caught, albeit for a touchdown.

Taking what the Bills were giving it, the Cardinals offense stuck primarily to short passes.

Not having that deep presence allowed Buffalo’s secondary to focus on keeping everything in front of them.

In Week 2, that’s gotta change.

Taking a few more chances deep (or at least intermediately), especially with Harrison, is crucial in keeping the Rams defense on its toes.

On top of Jared Goff and the Lions scoring on one of their two deep balls throughout last week’s win over the Rams, the QB had seven in the intermediate range.

Now, not all of them hit, but a couple of those turned into chunk plays.

Can’t have a chance at explosives unless you take some shots.

Pressure makes Ws

The Cardinals had little success rushing the passer against a stout Bills offensive line last week.

This week, however, Arizona’s pass rush has a golden opportunity to prove some naysayers wrong against a Rams O-line riddled by injury.

While the prognosis for the line improved Friday, with McVay now expecting starting right tackle Rob Havenstein and right guard Kevin Dotson to play on Sunday, the line is far from 100%.

Starting guard Steven Avila and tackle Joe Noteboom are on injured reserve, while Alaric Jackson is nearing the end of his two-game suspension.

Those injuries and the suspension played a big role in Los Angeles’ lackluster pass protection, with Stafford being the fifth-most pressured QB (14) in Week 1, per NFL Next Gen Stats. And while the Lions came out of the matchup with the win, they managed to sack Stafford just twice.

If not for Stafford (and his 49 pass attempts) putting the team on his back, the Lions likely would have avoided overtime and walked out of Week 1 with a decisive win.

Still, getting double-digit pressures would be a big step up for a Cardinals pass rush that had just six a game ago.

If there was ever a time for Zaven Collins to show why he received an extension this offseason, it’s this weekend.

It’s not just on him, though, with Dennis Gardeck and Xavier Thomas needing to produce off the edge in Week 2.

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Among the handful of holdovers from the Kliff Kingsbury regime, Whipple has held many titles since coming to Arizona in 2019.

They include:

– Offensive quality control coach (2019)
– Assistant wide receivers coach (2020-21)
– Co-pass game coordinator (2022)
– Pass game specialist: wide receivers (2023)
– Pass game specialist: tight ends (2024)

This week, Whipple is once again adding more onto his plate, stepping in for Autry Denson as Arizona’s running backs coach against the Los Angeles Rams.

“Autry Denson will not be at the game. He’s got a family matter,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said Friday morning. “Him and his family are in our prayers. He’ll be back Monday. Spencer Whipple will take over his responsibilities on game day.”

In addition to the above list, Whipple’s unofficial roles include exceeding expectations as interim play caller for a 2021 game when Kliff Kingsbury tested positive for COVID-19 and serving as a fill-in RBs coach midway through 2022. The latter came after James Saxon was fired having pled guilty in a domestic battery case and assistant running backs coach Don Shumpert was let go.

It’s those emergency appointments and Whipple’s behind-the-scenes work of scouting the league that stand out.

Whipple’s versatility, a trait that Gannon covets, are incredibly valuable to not only the new regime but also the coach.

“Especially early on in your career, no matter where you’re at, you want to get exposed as much as possible,” Whipple told Arizona Sports in August. “Just being around different positions and soaking in that knowledge and getting around other coaches. Not just the football knowledge but the teaching methods of each coach is a little bit different. Everybody does it a different way.

“Just being able to document those things so I can infuse those into my own style to create some ways of how I want to teach and coach. I’m just really fortunate to be in all those rooms and be moved around and exposed to all those different things.”

Who’s the pinch hitter for Spencer Whipple, the Cardinals’ pinch hitter?

Serving as Arizona’s fill-in running backs coach this weekend isn’t the only title Whipple will be adding to the resume this month.

He and his wife expecting a baby girl that could potentially arrive at any time just two weeks out from the due date.

“It’s always something you think about and just the excitement. It’s always kind of in the back of your mind,” Whipple said of becoming a dad. “You’re passionate about the job, you’re working for yourself and your wife and now you have a baby daughter that you’re trying to be the best as you can be each day — whether you’re coaching or not — just to be in that right frame to raise them.”

As for the preferred arrival timeline?

“The tail end of that three-game home stretch would be nice, so I’m not getting on a plane to go somewhere,” Whipple said.

Let’s hope the Cardinals have a backup plan for their backup plan this weekend.

Just in case.

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To the relief of quarterback Kyler Murray (and all the other NFL quarterbacks not named Matthew Stafford), defensive tackle Aaron Donald and his 16 sacks, 26 tackles for loss and 34 QB hits against the Cardinals opted for retirement this offseason after 10 seasons and eight First Team All-Pro nods.

Breakout wide receiver Puka Nacua, fresh off a record-setting rookie season of 105 catches for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns, is missing his first game as a pro after getting placed on injured reserve this week.

L.A.’s starting offensive line meanwhile is banged up to the point where only one member of the unit has practiced this week.

But even with all the injuries and the future Hall of Famer hanging it up, the Rams, who were a tough out for the playoff-contending Detroit Lions, still have plenty of firepower at head coach Sean McVay’s disposal for the Cardinals to contend with in Week 2.

“They’re still obviously well coached,” quarterback Kyler Murray said Wednesday. “They have a lot of great young players up there that play super hard. … Well coached, play super hard. Those things are unmatched.”

A look at the biggest menaces for the Cardinals in their Week 2 matchup against the Rams:

Still that dude

On top of his ability to beat the Cardinals through the air, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen rumbled his way into two more rushing touchdowns in his team’s 34-28 win over Arizona last week.

Unlike their Week 1 foe, the Cardinals don’t have to worry too much about Stafford doing Allen-like things in the run game.

But where Stafford lacks with his legs, he more than makes up for with his arm.

“He can deal it man. He’s tough as all get out, very accurate, sees it, never sped up,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said Wednesday. “Through the course of my career, because I was in his division for a long time, he makes some ‘wow’ plays, some eye-popping plays, he stays on time, he’s on schedule. He’s a really good football player.”

Stafford’s had the Cardinals’ number since joining forces with the Rams, posting a 4-1 mark that includes three multi-touchdown games and two outings of at least 280 yards since 2021.

A known thorn in Arizona’s side, Stafford enters Sunday’s matchup coming off a strong showing in the Rams’ overtime loss to the Lions. He had the second-highest passing yardage in Week 1 behind 317 yards to go along with a touchdown and an interception on 69.4% throwing. Only Miami Dolphins signal caller Tua Tagovailoa threw for more yards (338) last week.

“I like going against Stafford. He’s a guy who can have those amazing no-look passes, a guy who can move the underneath defense to where he wants them to go so he can throw it to whatever target he wants,” safety Budda Baker said Thursday. “The ball comes in very fast, has a zip. Top three quarterback I believe watching on film. Great quarterback and excited to go against him.”

But as mentioned higher up, Stafford and the Rams are dealing with some serious injury concerns along the offensive line. If there was ever a time to dial up more pressure against the NFC West foe, it’s this week.

Save from a 63-yard catch-and-run that really should have been nothing more than a short gain, Stafford was held largely in check when the Lions got into the backfield. Across Detroit’s 11 pressures, Stafford completed six-of-10 passes for 91 yards and a sack, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

Unlike the Cardinals, who registered three pressures in each of the two halves in Week 1, the Lions kept the pressure on throughout the game.

Regardless of pass-rushing talent, the Cardinals must be able to exploit a depleted Rams O-line to have any shot at throwing Stafford off his game.

Kyren the Cardinals killer

Don’t let his pedestrian 2.8 yards per carry give you any second guesses. Third-year running back Kyren Williams is a problem, especially for the Cardinals.

Two of the running back’s best games of the year came at Arizona’s expense last season, with Williams rushing for at least 143 yards and scoring one touchdown on no fewer than 16 carries.

And although he was held out of the end zone as a runner in the second matchup of the season, Williams scored twice through the air on the Rams’ way to victory.

“He did a great job against us last year. Of course it’s a new group, new team, new players,” Baker said. “That’s the No. 1 thing is to ultimately stop the run.

“He’s great at running those stretch opens, pitches. Whatever they ask him to do, to block, he does a great job at it and does it a high level.”

Kupp’s never empty

No Puka, no problem?

Yes, losing Nacua is a tough blow for the Rams. They do, however, still have one of the top receiving threats in the game in Cooper Kupp.

And if you needed a refresher, take a look at what he did last Sunday.

Making up for the loss of Nacua, Kupp reeled in a league-leading 14 catches on 21 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. That’s right, 21 targets.

That’s only 10 fewer than what the eight Cardinals pass catchers who recorded a target saw in their Week 1 loss to the Bills.

The Cardinals secondary, not only nickel corner Garrett Williams, are going to have their hands full on Sunday with a wide receiver who lines up across the formation and frequently goes into motion.

L.A.’s new Verse

The time has *potentially* come. After jawing with one another while on with Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo, the opportunity is there for Jared Verse and Trey Benson to face off on the gridiron.

As Verse put it, he was going to knock the paint off Benson’s helmet, much to Benson’s refusal.

All jokes aside, the rookie Verse is coming off a strong Week 1 showing where he registered one sack on six pressures (tied for fifth in the NFL), a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits in his NFL debut.

Last week against the Lions, Verse lined up exclusively on the left side. If that’s the case in Week 2, he’ll draw Paris Johnson Jr. more times than not.

This has the makings of a really good battle in the trenches.

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Getting extra attention and limited looks throughout the 34-28 loss in Buffalo, Harrison recorded one reception for four yards to go along with an early drop on just three targets.

The rookie, who failed to create much separation in his debut, did the opposite of what he came to do as Arizona’s No. 4 overall pick this past April.

“It wasn’t great. I need to do a better job of helping the team win, helping the offense,” Harrison said Wednesday. “That’s why they brought me here is to help the team, help the offense go. I got to do a better job of that going forward.”

“I was thinking a lot. Definitely thinking a lot out there,” he added. “I think thinking less and just going out there and playing will definitely come with reps.”

But while Harrison’s debut was far from what he or anyone else surrounding the team envisioned, the sky isn’t falling for the young pass catcher or the Cardinals.

Both he and quarterback Kyler Murray know it’s a matter of time before they start clicking in live action, especially when it comes to trusting his new weapon deep down the field.

After all, this was the first time the duo had any sort of game reps together.

“Nothing changes. We have the utmost confidence in what we’re capable of,” Murray said Wednesday. “If you went back and watched the game, I think they were doing a good job of making sure that he wasn’t going to be singled up or not be singled up for the majority of the game. I’ll never lose confidence in Marv. It was his first game. We have to continue to get better and we will.”

“I think that comes with time and you’ve seen it with guys like I played with like (DeAndre Hopkins),” the signal caller added on forcing the issue. “He’s a guy that was one of those where it didn’t really matter who was over there. If you just give him a chance, he’s going to go up and get it. … It was my first game with Marv. We didn’t get a lot of reps in the preseason — we didn’t get any. We have to go out there and prove that we’re capable of that.”

More game reps with Murray and NFL experience overall — two things he could have gotten more of this preseason, though respects Gannon’s decision to sit the pair — can go a long way in making sure a performance like Week 1 remains an anomaly.

“It’s totally different.”

Marvin Harrison Jr. knows he and Kyler Murray will take time to develop a feel for each other during the regular season. pic.twitter.com/NsdyJ24jZ5

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) September 11, 2024

Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing can also lend a hand in helping generate mismatches by putting the wideout in motion, something that didn’t happen throughout Sunday’s loss.

“He’s one of our top players. He’s certainly on the forefront of our minds in terms of getting him the ball,” Petzing said Tuesday. “I think they did some good things to take him away and I certainly could have called some plays differently to get him a little bit more involved early. But I thought it was a good start and we certainly have some work to do ahead of Week 2.”

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Marvin Harrison Jr. knows he and Kyler Murray will take time to develop a feel for each other during the regular season.

TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals’ prospects of stealing one on the road against the Buffalo Bills went from rolling to stolen on Sunday.

Flying high to a 17-3 lead at one point in the second quarter, the Cardinals offense eventually came crashing down to Buffalo in the second half of Sunday’s 34-28 loss.

Beyond rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. failing to see a target in the final two quarters — and only having three on the afternoon — the Cardinals offense just didn’t have an answer for a Bills pass rush that turned up the heat.

It was a big reason why the Cardinals offense was held to just a field goal in the second half. Losing starting right tackle Jonah Williams to a knee injury at the end of the first quarter didn’t help, either.

After getting four pressures (one sack) on Murray in the first half, Buffalo’s defense accounted for nine in the second. The late effort included three sacks, one of which was a strip of the franchise signal caller.

The uptick in the second half led to a 34.2% pressure rate. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, when a team is between 32% and 40%, the defense has a win percentage of 56%.

The Cardinals pass rush, meanwhile, was stymied in the second half after registering a pair of sacks, one being a strip-sack, and three pressures in the two quarters prior. There could have been a third, too, had it not been for a questionable roughing the passer call on Zaven Collins in the second quarter.

Going up against dual-threat quarterback Josh Allen, the defense posted three pressures across the final two quarters but came away empty handed.

Instead, Allen made something happen to keep drives alive, whether it be a 25-yard pass to running back James Cook on third-and-long or a five-yard scramble for a first down on fourth-and-two.

That led to a 20% pass rush rate, which has a defensive win percentage of just 33%.

“I thought we had enough opportunities, especially in known pass, to affect him,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said Monday when talking about getting initial pressure on Allen.

“I think we gotta capitalize on more opportunities, whether that be a game, getting on the right person as a low cross or a checkdown or bringing him down or not fouling. A free runner, get him on the ground. We’ve got to collectively coach and play a little bit better.”

Next up for Arizona’s pass rush is the far less mobile Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford behind an offensive line already beaten up by injury.

The opportunities should be there in Sunday’s home opener at State Farm Stadium. Can the Cardinals defense capitalize?

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TEMPE — The Cardinals offense was the biggest reason why Arizona came close to upsetting the Buffalo Bills at home on Sunday. Rookie and No. 1 wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., however, had little to do with that.

Held to just one catch for four yards on three targets, the rookie was ineffective and underutilized.

It was a shocking NFL debut for all the wrong reasons.

And while head coach Jonathan Gannon believes “the ball went where it should” given what the Bills defense gave the Cardinals offense throughout the defeat, he knows that can’t be a repeat performance.

After a disappointing NFL debut, how does @AZCardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon plan to get Marvin Harrison Jr. more involved in week two?

🎧: https://t.co/3zqo7WF6cc pic.twitter.com/175mzI3C8Y

— The Burns & Gambo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) September 9, 2024

“The game plan with how they wanted to play us dictated a lot of his involvement,” Gannon told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Monday. “They kind of took some of that away. We planned for that — or maybe there was a couple other plans — but no question we got to get him going. We got to get him a little bit involved, but they did some things that took him away and put a lot of resources to him.”

Across his 33 routes ran, Harrison rarely appeared to be the first read for quarterback Kyler Murray with the Bills clouding the rookie with a safety more times than not.

Instead of Harrison getting a healthy dose of targets, it was wide receiver Greg Dortch (eight targets on 23 routes ran) and tight end Trey McBride (nine targets on 31 routes ran) getting the bulk of the looks.

The offense has to take what the defense gives it at times. It also has other play-making options to consider. But there was also a handful of missed opportunities between the quarterback and wide receiver. And that’s without including the viral shot of Harrison wide open down the field.

Some of that included not allowing deeper plays to develop and instead focusing on shorter pickups with other pass catchers. There’s also the fact of just giving the 6-foot-4 wideout the chance to make a play. That’s why you drafted him No. 4 overall after all.

As for how Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing can get Harrison more involved moving forward, especially if more teams deploy a similar look, there are multiple avenues to consider.

“There’s different ways you can align him and deploy your people, that’s one thing,” Gannon told Burns & Gambo. “I think another thing is to get him on the move a little bit.

“I’m not going to give away all our secrets right now, but there’s ways to do that. Week 1 we wanted to leave him at X and play, so we’ll have some stuff for him if people want to do that to him the whole game.”

‘Marvin will be fine’

For a rookie that has generated as much hype as Harrison heading into Year 1, Sunday’s forgettable showing — that included a surprising drop — can leave a mark and impact the psyche.

That is unless you’re Harrison, says his head coach.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said Marvin Harrison Jr. will be “perfectly fine” after Week 1’s showing:

“He’ll be fine. Marvin will be fine. He’ll get back at it and go to work. Nobody’s going to put more expectations and pressure … on him than himself.” pic.twitter.com/q08vWpf1St

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 9, 2024

“He’ll be fine. Marvin will be fine,” Gannon said Monday. “He’ll get back at it and go to work. Nobody’s going to put more expectations and pressure … on him than himself.”

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Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.’s long-awaited NFL debut didn’t live up to the hype in Sunday’s 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Instead of leading Arizona’s pass catchers after four quarters in Buffalo, Harrison found himself at the bottom of the stat sheet with just one catch for four yards.

Even more glaring than his output were the limited targets (three) that went his way. He did not see a pass go his way in the second half and didn’t help his stat line with an uncharacteristic drop early on.

So, what gives?

For one, the Bills weren’t taking any chances with the young pro, scheming up a defense to better limit Harrison’s big-play ability.

“They were clouding him,” head coach Jonathan Gannon told Paul Calvisi postgame. “When they were playing shell, they were playing forms of cloud to him, two-man to him, swiping to him. Credit to Buffalo there.

“They obviously were trying to take him away,” Gannon added while talking to reporters. “But we had a bunch of guys catch balls, so that’s how our offense is gonna be built. The ball should go where it should go depending on the coverage.”

That’s not to say there weren’t opportunities for Harrison to leave his mark on the game, especially late with the game on the line.

Down 34-28 on Buffalo’s 39-yard line with 1:10 left to play, Harrison had nothing but green grass and the end zone in his vicinity.

Wide open is an understatement.

Marvin Harrison Jr. was so wide open for a game-winning touchdown CBS couldn’t even fit a Bills defender in the frame

(Kyler Murray did not throw to him) pic.twitter.com/77hEMZYzwD

— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2024

But instead of walking in for a potentially game-winning touchdown, all the rookie could do was watch quarterback Kyler Murray find Greg Dortch for a seven-yard gain.

Yes, a first down was picked up, but it could have been so much more if Murray — who was avoiding pressure throughout the play — had seen his No. 1 option down the field.

“When you play football, there’s a lot of stuff moving around, you’re moving fast. You don’t see everything,” Murray told reporters postgame.

“I wouldn’t say (the Bills) were taking him away,” the signal caller added when talking about Harrison’s lack of production. “As a quarterback going through your reads, sometimes the ball goes to him. It’s not my job. Obviously, I have a sense and a feel for the guys when they aren’t getting the ball and when they are getting the ball, but I leave that up to (offensive coordinator Drew Petzing). He tells me, ‘Don’t worry about that type of stuff. Just keep playing your game and get the ball where it’s supposed to go.'”

Whatever the reasoning may be, not getting your premier pass catcher involved on a consistent basis — whether you’re the quarterback or the coordinator — cannot happen moving forward. Sunday must be the floor for Harrison in 2024.

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The Arizona Cardinals’ strong start wasn’t enough in their 34-28 season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

After putting up 10 unanswered points and taking a 17-10 advantage into the half, the Cardinals simply couldn’t keep up against a Josh Allen-led Bills squad that responded in the second half with a trio of touchdowns and a game-sealing field goal.

Arizona Sports’ hosts, editors and reporters gave their biggest takeaways from the Cardinals’ season opener:

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo: Lot of the same old, same old. Cardinals played well for a half and had a 17-3 lead but in the end, lost another one score game. Last year they were 2-5 in such games. This year they start out 0-1. The problem with this game was simple — the offense is supposed to carry the team and it stopped doing that after the 17-3 lead. Arizona’s defense allowed Buffalo to score touchdowns at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half to wipe away all the good the team had done in building a two-touchdown lead.

But the inability of Kyler Murray to move the offense is what led to this loss.

In the second half, the Cardinals went three-and-out, turnover on second play, eight plays for a field goal, kick return for a touchdown, three-and-out and turnover on downs after nine plays. The offense accounted for a whopping three points in the second half. An offense that had 190 total yards in the first half finished with 270 for the game. Quick math: They had 80 second-half yards. Murray passed for 131 yards in the first half and he finished with 162 — yup, that is just 31 yards in the second half and all but three of those yards came in the final two minutes on the last possession.

For a quarterback that to me still has a lot to prove, Sunday was not a day he proved anything. He did all the work in the offseason — and we all give him a ton of credit for that — but now the results matter. And Sunday, he failed to get the job done.

Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo: Last year we would have been fine with this. Losing a close game in an environment like Buffalo to one of the five (two?) best quarterbacks in the NFL would have been cause for encouragement. Those days are long gone. Now, when Jonathan Gannon says things like “Sundays (are) where you get measured,” we take those words and apply them to a different standard.

Despite the stuff to like there was plenty of stuff not to like. Murray’s second half. Some of the play-calling in the second half. A defense that earned the doubt that has been cast on them. It doesn’t mean the good stuff didn’t happen or doesn’t have its place, but leading 17-3 on the road only to lose just doesn’t provide the comfort it might have a year ago.

In some ways, the game was a validation of what many have said about the Cardinals; the offense needs to be elite to make up for a defense that lacks difference makers. Sunday’s game followed that concept to the letter.

The hope is that the defense will improve and not give up six yards per play (that number was hovering around 7.5 for a big chunk of the game). Likely though, this is going to come down to Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. fast-tracking their chemistry. Our poll question on Friday asked the question who would lead the Cardinals in receptions on Sunday. I didn’t think MHJ would be first in that category, but he should never ever be last.

Tyler Drake, Arizona Sports Cardinals beat writer and Cardinals Corner co-host: Exactly what the Cardinals needed to do right out of the gates, they did. Arizona went right at Buffalo’s new-look defense behind a heavy dose of James Conner and Murray. The result was a 17-3 advantage that included an added boost from a defensive takeaway. For Arizona to have a chance in football games, this is the kind of start that is needed week in and week out.

Arizona, however, did not replicate any of that early success over the remaining quarters.

The Bills clearly made the appropriate halftime adjustments. The Cardinals? Not so much, with Murray struggling to complete a pass behind an offensive line that was getting beat left and right and already down a man in the second half. Not getting Harrison more than three targets is something that cannot happen moving forward, either.

Allen meanwhile took it to Arizona’s defense behind a pair of passing touchdowns and a rushing score in the second half. Even with the added pieces brought in, Arizona’s defensive talent just couldn’t keep up with the handful of Bills playmakers.

If not for DeeJay Dallas making noise with a 96-yard kick return late, this could have looked a whole lot uglier for the Cardinals despite the promising start.

Kevin Zimmerman, ArizonaSports.com lead editor: It might take time to judge whether that was a close call against a playoff team or even a Super Bowl contender, but in the one-game vacuum it is, all signs point to the Cardinals being an average football team. Arizona didn’t win the halftime adjustment game, as Murray’s first half (16-of-19 for 131 passing yards) withered into a 5-of-12, 31-yard second half. And 28 of those yards came in the final desperate drive.

Some of it’s on Murray. But his second half was also a shot of reality about the talent base. Murray was targeting Greg Dortch down the stretch and Harrison only got three targets all game. There were drops by everyone. The Cardinals’ collection of skill players is diverse. But is it exceptional?

Further, the offensive line depth is already a problem. And the defense, while without egregious mistakes, just doesn’t have the talent to compete even against a Bills team that had plenty of questions about its offense heading into the year.

Kellan Olson, Arizona Sports at Night co-host: It’s a strange angle to take when the Cardinals scored 28 points on the road against a contender, but I left this game more concerned about the offense than the defense. We knew the defense was going to suck. It did. But the offense was incredibly reliant on the run game and short throws, which worked beautifully until it didn’t. James Conner only averaged 3.1 yards per carry as the Cardinals oddly spammed outside runs when he clearly wasn’t creating enough room. Murray rarely threw intermediate passes, let alone going further down the field.

We are doing “rapid reactions” here, so I’ll hold off on who deserves blame for Harrison only having 3 targets until the all-22 footage gets looked at, but someone deserves it. Lost in the shuffle of that was Trey McBride being restricted to little stuff over the middle through five catches for 30 yards. This offense either has to gash opponents in the run game or have consistent big-play ability via Harrison and McBride. If they don’t, the Cardinals will lose a whole lot of games and we saw none of that from the offense in Buffalo.

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It marked the first return in the NFL’s new kickoff format.

With Arizona’s defense struggling to keep quarterback Josh Allen at bay and the Cardinals’ offensive inconsistencies in the second half, Dallas provided a much-needed spark late.

This is what the powers-that-be envisioned with the new KO rules. And why the #AZCardinals wanted DeeJay Dallas. pic.twitter.com/ymjbnV7R1q

— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) September 8, 2024

Down 31-20 after Allen’s second rushing score of the afternoon, Tyler Bass kicked off and Dallas did the rest.

Catching the ball at the five-yard line, Dallas looked like he was shot out of a cannon as he made multiple defenders miss with rookie Max Melton and Emari Demercado serving as lead blockers.

“(Special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Jeff Rodgers) called a great return,” Dallas told Cardinals sideline reporter Paul Calvisi postgame. “The guys blocked it up and we read the ball off the wind. I caught it, made a couple moves and housed it.”

A successful two-point conversion further cut into Buffalo’s lead, making it just a three-point difference.

Known more for his special teams capabilities, Dallas was among Arizona’s few free-agent additions this offseason that received a three-year deal.

The score would be for naught, though, with the Bills scoring a field goal on the ensuing drive before stopping Murray and the offense.

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Arizona Cardinals starting right tackle Jonah Williams will not return against the Buffalo Bills due to a knee injury.

Williams went down on the final play of the first quarter. He was able to walk off under his own power but didn’t return in the 34-28 loss.

In place of Williams is veteran swing tackle Kelvin Beachum, who made 48 starts at right tackle for the Cardinals from 2020-22.

“Beachum is like the glue that keeps all this team together, honestly,” Will Hernandez said in August. “How many more guys can you actually name in the league right now that have been playing for 13-plus years. That comes with a lot of value.

“It’s a lot of indirect value, because a lot of what he knows, he transfers it to guys and transfers to me as well. This is my seventh year and feel like I’m learning so much talking to him on and off the field.”

Williams is among the newcomers to the Cardinals’ offensive line in 2024 after spending the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

He was brought in to start at right tackle with Paris Johnson Jr. making the move to the left side in Year 2.

Initially, Arizona didn’t miss a beat despite Williams’ injury, with the Cardinals orchestrating a 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown from running back James Conner.

Beachum, however, gave up two sacks and more hurries in the loss.

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After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, the Cardinals set the tone early on in the drive behind playmaking running back James Conner.

Conner did it both through the air and on the ground, getting the first six touches of the drive.

That included a pair of catches, one going for 22 yards on a second-and-seven look.

The drive nearly came to an end, though, with quarterback Kyler Murray unable to pick up a first down on third and 13. But a Buffalo roughing the passer call gave the Cardinals a new set of downs that they would not take for granted.

Going Conner’s way once more for a five-yard run before taking a sack, Murray capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Wilson.

FIRST ONE OF THE SEASON GOES TO @mikewilllyy!! pic.twitter.com/cmVZyuNJ3i

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 8, 2024

Arizona’s first drive of the year went 70 yards in 13 plays for the score and took 7:13 off the clock.

Aside from Conner and Wilson, Greg Dortch also came down with a catch in the opening possession.

Arizona’s defense picked up where the offense left off, with Roy Lopez strip-sacking Josh Allen four plays into Buffalo’s opening drive. Cardinals newcomer Justin Jones recovered the rock.

The offense couldn’t find pay dirt for a second straight time, but did see a Matt Prater 29-yard field goal go through the uprights.

The Cardinals wouldn’t be held out of the end zone for long, though, ripping off another 13-play scoring drive that spanned 71 yards and 7:07. And while he didn’t see nearly as many touches, Conner made the most of the one he got, turning it into a three-yard TD.

Before Sunday, Arizona hadn’t scored on each of its first three offensive possessions of a season since 2006 against the San Francisco 49ers.

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