Cardinals cruise to an easy Week 1 victory over the Titans
By Adam Patrick
From the opening whistle, the Arizona Cardinals made it clear that they were the better team on Sunday in their Week 1 game against the Tennessee Titans.
Heading into the Week 1 matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, most figured the contest would only be decided by a handful of points. Well, the Cardinals decided that wouldn’t be the case on Sunday.
Arizona stormed out to an early 17-0 lead in the first half, and they kept their foot on the gas for the remainder of the game. When the final whistle blew, the Cardinals left the field with a 38-13 win over the Titans.
Arizona has a lot to be happy about with their performance on Sunday after getting a victory in their season-opener for the second year in a row.
Arizona Cardinals had zero trouble with the Tennessee Titans in Week 1
Before this season began, there were some who believed the Cardinals had the potential to have one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses. If Arizona continues to play like they did on Sunday, then those thoughts will become a reality.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray looked very impressive out on the field against Tennessee. Murray completed 66 percent of his passes for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception to finish with a 120.9 quarterback rating.
He also added 20 yards and a score on the ground on Sunday. Murray looks better than ever and contending to be the league MVP this year might not be as crazy as some might have previously thought.
In his second season with the Cardinals, DeAndre Hopkins continued to add to his case to be considered the best wide receiver in the league on Sunday. Hopkins finished with six catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
Arizona’s offense ended the matchup with 416 total yards and their 37 points are the second most they’ve scored in a game since Kliff Kingsbury was hired in 2019.
For as impressive as the Cardinals’ offense was on Sunday, the team’s defense was also very spectacular, especially Arizona pass rusher Chandler Jones.
Jones played out of his mind in Tennessee this week, racking up a whopping five sacks, six quarterback hits, four tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles. Any questions about his play possibly declining after missing most of last year due to injury were put to rest on Sunday.
Next week, the Cardinals will look to improve to 2-0 when they head back home to take on the Minnesota Vikings, who suffered an overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. Some guy named Patrick Peterson also plays for the Vikings now, so it should be a fun one.