The Arizona Cardinals are 1-0 for the first time since 2021 after a solid (albeit tense) 20-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Multiple aspects of the team looked ready for a playoff push, while one or two need genuine revision before the Carolina Panthers head to town, and today, we’ll review all of it.

What Looked Good: Kyler Murray

Murray played a rock-solid game on Sunday, especially for someone playing with an illness. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, while being charted with one big-time throw, per PFF, this beautiful sideline shot to Marvin Harrison Jr., and zero turnover-worthy plays. Murray also used his legs when needed, rushing seven times for 38 yards and routinely escaping pressure during a very inconsistent day for the offensive line (more on that later). Consistency has always been the issue for Murray, so taking care of the football and routinely delivering accurate passes was a great sign for the season ahead, because Arizona has the roster to win games without Murray being Superman; he just can’t be gifting the opponent the ball two or three times per game.

What Looked Good: Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr.

As previously stated, Murray completed 21 passes on Sunday for 163 yards. Of those 21 completions, 11 went to McBride and Harrison Jr., and they accounted for a whopping 132 of Murray’s 163 yards. The production speaks to the talent of both McBride and Harrison Jr. and their ability to consistently win, even when the defense is focused on them. Starting with McBride, he got his usual diet of dump-offs in the flat and over the middle, along with a few tight end screens. 42 of his 61 receiving yards were after the catch, as he continues to show untapped potential that could easily see him finish as an All-Pro in 2025. As for Harrison, this is exactly what fans were hoping to see coming off a productive rookie season, but one where, at times, it felt like the offensive staff was still searching for the correct way to utilize his skillset. His previously mentioned deep catch along the sideline showed his ability to stack corners even at his size, and he spent the rest of his day showcasing his ability to win underneath and in the redzone. Marv’s day could have been special, but Kyler missed him on a potential 98-yard touchdown. While the touchdown would have been fantastic both for Harrison’s stats and the Cardinals' offense, which went stale in the second half, this game gives quite a bit of optimism about how high Marv could fly in just his second season.

What Looked Good: Will Johnson and the Secondary

The Cardinals' defense employed a bend but don’t break strategy in week one, opting for a zone coverage heavy approach and daring the Saints to beat them with play-to-play consistency. This strategy paid off, with only 13 points allowed and only 4.1% of the Saints' offensive plays going for 15 yards or more, good for third best in the entire league during the opening weekend. A big reason for the defensive success was the standout performance of the Cardinals secondary, especially rookie Will Johnson. One week isn’t enough to define what a player’s career will look like, but man, Johnson looks just as special as he did at Michigan. He was targeted seven times, giving up four catches for 32 yards, with zero of those yards coming after the catch, and three pass breakups. Johnson also laid this hit on Chris Olave and had a beautiful interception that was waived off due to a penalty away from the play. His overall day resulted in a 90.3 PFF coverage grade, which was good for second in the entire league, behind only Sauce Gardner.

Outside of Johnson was second-year corner Max Melton, who was certainly the busiest secondary player throughout the day, with 10 targets coming his way. Melton did a solid job despite the heavy workload, allowing only five of the targets to be caught, and while the 60 yards he gave up is a bit steep, he did a good job limiting yards after catch with just five. The overarching theme of the day was the secondary's ability to limit yardage after the catch, with 89 of Spencer Rattler’s 214 passing yards coming after the catch, but the added context that 32 of those YAC came against defensive end Baron Browning dropping in coverage shows how well the defensive backs rallied. One wrinkle that’s worth mentioning is the Cardinals' deployment of three safeties on the field for passing situations, vs having a second linebacker on the field. Second-year safety Dadrian Taylor-Demerson replaced Akeem Davis-Gaither (15 coverage snaps) for 41 coverage snaps. Taylor-Demerson was the Cardinals' second-highest graded coverage defender (78.4), so this personnel grouping is likely here to stay.

What Needs Improvement: Consistency in pass protection 

The Saints deploy a defensive line that I highlighted as one of the weaker groups in the NFL in my Week 1 preview, so it was tough to see Kyler Murray sacked five times on Sunday. That number deserves a deeper look, though, as it wasn’t a case of the line getting dominated one-on-one for 60 minutes, but rather a good defensive plan from New Orleans that Arizona had trouble adjusting to. Let’s start on the first drive with sack number one. The Saints line up with a five-man defensive front and end up dropping the end lined up over Jonah Williams into coverage, but this pass protection scheme involved pulling left guard Evan Brown. Brown ends up in no man's land with nobody to block on the right side, meanwhile on the left side, Paris Johnson slides inside to cover for the gap left by Brown, leaving Trey McBride all alone to block Cam Jordan, yet all he gives is a half-hearted chip and release, letting Jordan run free right into Kyler Murray, who had his back turned the entire time. Who exactly is to blame for this mistake in protection isn’t clear, but it wasn’t the only time the line failed to communicate.

Heading to the fourth quarter now, and this Alontae Taylor sack on 3rd-and-4 set the stage for New Orleans' late attempt to tie this game. The Saints call a form of simulated pressure here, which is essentially bluffing a blitz of five+ defenders, but having defenders drop into coverage at the snap, disguising who is rushing and ruining communication like an all-out blitz, but while still having seven defenders in coverage. Arizona has five on the line and James Connor in the backfield, while the Saints show seven men on the line of scrimmage, immediately giving the Cardinals a disadvantage.

A general rule in pass protection at all levels of football is blocking the biggest inside threats and then working outside, so the line will either slide all five players a gap over and have Connor block the first free rusher on the outside, or Connor will be responsible for one of the two defenders lined up in the A gap over the center, whichever one comes free. The Cardinals look to be operating with the latter strategy, but at the snap, both A gap players immediately bail out into coverage, with Demario Davis engaging center Hjalte Froholdt for a half second before bailing himself, leaving the Cardinals' interior three linemen and running back with nobody to block. Evan Brown quickly peeled off to help Paris Johnson, but Johnson had no chance to slide out and reach Taylor, who had already closed in on Kyler for the sack. Taylor was on Murray in just about two seconds during a play that finished with the Saints only rushing a standard four players, showcasing the effectiveness of simulated pressures when used correctly. This style of rushing the QB is the new wave for NFL defenses and isn’t going away anytime soon, so it’s the hope that Arizona really attacks the tape this week and works on pressure protection structures and communication, or it will continue to burn them.

Players or position groups that weren’t highlighted don’t mean they had a horrible day, just that these four groups really stood out throughout the course of my rewatch. Trey Benson deserves a shout for this sparkling 52-yard run, and Josh Sweat had a real impact rushing the passer in his first game for Arizona. With an opportunity to go 2-0 against a Panthers team that had a nightmarish start to their season, it should be fun to monitor how much growth this team can showcase in just one week.