Chiefs vs. Cardinals: Postgame Grades and Notes for Arizona
The Arizona Cardinals got their preseason campaign underway in underwhelming fashion Saturday night, losing at home 34-19 to the Kansas City Chiefs. It wasn't particularly pretty, and it wasn't particularly informative, but it was football.
Despite the ugly scoreline, the Cardinals will be able to take solace in the fact their starters looked up to the task against their Kansas City counterparts.
Carson Palmer, making his return from a knee injury, engineered a seven-play touchdown drive, highlighted by a 57-yard completion to Andre Ellington. Ellington also finished the drive, scoring from the two-yard line.
Arizona's first-string defense experienced similar success, with safety Tyrann Mathieu terminating the Chiefs' first drive early, picking off an errant Alex Smith pass.
Things went off the rails in the second quarter for Arizona, with Chase Daniels hanging 17 points on the Cardinals backups. The Chiefs would maintain control for the rest of the game.
While the outcome left more questions than head coach Bruce Arians would've liked, Arizona managed to come through the first game unburdened by major injury, an important goal for any preseason contest.
What went right and what went wrong? Click ahead for the full breakdown.
Position Grades for Arizona
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| QB | A/C |
| RB | B/B- |
| WR | INC/C- |
| TE | B-/B- |
| OL | C/C+ |
| DL | B+/B- |
| LB | B/C- |
| DB | A/D |
| Special Teams | B- |
| Coaching | INC |
Grade format: Starters/Backups
The grades tell the story, don't they? The starters played well; the reserves did not.
Beyond that, the big takeaway was the play of the offensive line. While both the starters and the second string struggled in the run game, the latter group did do a better job opening holes. This unit is going to be a work in progress throughout the rest of preseason, and it won't be a surprise to see the deck shuffled a bit.
The standout group was Arizona's starting secondary. Tyrann Mathieu ended Kansas City's first drive with an interception, while Deone Bucannon made a nuisance of himself near the line of scrimmage. Once you get past corner Justin Bethel on the depth chart, things go south in a hurry. More on that later in the slideshow.
There was thought to be some intrigue in the quarterback rotation, but any competition might have ended already. Logan Thomas looked head and shoulders above Phillip Sims for the third-string job, showing poise in the pocket as well as the arm strength that got him drafted in the fourth round. The interception wasn't his fault.
Carson Palmer and Andre Ellington Are Looking Good
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It's simple and it's obvious and it's reductive, but it's super important so that's where we're going to start.
Palmer and Ellington were on the field for fewer than three-and-a-half minutes, and they both looked ready to go.
You never know how a 35-year old quarterback is going to respond following a torn ACL, but Palmer didn't look any worse for wear. He completed all four of his passes for 77 yards, including a deep out to John Brown and a "How'd he fit it into that window?" throw to Ellington.
Ellington, for his part, showed no ill-effects of the hamstring injury that's hampered him in training camp, showing off some speed on a 57-yard catch.
Arizona's offense has a lot of potential, but it's built around two players who spent most of the 2014 season banged up. Through the first preseason game, Palmer and Ellington look refreshed; the key will be keeping them that way.
Defensive Depth a Problem for Cardinals
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Arizona's first-team defense forced a turnover in their only series, and then the wheels quickly fell off the wagon after that.
It was ugly.
Kansas City quarterback Chase Daniel carved up the Cardinals second-string defense with almost no resistance. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns and was the driving force behind the lopsided scoreline.
The lowlight came in the second quarter, with the Cardinals letting Daniels take the Chiefs 69 yards for a touchdown in just over 30 seconds.
Kareem Martin and Markus Golden have potential as outside linebackers, but there are serious questions to be asked about Kenny Demens and Andrae Kirk in the middle.
Arizona played a lot of young guys against Kansas City, but defensive coordinator James Bettcher will have his work cut out for him if injuries pile up in the regular season.
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Miscellaneous Notes
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- As was often mentioned during the game's lead-up, Saturday night marked three milestones. Jen Welter, an assistant coaching intern for Arizona, became the first female to coach in the NFL, while Sarah Thomas debuted as the NFL's first female full-time official. Across the sideline, Chiefs safety Eric Berry made his return to action after being diagnosed with cancer during the 2014 season.
- Bruce Arians and offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin unveiled a new wrinkle with the first-team offense: change of tempo. The Cardinals went no-huddle on a couple plays early in the season before slowing things down again on third down. We'll see how that evolves over the next few weeks.
- It wasn't a surprise, but Deone Bucannon saw his snaps at inside linebacker on Saturday night. Given the Cardinals' lack of talent and healthy bodies at the position—and the need to get Bucannon on the field—it may just come to pass that that's where he lands this season. His pressure up the middle led to Tyrann Mathieu's interception of Alex Smith.
Rookie Recap
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-RT D.J. Humphries showed some life in the second half, but he doesn't look like a guy who's ready to start if Bobby Massie's suspension is upheld. It'll be interesting to see if he settles in better as the preseason rolls on, because he didn't seem to play with much intent in the first half.
-WR J.J. Nelson was the first rookie to make a contribution—catching a slant near the goal line on the first drive—and it's possible he'll be the first rookie to make a contribution in the regular season, too. He'll help right away as a returner, but he has potential as a receiver, too, especially if Michael Floyd's hand injury keeps him out of regular season games.
-DE Rodney Gunter made the most impact on the defensive side of the ball, notching a safety, which was also the Cardinals' only sack of the game. There's room for him to move up the depth chart.
-LB Andrae Kirk was interesting. He handled play-calling duties for the second string, which is unexpected for a undrafted free agent. While there didn't seem to be any trouble with communication, he didn't do much else on the field.
-RB David Johnson did not play with a hamstring injury.
Fantasy Implications
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-As mentioned earlier in the slideshow, both Carson Palmer and Andre Ellington look healthy. We won't know how they stack up around the league until Week 3 of the preseason, but it seems likely Palmer will be in the QB2 range, as will Ellington among running backs.
-As expected, the tight ends didn't get much work in the passing game. Ifeanyi Momah did catch a couple passes from Logan Thomas, but it's difficult to imagine him seeing more targets than that with Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown on the field.
-For the IDP crowd, keep an eye on Bucannon. He may just fit into that inside linebacker spot more often than not. He did well from there against Kansas City.
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