The Arizona Cardinals competed better than most expected in Week 1 but they ultimately lost to the Washington Commanders 20-16 on the road.
They had strong performances from some and a couple of dud performances as well.
Buy Cardinals TicketsWho were the studs and duds in the loss?
Read on!
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STUD: LB Dennis Gardeck
Gardeck was probably the player of the game for the Cardinals.
He had two sacks, three quarterbacks hits and forced a fumble. He looked as disruptive as he did in 2020 when he had seven sacks in only 96 defensive snaps.
DUD: QB Josh Dobbs
Dobbs’ play, outside of the one throw in the first quarter to Rondale Moore for 31 yards, was suboptimal.
He threw too high to Zach Ertz in the end zone. He fumbled twice. He looked like so many bad Cardinals quarterbacks over the years. One could wonder if a washed-up Colt McCoy would have done better.
He averaged a paltry 4.4 yards per pass attempt.
If he simply doesn’t turn the ball over, they probably win the game.
STUD: LB Zaven Collins
Collins also stood out for his play. He picked off a pass, dropping into coverage. He recovered a fumble. He had a pair of tackles. He generated pressure at a new position.
DUD: RB Keaontay Ingram
Ingram is just the backup running back but he was not good on Sunday. He had five carries for minus-four yards. His first four rushes were all negative plays. In fact, were it not for his six-yard gain on his final touch, he would have had four carries for minus-10 yards.
STUDS: Entire Cardinals D-line
The entire defensive line was great. It was perhaps the most questionable unit the Cardinals have entering the year.
Leki Fotu, Carlos Watkins and Jonathan Ledbetter all had sacks. Cameron Thomas played a bunch inside and was briefly credited with a sack. He also scored the Cardinals’ only touchdown on a fumble recovery.
Including Thomas, the D-linemen combined for 17 tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, a pass breakup, a fumble recovery and a touchdown scored.
