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Twitter reacts to the Arizona Cardinals’ 24-17 win in week 1 of the preseason and Josh Rosen’s debut

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By Blake Murphy
NFL: Los Angeles Chargers at Arizona Cardinals Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

It’s just preseason.

But there were a lot of positives, and plenty of areas in need of improvement.

And naturally, with it being the first game-action for the highly anticipated rookie Quarterback the Cardinals traded up for in Josh Rosen, Twitter had plenty to say.

It started with a defensive stand by the Cardinals’ secondary. And then the Cardinals flipped the field with Christian Kirk nearly taking it to the house.

David Johnson then ran through some gaping holes picking up 14 yards on consecutive plays.

He’s back, folks. And the offensive line was looking better than fans have expected in recent years:

Johnson was pulled, and it led to Chase Edmonds making an incredible second-effort to get the touchdown.

Play was reviewed but...without conclusive evidence to see if his knee was down, Edmonds got his first TD in the NFL preseason.

Before the game, in front of the largest crowd to date he had ever played in front of, Edmonds sent out a tweet that went viral about his journey to the NFL.

Good on you, rook. Now, back to the game.

The Cardinals defense responded the next drive with getting pressure on Chargers QB Cardale Jones. By whom?

One Robert Nkemdiche, who has all the eyes on him in his critical 3rd season.

But that wasn’t what fans cared most about...

Finally after forcing a field goal, it was Rosen time:

He continued to be under heavy pressure for his first two drives but made some great throws when he had time.

All in all, while Rosen’s debut wasn’t as impressive as others in the rookie class and he showed he’s still a work in progress, the talent and reason he went top 10 was on display when he had time to throw.

The first half wasn’t without controversy, however, as a catch and fumble recovery by the Cardinals was overturned by...the new helmet rule? A defenseless receiver?

Either way, it’s the new NFL. Time to get used to it.

Rosen and the 2nd team offensive line, struggled to get going in the first half:

There were flaws on the defense as well. Along with some criticism of Mike Glennon.

Meanwhile Rosen showed what he’s shown throughout all of training camp: that he’s not ready for the starting gig yet.

The next part of the game featured less of the offense and more of the defense, with Bene Benwikere and Jeremy Cash making plays:

Here’s a highlight. And Benewikere wasn’t done, either. He went on to knock a ball in the air that was picked off by UDFA Safety A.J. Howard.

There’s a new #23 in town, Adrian Peterson.

The team couldn’t avoid injury, however, as linebacker Jeremy Cash was carted off after twisting his leg on a tackle.

But there was a lot of complaining about the officiating, as the new “personal foul” contact rule for leading with the helmet reared its ugly head with plays that fans didn’t see as leading with the helmet at all.

All in all, the first team Cardinals offense/defense and special teams executed almost flawlessly, and Josh Rosen showed flashes of brilliance and areas to improve.

But the star of game one was Cap Capi, who had two sacks and a forced fumble on the night and almost always seems to dominate in the preseason:

Finally, Charles Kanoff made a late splash with a touch down and the most impressive play of the game on a deep throw to Jalen Tolliver that was simply beautiful, followed by this TD pass:

All in all, fans seemed to like how the starters looked, liked how Rosen took a beating, but didn’t like the penalties, 2nd team offensive line and helmet rulings looked.

The depth at offensive line looks questionable, and there will be a lot of players who have to prove that they belong on the 53 over the next few preseason games.

‘Til next week, Birdgang!

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