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Preseason might not matter but you’d rather leave it with a win than a loss all the same.
The Arizona Cardinals defeated the New Orleans Saints 20-15 last night and at time had struggles but also at times looked pretty good doing it.
How did Twitter react to the W?
Let’s take a look:
The game began with an injury to DT Corey Peters that was suspected (and later confirmed) to be cramping. But it could have been worse:
No way Corey Peters is cramping, like the announcers are guessing. He got his legs rolled up on#12Sports pic.twitter.com/7pF4sLlOsx
— Matthew Johnson⚾️ (@MattyJ12News) August 18, 2018
He ended up returning later, however, much to a sigh of relief to Cardinals fans.
Peters (knee) is back in the game.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) August 18, 2018
A bullet dodged for the veteran defender there.
The Cardinals had a roller coaster on defense in the first quarter, as they had a hard time stopping the run and Robert Nkemdiche was having a rough night.
Nkemdiche just blown off the ball on game’s first play. 15 yard gain
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) August 18, 2018
1st team D is .. fun
— Lactose Tolerant (@AZ_ArmchairGM) August 18, 2018
However, if there was something that the Cards ALSO couldn’t stop, it was their knack for forcing turnovers tonight.
The Cardinals defense retaliated and forced yet another interception, this time batted in the air and picked off by Haasan Reddick. Wow!
Cardinals defense has forced five turnovers already this preseason.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) August 18, 2018
Robert Nkemdiche, meanwhile, went down with a foot injury and would not return.
DT Robert Nkemdiche won’t return after hurting his right foot. Nkemdiche needs the game reps. An unfortunate development.
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 18, 2018
Nkemdiche has struggled to stay healthy each preseason and has had multiple lower leg injuries early in his first three seasons. Wilks confirmed post-game he was going to be alright.
His replacement, Olsen Pierre made up for it with a sack.
Meanwhile, Sam Bradford helped lead an impressive drive, completing passes to 5 different receivers before it was capped off by an incredible David Johnson touchdown run:
No denying @DavidJohnson31! pic.twitter.com/YGC4Xk2tOa
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 18, 2018
Lol David Johnson is the best back in the NFL.
— Boating Tyler (@TubingTyler) August 12, 2018
DJ might just be unstoppable.
The turnovers for the Cardinals continued, with Bene Benwikere making a crazy athletic play to haul in a deep interception.
Yup.
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 18, 2018
He caught that.@TuOffTOz with the crazy INT. pic.twitter.com/ew3eq1CILC
Benewikere might have locked his spot on the roster down tonight.
Then, it was Rosen time.
And oh boy, were there takes after he looked like a different guy from the week before.
Dart from Josh Rosen to Christian Kirk for the TD. Really nice placement. pic.twitter.com/UsQlhREwln
— Ty Wurth (@WurthDraft) August 18, 2018
Rosen to Kirk.
— Lactose Tolerant (@AZ_ArmchairGM) August 18, 2018
Get used to that.
He drove down the field after a well-placed deep throw to J.J. Nelson that the defensive back had to interfere to stop the catch and overcame some offensive penalties and lack of movement to make the throw into a VERY tight window.
#Cardinals rookie QB Josh Rosen gets a touchdown against the #Saints pic.twitter.com/7XLInpgSwb
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 18, 2018
Wow. Josh Rosen just made a big league throw to Christian Kirk for a touchdown. Yowza. That was a missile.
— Luke Johnson (@ByLukeJohnson) August 18, 2018
How tight, you might ask? 1 x 1 feet. Whew.
Ball placement has always been Rosen’s best attribute IMO. All of his WRs are covered here so he hits a 1 ft x 1 ft window for a RZ TD pic.twitter.com/7wlQJxsInj
— Mark Dulgerian (@MarkDulgerianOS) August 18, 2018
Fans, as expected, were thrilled and optimistic after the rookie’s first TD in a game.
Like what I saw out of @josh3rosen on that drive... Stayed poised even after penalties and made a beautiful throw for the TD.
— Sue H (@azmadame_x) August 18, 2018
That was a legit ass throw... Threw Kirk open between coverage... That was impressive wow
— Sporpsimus (@Coximus2) August 18, 2018
Rosen is so damn smooth with his QB style....
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) August 18, 2018
So that's what Josh Rosen looks like when he has time to throw...
— Shane Dale (@ShaneDaleABC15) August 18, 2018
I guess all of those overreactions from last week were a bit unwarranted, huh?
The defense held the Saints to only 3 field goals and a late run from J.T. Barrett. And even though Drew Brees wasn’t on the field, they showed flashes of talent from both their veteran and younger players alike.
Oh, and a certain ex-Cardinal who now plays for the Saints happened to show up late.
Oh hi, Michael Floyd.
— Shane Dale (@ShaneDaleABC15) August 18, 2018
We have a Michael Floyd sighting; just made that 16-yard catch for the Saints#AZvsNO
— Craig Grialou (@CraigAZSports) August 18, 2018
And, a bit of humor wasn’t lost on some fantasy experts:
Michael Floyd revenge game
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) August 18, 2018
But in the end, it was about the rookies and the fact that on Rosen’s touchdown pass to Christian Kirk (1st round to 2nd round) it also featured Mason Cole (3rd round) and Chase Edmonds (4th round) buying him time in the pocket.
Twitter seemed to have fun, but the fans had nothing but optimism about their future overall as they develop while playing a major part in the 2018 season all the same:
Rosen looks legit behind a starting offensive line. That needles was threaded. Great catch by Kirk. Keim may have hit a grand slam this past draft.
— Richard Harmon (@RichardHarmon23) August 18, 2018
You can follow @blakemurphy7 on Twitter.