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The Arizona Cardinals saw
How did Twitter react to the game? It started off with a moment of silence for the great Arizona Senator John McCain:
And now, a moment of silence for Arizona Senator John McCain. pic.twitter.com/IINDZoF3Rl
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) August 27, 2018
RIP, Senator and notable Arizona Cardinals fan.
To begin, David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald were held out of playing, in addition to Josh Rosen, which was a surprise to some.
Chase Edmonds started at RB for the Cardinals. No David Johnson, and no Larry Fitzgerald.
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 27, 2018
Fellow starters DT Corey Peters, DT Robert Nkemdiche and DT Olsen Pierre had already been ruled out due to injury ahead of the game.
The game re-debuted a much maligned...(or praised?) feature on 3rd down called “the green zone” that showed the entire distance to gain on 3rd down rather than not just a yellow line.
It was met with a mixed response.
NBC trying something new on tonight's broadcast. The "Green Zone." Shows you how much space is in front of the offense before they get a first down...which I thought the yellow line was for but what do I know! pic.twitter.com/4xNkCpuvKu
— Zach Bye (@byesline) August 27, 2018
It was met with a mixed response on social media:
The #greenzone is probably overkill on the infographics for #SNF
— Teaching Agent Jeff (@TeachingAgent) August 27, 2018
NBC bring back Green Zone? Say word pic.twitter.com/XMiH5t6X8a
— LosGeez (@LosGeez) August 27, 2018
Call me a fan of "The Green Zone." Nicely done, @SNFonNBC.
— Brad Evans (@YahooNoise) August 27, 2018
Immediately hate the green zone
— Bo Brack (@BoBrack) August 27, 2018
What are your thoughts on the new NBC graphic?
Anyway, on to football:
The game began with the Cardinals forcing a 3 and out of the Cowboys before taking over. With another J.J. Nelson drop on 2nd down:
JJ Nelson has to help Bradford out there. Come back to the ball!
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) August 27, 2018
The Cardinals ended up forcing their 9TH turnover of the preseason on the ensuing punt, and took over on offense.
That’s where the struggles began...
Sam Bradford was under duress early and often, taking big hits from both D.J. Humphries and Andre Smith blowing the pass blocks.
That was 2015 1st-round pick D.J. Humphries that Randy Gregory posterized on the sack. Spun inside on him, then bullied him out of the way to get to Sam Bradford.
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) August 27, 2018
And now the RT Andre Smith gets run over and his guy hits Bradford as he throws.
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) August 27, 2018
And then of course...
Whoever plays quarterback for the Cardinals this season will die
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) August 27, 2018
To the chagrin of many Cardinals fans, Rosen was not bound to play after his injury (and considering the first team offensive line woes, perhaps it was for the best).
Mike Glennon in at QB. So Josh Rosen apparently isn't playing tonight. And Bradford's night is over.
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 27, 2018
Rosen ended up not playing in the game, but clearly he still managed to still find a way to enjoy himself:
Josh Rosen is enjoying the preseason... pic.twitter.com/z4K2OSPnv7
— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) August 27, 2018
But with Rosen out of the picture, what narrative would rule the day?
(Turnovers, of course).
The sheer amount of turnovers was the story of the night, with a second fumbled punt by Dallas being housed by the Cardinals for 6.
Listen below from former Colts punter Pat McAfee as he went viral praising Cardinals punter Andy Lee with one of the funniest color commentary bits you will have heard in a long time:
TOUCHDOWN #FORTHEBRAND FROM @ANDYLEE4 pic.twitter.com/Oz8fDVcsT1
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 27, 2018
And some more praise for the play of special teams as well:
Who is No. 30 on the Cardinals? That dude was FLYING. https://t.co/5mdZ8crZnH
— Ryan Day (@ryaneatscake) August 27, 2018
That would be #30 and special teams ace Rudy Ford, thank you.
Not to be outdone by the transition team, Patrick Peterson decided to welcome himself back to the discussion for “Best Corner in the NFL.” with a telegraphed interception for 6 points.
.@P2's ball@P2's TD. pic.twitter.com/a5joOuQHBT
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 27, 2018
It was all special teams and Cards D in Big D.
The Cowboys offense got a few first downs and missed a few deep shots, but all in all it was a defensive game.
Chase Edmonds, wonder rookie extraordinaire, showed what he can do when he gets some space up the middle in the running game.
Chase Edmonds☇ big run #AZvsDAL #AZCardinals #BeRedSeeRed #NFL #NFLPreseason #Birdgang #fordham pic.twitter.com/NOoOh4A0qh
— Ronnie Laybold (@CoyotesGlendale) August 27, 2018
Look at Chase Edmonds scoot
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 27, 2018
Nice run from Chase Edmonds! #AZvsDAL
— BRITISH PR3S3ASONGANG (@BritishBirdgang) August 27, 2018
Edmonds ended with a solid day overall in relief of David Johnson
Edmonds 11/55 yards, 5.0 YPC
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) August 27, 2018
Alright, it’s nearly halftime so stop me if you’ve heard this before but the Cardinals defense forced ANOTHER turnover...this time from Budda. That makes 5.
.@buddabaker32 pulls another turnover out of the oven!
— NFL (@NFL) August 27, 2018
That's FIVE for the @AZCardinals...
In one half. #AZvsDAL pic.twitter.com/QaiOOfYN1s
Cardinals number #1 defense playing the entire first half.
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) August 27, 2018
Baker with interception in the end zone.
13 turnovers in 10 quarters.
Overall, it was a solid night with 6 defensive turnovers and two on special teams, with 14 points directly from those plays.
Players with a takeaway in this game? Get ready for it....
Let's add Cap Capi to the list.
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) August 27, 2018
One player who did NOT have a takeaway (because they didn’t suit up) was a former 2016 3rd round cornerback:
"Brandon Williams has been in street clothes all game long" according to @PaulCalvisi on the broadcast#AZvsDAL
— Craig Grialou (@CraigAZSports) August 27, 2018
Ruh-roh.
Most likely he was injured and not playing but in a make-or-break year for the guy
At halftime, it was tough not to throw a bit of shade at the Dallas Cowboys and their more recent quarterback history:
Looks like the Cowboys are in midseason form. pic.twitter.com/2hJ1iiDkgb
— ABC15 Sports (@abc15sports) August 27, 2018
So where was the offense in the game?
Well, it finally came in the 3rd quarter from T.J. Logan in substituting for the injured D.J. Foster with a 59-yard dart right up the middle.
RB T.J. Logan busts out a 59-yard touchdown run, showing off his speed, and on a night when the Cards might've end up with bad news about D.J. Foster, it's good to see Logan break out.
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 27, 2018
Logan had a few times he looked electric on the night.
And then, it was on to the 4th quarter. Which meant only one thing...
Cap Capi, preseason sack master, was back-backey, forcing a strip-sack and fumble recovery and then celebrated in true “Dallas” fashion with the photo of the night:
Stargazing. pic.twitter.com/GXpeE7GCKV
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 27, 2018
You rock that moment, Cap.
Unfortunately, Capi ended up taking on an injury and came out of the game late, no new update on his status right now.
Fans were dismayed.
PLEASE GOD NO. TAKE ME INSTEAD!! https://t.co/xwlhtHaNU7
— Aaron Freeman (@falcfans) August 27, 2018
NOOOOOOOONONONO
— Bruhette (suckage) (@AzSportsGirl63) August 27, 2018
Cap Capi is hurt. #AZvsDAL pic.twitter.com/X7CIk9kWNi
— BRITISH PR3S3ASONGANG (@BritishBirdgang) August 27, 2018
Fortunately, Cap seems like he’ll be alright as he tries to fight for a spot on the final 53:
It didn't look serious. Maybe something got in his eye? https://t.co/z05jiJ5cOS
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 27, 2018
To sum up...
You see this tweet below?
The Dallas offense should just start handing the ball off to the Arizona Defense. #itsjusteasierthatway #letsavoidpreseasoninjuries
— Teaching Agent Jeff (@TeachingAgent) August 27, 2018
The Cardinals just forced another turnover in the time it took to read that.
8 in all for the game.
— Matt (@huey90) August 27, 2018
Now, it’s just preseason. So there’s no room to truly overreact.
But....!
We’ll leave it on this note from the Cardinals’ play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch and former NFL star Reggie Bush:
15 takeaways in 2 & 3/4 preseason games is.....#AZCardinals https://t.co/31Wx3dy9mh
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) August 27, 2018
I know it’s only preseason but man @AZCardinals look good!!!!
— Reggie Bush (@ReggieBush) August 27, 2018
What are your thoughts? Are you buying into the defensive hype? Do you have concerns about the offense? Sound off in the comments below!