Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints | NFL Regular Season | Week 1 | Madden NFL
Today from the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans, this is the National Football League. as we’ll see Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints versus Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. EA Sports coverage of the NFL has us in downtown New Orleans at the Caesar Superdome with Charles Davis. As always, I’m Brandon God. Charles, you and I, we’ve done a lot of games together. Always seems like we’re rehashing the same storylines. Turnovers, of course, always a big story. Quarterback play, running backs, yada yada yada. But getting ready for this one, one word kept coming to mind, and that’s preparation. Well, it’s critical to be prepared physically, mentally. When you think about getting ready for an NFL game, you have to wonder what will they throw at us that maybe we haven’t seen before. Two-minute drill, maybe different things like that. Got to be prepared. You’re exactly right. Charles and I have been looking forward to this one all week and we are underway from the Superdome and they’ll start this drive just across the 30. Pretty nice work on the return. And here come the Saints for their opening drive. They’re led out by their quarterback out of Fresno State, Derek Carr. It’s been fun to watch his development through the years. And right now, what you see is a very confident quarterback who has a strong sense of self, totally understands the offense, and knows how to get the ball to his playmakers on the run. Line of scrimmage, the 31 now on first and 10. And they’ll send the tight end in motion here. Now a play fake. car. There’s Chris and he slips up past the 45 before being tackled. 16 yds on the game’s first play and a quick first down. Well, this is an awfully tough route to defend in man coverage because he lines up on the right and then runs a crossing route back to the other side of the field. So, as a defender, you’re not only trailing him the whole way, you’re also looking out for your own guys to make sure you don’t get yourself picked off and then you can’t catch up in time to prevent the completion. A big hitter to start the drive has him up near midfield here for first and 10. Now Carr, it’s hauled in by Brandon Cooks. They’ll wind up getting seven on the play and that’ll bring up second down. Now Carr tries to force it in and it’s intercepted. Picked off by M. Wilson and the Cardinals are going to have great field position here as this is returned just shy of midfield. That right there is the inospicious start that they were hoping to avoid to the turnover on the first possession. I love how you use those collegebound words like that. Inospicious. Well done. I really appreciate that. But here’s the thing for me. I’m just wondering if their game plan is incorrect. You know, I think they felt like they could come in and throw it around pretty well. That interception early, they may rethink how they go about attacking. First carry for Oh, Connor loses it. And this is picked up by the Saints. And they get the football. They’ll set up shop at their own 49 yd line. And I guess we’re back to square one. A rocky rocky start here. A turnover followed by a turnover. Not exactly what we expected going into the game, but I always wonder about the nerves and people starting the emotions of the game. Sometimes takes a little while for that to play out, for them to settle in. Let’s hope that that’s taken care of now. A good starting spot for the Saints as they come up first and 10, just shy of midfield at the 49. The first carry now. This is Alvin Chimera and they’ll get him down after a pick up of eight. Second and two. A nice run here early on. It doesn’t take a great play caller to realize you want to establish a guy of his caliber with runs like this early because they’ll pay dividends as the game progresses. Now a second and two. They run it again with Chimera and he’ll get it down on the plate to the 37. Six yds the pick up and that’s a first down. Not too many more ideal situations at second and two in order to try and pick up a first down. They ran it and picked it up. Line of scrimmage. The 37 on first and 10. Chimera try the right side and he is met in his tracks behind the line of scrimmage. Award that tackle for loss to the safety Buddha Baker. Sometimes in the run game you can make the argument that quickness beats size. And how about the example right here after the loss they’ll come up second and 13. Here’s Chimera off the draw and he’ll take this one down to about the 40. Only a yard on the gain there and that’ll set up third and 13. Now that’s a mountain of a man that just made that stop, isn’t it? But he’s more than that. This guy’s nimble and quick. More than a space eater. He just made a great play there. Third down and 13. Carr drops this off to Chimera out of the back field and he’ll go out of bounds after taking it a little further down inside the 40. He did his best to just get four out of that, but not enough. And now fourth down. So Carr departs and on his plate groupy for the Saints field goal from the right hash. This from 53 and that one’s not going to get there. Not enough juice and ambitious effort, but it’s well short and this will remain a scoreless game. James Connor in the Cardinal offense ready to get back to work. He’s got to clear his mind a little bit right now. One carry and that carry was a lost fumble. Clear his mind. Clear his hands and miss and just let this one go. Sometimes it happens. You drop the ball. Got a full game ahead of him. Hand it to him again. See if they can start to produce. Listen now. No kick from 50 plus is a gimme, but here you’re indoors in a dome. You’d think ideal conditions. Yeah. And it’s one that he would expect himself to make, not just us expecting him to make it. Over the years, my theory is very simple. The athletic ability of kickers continues to get better and better. Check their backgrounds. They were all county, all state, and other positions. Not just soccer players. These guys expect themselves to be great as well. Murray’s throw here going to be caught by Wilson. Seven yds on the quick slant and a first down. Seven person down on first and 10 is counter runs over him and that one opened up for him well as he’ll take this down to the 26 yd line. It’ll be an Arizona first down on a gain of 17. That’s a very nice game there. A confidence building run. Love the execution up front and the way you press the hole. Absolutely perfect. Counting down toward the midway point in corner one. On first and 10, here’s Murray over the middle. Harrison and he’s brought down, but not before a gain of 13. Down to the 13. First and 10 in the red zone. And the hitch route is run really well. that jab step off the line of scrimmage by the receiver, which is designed to back up the defender and give him a little bit of space. All you want there, get that space, catch the football, and then make a move and pick up extra yardage. That’s exactly what he got done there. Firing quickly here and that’s complete. And that’s good for a pickup of 10 yds and they’ll be left with a second and about a foot. the three. They’ll toss this out right for Connor. Slipped one tackle, but no more as he’s knocked to the deck behind the line of scrimmage. That backs him up one yardd and brings up third down. That’s a really alert defense there because they saw the heavy look come in from the offense. Countered it with extra linebackers who brought a little bit of speed and heft and able to really make a big time play for their defense. This will be play number seven on the drive. Third and a yard. Here’s Murray as he sets to throw it and he is caught and he’ll be taken down, but he does have first down yardage. Only three there on the pickup, but that’s enough to move the chains. Well, you have to be aware defensively that you’ve got two goals because obviously you’re trying to prevent the touchdown, but you’re also trying to keep them from getting a first down as well. That time they weren’t up to the task and it’s first and goal. Here we go now on first and goal. Play fake. Murray. Now a battle for the football. It’s caught. It’s a touchdown. Elijah Higgins a oneyd touchdown reception. And the Cardinals get the upper hand as they’re on the board first here this afternoon. This is why a lot of play callers love play action in this spot. You just want to freeze the linebackers just for a second. Then you got a chance to get a quick pass into your tight end right behind them for a touchdown. Chad Ryland now to add the PAT. And the Cardinals will go up seven to nothing. So that drive goes eight plays and the Cardinals cap it with a touchdown. The Cardinals setting now to kick this one play and off we go. From his end zone, here’s Rasheed Shahed and makes it across the 20 as his guys will set up shop at the 23 yd line. New Orleans offense back out and ready to go. And the last time that they were on the field, a little demoralizing miss field goal. You know, always feel like you want to get in the end zone, but then oh well, at least we’re going to get three. Didn’t go through the goal post. It does test the mental processes of a team though, doesn’t it? Cuz when you miss a field goal, it’s amazing how fast they want to turn on the guy kicking the ball. But you need to keep his confidence up because how many times we seen games where it comes down to the stretch. And guess what? You need that guy to make the big kick for your team to move on or to win a game. Make sure you keep him happy. Make sure you keep him comfortable. I’m sure you always treated the kicker nicely though, right? You know, truthfully, I did. Good. I always did because those guys, they want us a whole lot of games. Now, a first down run is going nowhere. He’s going to be dropped in the back field. A loss of two. Plays like we just saw there. That’s why they’re up right now. And the defense, they’re doing their job. Yeah. It starts with the guys up front. So, when you talk with GMs who are putting together a team, a lot of them say, “We’re going to build from the inside out.” Because if you control the line of scrimmage, you control the rest of the ball game. And that’s what we’re seeing here. They’re actually playing in the offens’s back field, not necessarily just playing at the line of scrimmage. Now they contend with a second and 12 after the loss. Again, it’s Chimera and he’ll push forward for a couple to the 34. Ladies and gentlemen, that is a force of nature at the defensive tackle position. And yes, he’s as big as they come, but still plenty agile. He’s able to make a nice play there to swallow up the ball carrier. They’ll come up now. Third and nine. Now Carr, the Cards get to him here. He’s brought down for a sack. That’s the NFL vet Kas Campbell coming in and dragging him down. Now that was a passer’s nightmare. The front door totally shut down by the defense. So he kept going backwards hoping to find another avenue of escape. It didn’t exist. So on fourth down, Matthew Hayball on to punt. Greg George deep for Arizona and a fair catch called for and made just inside the 35 yd line. 37 yds on the punt with no return and the Cardinals will take over. First and 10. The football going back over to Arizona now. They’ve got a 7 nothing lead in the football as well as they start out first and 10. They’ll fake it to counter. Now Murray a short one here caught by McBride and he’ll be out of bounds after getting this one across the 40. And those linemen of course can’t be more than a yard downfield when a pass is thrown. And they might have been able to call that on a couple of guys there. Murray a give. This is Connor. He works his way forward for a couple up past the 30. A gain of two brings up second and 13. Now Murray caught. It’s Wilson and he’s going to be brought down on what’ll be the final play of this first quarter after one. 7 nothing on EA Sports. Cardinal football here to start quarter number two. They need two. Here’s third down as they’ve got it as we resume action. Third and two. And here’s Murray. He’s got his target. That’s complete. And he is going to have a Cardinals first down as they’re able to get the third down conversion. I like the call on third and two. They were geared up to stop the run. I like the fact they just hit him quick. Little slant route. All about timing there, partner. Yeah, the timing. Everything well executed. So in Saints territory now. Here’s first and 10 at the 44 yd line. Murray with a nice move and brought down but able to get it to their 30 yd line. 15 more there and they’re on a roll. It’s another first down. to throw is Murray and that one drops down incomplete. Good coverage there. Forced the ball free and it’s second down. When you run into slant, timing is everything. And against that man coverage, there’s no space available and incompletion as a result. Here’s second and 10. On the draw, Connor and good running going to get this down close to a first at the Saints 22. That’ll leave them with a third and two coming up. They got eight yardds there. I thought that was a good call. Passing situation on second down, they hit them with the draw instead and pick up nice yardage. Yeah, because the draw, they’re thinking pass when they see that initially defensively. Right. Well, you know, in today’s NFL, most of the time on second and long, when it’s a passing situation, pass rushers are on the field and they’re only thinking one thing. Get to the quarterback and often times you can bypass him with a running play. And he will reach the eight yd line before going out. the pass. What’s the deal, y’all? So, a critical mistake roughing the passer. Now it’s first and goal. They hand off to their big tight end and trying to push forward, but he is going to be stuffed up in the back field. It’s a loss of a yard there. And now second down. This is why I’ve never been a big fan of trying to get too cute down here by the goal line. For every one time something like this works, it seems like it blows up about 10 times. And sure enough, they’ll wind up losing yards here from back at the four. Here’s second and goal. Connor not going anywhere. He’ll lose a couple. Back to the six. It’ll go down as a twoyd loss and it brings up a third down. And now third and goal coming up. The loss on second down. That just means this crowd’s going to get even louder. And they’ll get a little bit of extra help from the defenders as they exhort them to join them in the effort. And now can they reverse the trend on third and goal with the last two plays having gone backwards throwing now is Murray. He’s got his man. It’s caught in the end zone. Touchdown Arizona. Michael Wilson from six yds away and the Cardinals have taken a two touchdown lead now. Well, that’s about as quick of a passing touchdown as you’ll ever see right there. Everyone has a section in their playbook called the quick game. That was a super quick game out of the hands of the thrower. Bam. Right to the receiver successfully for a touchdown. How in-depth is that quick game part of the playbook? It’s pretty ind depth because people want the ball of the hands of the quarterback into the playmakaker’s hands downfield as fast as possible. There are a lot of plays, a lot of options involved with that. Extra point by Ryland up and good. And it’s now 14 to nothing. The kickoff team on the field now as they will send this one away. and he’ll be stopped up at the 25. Back out onto the field now comes the New Orleans offense and they’re in a bind early here. Down 14- nothing. Are you worried at this stage or still too early? You’re worried. You’re just trying not to transmit it to the rest of your team. You want to make sure that they stay positive, but at the same time, you’re wondering, how are we going to move the football? What do we have on this play sheet that can work? Get back to basics is usually your answer and make sure you find the guy who can move the ball fastest for you if you just get it in his hands. Yeah, still second quarter. You get points on the board here. I think you’re feeling okay. Certainly no settling into the drive there. They came right out on the first play, attacked the middle of the field for a big gainer and a first down. One play has him up past the 40 already. And another first and 10 to throw. It’s Carr. Oh, everything falling apart now. Another one intercepted. Buddha Banker with a pick and a return across midfield and to the 46 yd line. That throw Charles over the middle of the field and a few too many bodies in there got picked. That’s a normal situation too, isn’t it? No matter how hard you try and spread the field sometimes there’s always going to be a traffic jam it feels like towards the middle and if there’s any type of a misthrow or maybe the ball’s tipped or just too many bodies in the area, an interception can result. After the turnover, here’s Murray. This is taken in by McBride and he takes this just a few yards shy of the red zone before going out. Called that a very strong gain of 24. And that play was all about timing between the quarterback and his tight end because the ball’s got to be released with a little bit of float to it so he can run under it. Lays it out there for him. You know what else is involved? Trust that he’s going to separate from the defender and have a chance to get the football. And he does exactly that and gets out of bounds with a first down. Murray now on first down and he’ll take this one in for the Arizona touchdown. Kyler Murray a 23 yd run and the Cards are able to strike quickly to add on to their lead. Boy, so if you are scoring at home, Charles, and God bless you if you are, but that’s now three drives and three touchdowns. So in a baseball game, wouldn’t that wreak havoc on your scorecard? Yes. I mean, with all the action that’s happening now, how they got here, whatever cliche you want to bring into it, they’re locked into a group. They’re clicking on all cylinders. Bottom line, they’re piling up the points. Extra point by Ryland. Up and good. And that makes the score 21 to zip. Hardly any time taken off the clock there. Two plays and they find the end zone for six points. setting now to kick this one away and off it goes. On the return, here’s Rasheed Shaheen and able to get this out to the 25. The Saints again ready to go on offense. Well, CD, you kind of feel like they’re in a bit of a danger zone right here cuz now you’re down three scores and I know we’re in the first half, but the way this offense hasn’t been able to generate anything, you feel like they probably need to get something going on this drive, right? Yeah. And sometimes I overuse if this is an important possession, but I think this has to be the possession where they come up with an answer because only a few teams in league history have ever come back from a fourcore deficit. And if they don’t score here, that’s what they could be facing the next time they get the ball. And I don’t think there’s any question that this offense is going to need to hit on a few more plays like this. It’s been a difficult first half for them to say the least. And I do believe if they want to get back in this game, they need to start right now. It’s kind of like making adjustments. If you try and wait until the half, it’s probably too late. They need to get going right here. One play has him up past the 40 already and another first and 10. Here’s Carr. It gets this complete to Shahed and that’s good for a pick up of 10 yardds and that’ll leave him with a second and just a few inches left. That looked like a pretty good route combination there because you’ve got to find a way to clear the guy running the drag cuz when you do, you just put the ball on him and then let him run. He’s got some space. They still need about the length of the football here, maybe a little less as they come up on second and inches. They’ll pound it up the middle with Chimera and he’ll get it down to the 47 here. They’ll get three as the drive continues. It’s a first down. Exactly what they needed right there because they needed to use the ground game to take some pressure off cuz the quarterback’s been struggling a little bit. This offense finding its legs now. Here’s another first and 10 from the gun. It’s a run for Chimera. Credited him with a one-yd gain there to make it second and nine. No doubt about it. A really nice job there by the defense not allowing him to get to the perimeter. But that means your defensive ends, your outside linebackers, the guys that you pay big money to to sack the quarterback, they also have to have interest in the running game as well. And they did a nice job there of holding the point of attack and not giving ground. Car to throw on second down. A holds it in. And they’re going to have another first down as the tackles made here at the Cardinals 29 yd line. They give him 17 yds that time as that’ll move the chains. I think it all came together there. Inbreaking route drove it with excellent pace. Money throw right there to move the sticks. Throwing on first down is Carr. That’ll be taken in by Shahed. call it a gain of six on the play and it’ll be second down. That’s now four completions in a row. A good bounce back following the interception last drive. Certainly not letting it affect him. That’s for sure. And we all know interceptions are going to happen. So the big trick, don’t let it affect you going forward. Most of the good quarterbacks, they just tell the ball boy, “Get that one out of the rotation. Give me a fresh ball and let’s go.” Oh, he’s got his offense moving again. Throwing now is Carr. This one taken in by a lav. That one good for seven as this long drive continues. And the chains move again. Line of scrimmage, the 15. It’s first and 10. They’ll run out of the gun with Chimera. This will be stopped about two yds shy of the marker. Eight yd gain. Second and two. Even though they gave up more than they wanted to on that play. It actually illustrates how well they’ve bottled him up throughout the game because that was his longest run of this contest. Second and two. First down marker at the 5 yd line. A 10th carry for Chimera. And this won’t be enough to pick up the first. A gain of two. Third and one. They just keep trying, but so far they’re finding no room for him to run. None whatsoever. In fact, you run the numbers, he’s under three yards a carry at the moment. And we’ve hit the two-minute mark in this first half of action here now. Third and a yard. We’re good. We’re good. They fake the handoff now. Carr and he is going to go down back at the 11 yd line. The Cardinals going to use the first of their timeouts. So as they talk it over, we step aside. So Carr departs and on is Blake Groupy for the Saints field goal from 28 yds out. And this one is right through. And the deficit drops now from 21 down to 18. Well, that’s something of a pickme up. The offense certainly has struggled, but they do get the field goal before half to put three on the board. Yeah, you don’t want to be shut out, but let’s face it, those three points, that’s not going to solve all their problems either. So after the field goal, back out is groupy to send this one away. And not much happening on the return as he’ll get this to about the 23. The Cardinal offense here ready to take over. They have been red hot, sometimes white hot here in this first half. They’re just looking to add to that total right now. And this has to serve as a reminder to myself because so many times I get wrapped up in the play calling, how they’ve sequenced things, how it’s run, but you know, at the end of the day, it’s still execution. Those guys out on the field and right now they are locked in and really looking good. They’ll try to continue to be locked in here as we get ready to approach halftime. Nothing open downfield. He keeps it himself for 11 and a first down. Remember Brandon, he ran for a touchdown earlier. So his decision to go ahead and tuck it and go again turned out to be a wise one. And the decision is what is important here. He has made some good decisions on when to tuck it and go from the 34. Now here’s first and 10. Here’s Murray throwing quickly to Wilson and he’ll be tackled right on the chalk of the 45. Same exact result as last play. A pick up of 11. First down. Backto back good plays. Have them on the move on first down to throw. It’s Murray. And now the ball’s out. Fumbled near midfield. And this ball recovered by the offense. But remember, they cannot advance it here in the final two minutes of the half. So, this will be blown dead and it’ll come back to the spot of the fumble. The fumble on first down now. Here’s second down. Here’s Murray from midfield. Open net. Here is Benson. Seven yds there and a first down. That was a pretty favorable situation there. What would you call that? Second and manageable. Smart play, too. Didn’t force it downfield when he didn’t have it. Just checked it down. Let him get the first down. And that’s exactly what he did. First down. Murray. and he works it past the 30 almost to the 25. Now a timeout signaled for and they’ll get it with 10 seconds to go before halftime. 14 of 15. So even though it’s first down, here’s the field goal unit on now to try to get three before halftime from the right hash. This from 44 yds out. And his kick is good. And the lead up to three touchdowns now. It’s 24-3. So everything else has gone right in this first half. Kind of follows that it would for their kicker, too, as he adds three more onto the lead. Yeah. And the way that this one’s gone, definitely not looking like he’s going to have to worry too much about pressure kicks late in the game. He can go out there free and easy, just work on his form, and he knocked that one through. Maybe time for one play on offense. 7 seconds to go in the half as the kick is away from a yard or two deep. Here comes a return and able to get this across the 20 but not much further as he’s dropped at the 23 yd line. of play. So, we have reached halftime with the visiting Cardinals out in front as we send you on over to Orlando for Jonathan Coachman in our EA Sports halftime report. Take it away, coach. Okay, Brandon, thanks very much. Back to you guys in a bit, but first, we welcome everyone to our EA Sports halftime report. This one is maybe not exactly in the bag yet, but there is definitely a big mountain to climb in this third quarter. The team’s already back out there, so let’s not waste any time as we’ll turn it back over to Brandon God. All right, coach. Thanks very much. Fine work as always as we welcome you back for quarter number three. The Cards with the lead and they will get this football first as the second half gets started. and a good return as he’ll be stopped just shy of the 30 yd line. So here’s the Cardinals offense now as they get set to start this third quarter. Murray and the Cardinals with a first and 10 just shy of the 30. They’ll come out throwing here to start the drive. Able to get this one to McBride and able to get this one across the 45 before he’s brought down. This drive starting off on the right foot. 18 yds. I’ll tell you what, a lot of those mid-range throws have been available because sometimes teams get too concerned about the deep ball and they leave too much space in front of them and these guys have been taking advantage so far. A big hitter to start the drive. Has him up near midfield here for first and 10. An option handoff given to Connor. And they’ll get this just to the 47. Oneyd gain. Watching that play unfold and watching him complete it brought back memories of doing all those pursuit drills to make sure you don’t over pursue and let a guy get a cut back lane on you. He did that very well. You praised him on tape yesterday for the angles that he takes to the ball. Took a great angle right there. Second and nine. Harrison will go in motion left. Murray flips his forward on a jet sweep. Nine yds the pickup there and it’s a first down. And this is just a little touch pass. as they send the receiver in motion, just kind of tap it forward to him. That doesn’t turn into a huge play, but they do pick up a first down. A nice consistent gain. So, first and 10. And if they score on this drive, might have to start digging in our second half blowout material. On play action, it’s Murray. Give him a couple on the scramble. It’s second down. His running ability has been an extra dimension of their game plan thus far. For once though, he doesn’t create any magic against a front that’s prepared for him to try and take off. This a second and eight. Murray going to throw. Screen pass to Connor and pass the 35. He’ll be dropped a yard or two shy of the 30. The Cardinal passing game dialed in now. First down. And when you have success throwing the football, the old cliche becomes true. The playbook opens up wide and these screen passes, they become even more difficult to stop. Line of scrimmage, the 31 now on first and 10. Out of the shotgun, they’ll run with Connor. gave a glimpse of his power but not a whole lot of space down at the 30. Just a yard on the pickup there and it’ll bring up a second and nine. Well, that’s not a run that’s going to make any of the highlight tapes, but they’ve been moving it well all game on the ground. This is another one that keeps them moving forward. Ball on the 30 now. Here’s second and nine. Murray now to throw. Jones has it. So he stopped for no gain and that’s going to set up a tough third and nine. If you’re a wide receiver and they call a screen pass, you’re counting on some people being out in front of you blocking. But that play was well diagnosed by the guys on the defensive side of the ball and they got there and swarmed and finished off the play. They got to get it to the 21 here on third down. Here’s Murray. A short one here caught by McBride and they’ll get this one to about the 20 yd line. Give him 10 yardds there as this offense is on a roll. This drive continues to plunge forward. Whatever the discussions were at halftime to try to slow down this offense, it has not worked to this point. Yeah, I have a vision right now of everything that was discussed at the half just being torn in shreds or being erased off of the Microsoft Surface tablets because none of it is working. They are really locked in on offense. And they run the option here on first and 10. And he is going to lose yardage here. Tyron Matthew showing off a bit on that stop. Really nice tackle for loss. Oh, he’s had success running the football in this one. That’s undeniable. But that time the defense was on to it. and partner. I think the more you see a play like this, the more they’re able to diagnose it quicker and easier for them to defend it. I think you have to dress it up a little bit and show maybe some different formations and looks. A rare misstep on that last play because the drive has been strong. But now it’s second and 12. Murray now and he gets it inside the 10 to the nine. Good coverage downfield led to him taking off picking up the first down on a 13 yd run. Partner, even I can figure out who deserves the lion share of credit for their lead right now because he has been terrific in a dual threat role. really chewing up yardage and getting them points with his legs. Simply put, that defense has had no way of stopping him and that’s why his side is on top. They’ll run here with Connor and he’ll take this from the nine down to about the seven. The yards may start getting a little tougher to come by down here near the goal line. That’s good work defensively. They’re on first down, holding them to a short gain. The line of scrimmage, the seven now on second and goal. And now Murray’s going to set up to throw. Called in by McBride along the sideline. And inside the five here before he’s out of bounds right at the three. Only three yds there on the completion. And that’ll lead to a third and goal. How about the timing on that one? Boy, they were in sync, weren’t they? Three-step drop. Balls out of his hands right to the tight end. Nice completion just like they do it in practice. Murray now third and goal to the end zone, but it’s incomplete. To give you an idea of how accurate he’s been throwing the football where the second half, that’s just his second incompletion. Well, if he’s that locked in, that means everyone’s locked in. Because to me, it’s like throwing a no hitter in baseball. The pitcher may get the credit, a lot of people making plays behind him in the field. And his kick is good. And that will extend their lead even further. Well, they picked up right where they left off from the first half. First drive after the break, they come away with three and increase that lead. Yeah. And you just want to keep building on that lead, don’t you? Whether it’s six points or three points, take everything you can get, keep maneuvering, keep adding to it, keep making it difficult for them to come back. out is the kickoff unit as they run up and send this one away. And here comes a return from just beyond the goal line and he’ll be brought down right on the chalk of the 20. Now the attention turns to the Saints offense getting ready for their first possession of the second half. Carr going to lead the Saints up here. First and 10 at their own 20 yd line. He’ll start with a give to Chimera. And he is brought down at the 22 after a gain of two. And it brings up second down. I’d say they’ve got to find a way to get him going. He’s such a big part of their offense. I wonder if they might throw it a little and come back to the run. Anything because you’re right, he’s pretty much been completely neutralized. from the 22. Here’s second and eight. Car going to throw and that one to the right side and incomplete. And when you throw as many interceptions as he has in this one, you definitely start getting a little hesitant to throw the ball out wide because that’s prime pick six territory. That time he made sure the only guy was going to catch it was sitting in the third row. This offense in desperate need of a conversion as they come up on third down. Now Carr and that incomplete nearly intercepted. Remember, he had his hands on one earlier, had one pick. It could have been a second, but instead it’s fourth down. Looks like another empty possession offensively. And you’re at that point in the game where you can’t afford too many more of these. So, this going to require some heavy thinking on the sideline to figure out what they can do to crack this defense. And on fourth down, on is the punt team sending this one away. And no return on this one as the fair catch is signaled for and taken. It’ll be a 39 yd punt. No return and they will take over. First and 10. Arizona getting ready to go as they take the field. And last time they got three points, but it was a chip shot field goal. And when you go to the sideline after chip shot field goal, maybe the offense not too happy. It’s a balancing act, isn’t it? Because you’re exactly right. They’re none too pleased that they didn’t punch it in for six points. But they also have to remember they did put points on the board. Three points is three points. And in this league, you take points when you can get them. Not easily done. Two yds the gain on the keeper and it’s second down. Well, they held him to a short gain on that one and it almost felt like on that first run they were trying to just throw the jab at him. So, how do you stop a jab? Get closer and smother it just as they did on that last play. Line of scrimmage, the 36 on second and eight. Operating from the gun. Murray a short one here caught by McBride. able to get this one across the 45 before he’s brought down. They call his number again. It’s his sixth catch and a first down. And while we may be looking at the scoreboard, this offense certainly is not because they’re showing no signs of backing down. Even with a three-score lead here in the third quarter, I think they keep taking their shots. They’ve seen blown leads happen throughout this league. They don’t want to fall victim to it themselves. And he’s going to take this across the 50 and into Saints territory. Six yds there on the keeper at second down. A little do-it-yourself run right there. And a nice gain. And I like that he knew that. That was about all he was going to get. So he did a nice job protecting himself. Took care of the football. Took what the defense gave him. If they continue to allow him to do that, they’ll find their way taking what they can all the way to the end zone. Second down and four. Operating from the gun. Murray. It’s just a gain of a couple there on the scramble. And now it’s third down. Kudos for the defense from me on that one because they were prepared the whole way for him to try to escape and hit them for more yardage running it. I like the way they stayed zeroed in on him and kept him contained when he pulled the ball down. I think he was fortunate to get what he did on that run. Two yds still to go. Third down now. out of the gun. They’ll look to throw out to the right here to Wilson and he is going to lose yardage here. They’ll wind up losing a yard on the play and that’s going to make it fourth down. Well, they opted not to run it. They completed the pass on third and two, but they lost yardage to bring up four. They’ll give credit to the guys on the other side of the ball. They snuffed out the play, but it does bring into question one, the play call because they didn’t run the ball there. They could have run it and two, just not getting it. That’s got to be deflating for them. Here comes the Cardinals punter now as he should be able to pin him back deep here with his first punt. And this punt will go out of bounds. I think it’ll be inside the 25. But it will. Right at the 24 yd line is where they’ll spot it. The New Orleans offense set to take over. These guys definitely hoping for a better showing than their last appearance. They couldn’t really even move the football much beyond the shadows of their own goalpost. Charles, we’ll see if they can get a better, more sustained drive going here. Yeah. And every team that we ever talked to says the exact same thing. When you start a drive from that deep in your own territory, the goal is a minimum of at least two first downs because even if you have to punt then, you change the field position, right? You flip the field a little bit. They didn’t get that done this time. They want to string together a nice drive and help themselves out. I tell you what, when you’re down on the scoreboard, you’ve got to look to your stars. And that’s what they do here to start the drive. I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked his way a few more times in short order. That one welldesigned and it’s a quick first down. A big hitter to start the drive has him up near midfield here for first and 10. Now Carr and the throw left sideline here is caught, but they’ll rule it incomplete. Couldn’t keep his feet in. Second down. Just what they needed a lecture from me. But subpar offense is what helped get them into this spot. And now they’re continuing the trend with incompletions. That won’t get them out of it if they don’t change something soon. Glad to be in the great city of New Orleans. Rolling along here in the third quarter. Second and 10. Car to throw and he takes a shot on the release as this will be incomplete. We just saw another example of really good defensive football which has led to the cushion that they have in this game. Got to him once again, knocked him on the ground, forced an incompletion. Yeah, they’ve set the tone. It’s one thing to set the tone, another to come in here on the road and set the tone. This offense in desperate need of a conversion as they come up on third down. And he’s going to lose yardage here as they will switch ends as time has run out on this third quarter of play. Three quarters have come and gone. We’ll return with more after this. This is the NFL and it’s on EA Sports and they’re indeed going to go for it here on fourth down. So trailing here in the last quarter. Let’s see how this plays out. And oh, this has taken him onehanded. What a catch. No reason not to try it there. And they do indeed convert on fourth. Felt compelled to go for it there on fourth down. Trailing in the fourth quarter. They got it done. And there’s always a lot of pressure on a fourth down call. Doesn’t matter the distance. Tough to get it done as you noted. And they did. So after the big play on fourth, here’s first and 10 to throw his car. Cooks on the quick slant and he’s got this down almost to the 20 before he’s dropped. 12 more yards there and another first down. Those are the types of plays they probably wish they had made more of in the first three quarters. This deficit going to be tough to overcome here in the fourth, but a nice first down and a pick up on that throw. Yeah, and this is where as coaches, you’re looking for effort and execution. Even though the scoreboard is going against you, you want to find out who’s going to fight, who’s going to scrap, who’s going to keep their heads up and continue to play. And brought down, but not before they get it inside the 10 to the seven. 15 more there and they’re on a roll. It’s another first down. Well, I can put my defensive cap on right now and I know they’re saying don’t give up any big plays now. They’ve controlled this game throughout and all they want to do is see it through to the end. I think they let their guard down a little bit with that last completion. Sometimes when you’re trying not to give up bigger plays, you don’t react as fast as you should on other throws. Now Carr again. That is caught at the seven yd line and he’s brought down right at the 5 yd line. Give him two on the play. And the ball smack dab on the 5 yd line. Here’s second and goal. Chimera up the middle. And he’s able to get it down to the two yd line. Give him right around four on the carry. We’ll see if they want to keep pounding here on third and goal. and Brandon, they went to a nickel defense and that’s a surprise this close to the goal line because ordinarily you use the back end of the end zone, the sidelines as extra defenders and you want bigger people on the field to try and help against the run. They’ve been denied touchdowns in the red zone twice already. Here comes third and goal again. Chimera pushing for the end zone, but he’s not going to get there. They stop him just shy of the goal line. only a yard that time. So now a decision to be made here on fourth and goal. Well, they certainly had success throwing the ball on this drive and not as much running it as we just saw once again on that last play. Stopped after a very short gain. But I wouldn’t abandon the run totally because otherwise pass rushers just tee off on your quarterback. Makes it very very difficult for him in that situation. The field goal doesn’t help. They’re going to go for the six here on fourth and goal. And they’ll run for it with Miller. And not only will he not get in, he’s going to lose yardage. They stuff him back at the four. Miller kept out of the end zone on fourth and goal. And this Cardinal defense comes up with a goal line stand. And they’ve now made two trips to the red zone and still looking for their first touchdown. Not able to punch it in. And if you’re on defense, your confidence is skyhigh because mentally you’re saying, “Hey, you’re in the red zone. We’re thinking we’re giving up three. We just want to give up six.” In this case, they end up not giving up the touchdown at all. They’ve got to feel great about what they got done. Here’s Murray back near his goal line. A short one here caught by McBride. So, the completion good for six yds and it’s second down. And that’s staying ahead of the chains. Really good pickup on first down hitting the tight end there. Now brings up a second and manageable. Just found a hole in that zone here now. Second and four. They run behind center with counter and able to get it here to about the 16 yd line. 41 yds rushing for him now as he’s run it 11 times. Hate to be blunt, but it is just continuing to prove to be the case that this O line is manhandling this Dline right now. They deserve to roll up their sleeves and show up their biceps because they’re doing exactly what you just described, manhandling the defensive front. They’ve got the leverage. They are powering through and they’re controlling this game. Right back to Connor here on first. and good yardage as he gets this one up to about the 23. It’s a sevenyd carry to set them up with a second and three. I know that every now and then we get in those meetings with coaches and you almost want to roll your eyes when they talk about staying on schedule when they’re moving the football, but would you say a sevenyd run is ahead of schedule. Fourth quarter with a lead. You love that, don’t you? No doubt about it because staying on schedule is trying to get four downs on first down. They did that plus three. And this is going to be a Cardinals first down as he’ll take this forward to the 27. They were not fooling around at all, were they? Second and short. And they brought out the heavy package. Almost felt like the super heavy package against that defense, didn’t it? Yeah, I don’t think they expected that much beef up front. And it turned into an easy first down conversion. And he’s taken down here by the Saints. That’s the former Buckeye Pete Warner getting the sack. We’ve seen him escape similar situations earlier in the game and get away for pretty good yardage. And that time they get him down. Yeah, they’ve had enough evidence that he can get away and run for good yardage, haven’t they? That time it felt like, okay, enough of this. Let’s play it the right way and get him on the ground before he does any damage. Got to imagine the pass rush will be equally intense here on second down following the sack. It’s second and 18. Here’s Murray as he sets to throw it. The quick throw knocked away. It’s incomplete. The fourth quarter with a three-score lead here, Charles, but they’re still going back to the air and looking for more points. Well, with this game well in hand, it’s an opportunity for the guys to come off the bench and get a chance to play. And a lot of coaches, they want to run their full playbook no matter who’s on the field. The Cardinals on third down. They’ve been very good. Five for seven thus far. This will be a tough third and 18. And he is going to lose yardage here. He lost a big chunk. Six yds there and it leads to fourth down. With his size, it often takes more than one guy to get him down. But if you can at least slow him up and the reinforcements arrive, you have a chance to get him on the ground. And that they did that time for a loss. Here comes the Cardinals punter now, standing about a yard deep in his own end zone. A solid stiff arm. Eight yds on the return following a punt of 41. And this offense will take over. Right at the midfield stripe with a first and 10. Out onto the field comes New Orleans. We said it at halftime that they would need a nearly perfect second half to erase that deficit that they were facing CD. But unfortunately the second half has pretty much been a carbon copy of the first. Yeah, that early lead was almost insurmountable the way their opponent was playing a partner. But they do have some good news though. This one is getting close to being over and they can try and hit the reset button starting tomorrow. Offense for them has been at a premium. You wonder where plays like that have been all game long. They’re thinking the exact same thing themselves, but they’re also looking forward now because now these plays are really for next week trying to get some momentum going from the 34. Now here’s first and 10 Carr. That’s complete to his running back Chimera. And they’ll get this one down to about the 20 yd line. Another nice gain. That’s now 30 yds between those last two plays. A three-score game here late. You can probably rule out the comeback, but certainly some kind of a moral victory to be had if they can get a few more points to close things out. And to that end, a nice pass play there to push things down field. Yeah, and we know in this league, a loss is a loss. So, no one wants anything to count as a moral victory or boy, something that feels a little bit cheap, but they trim that lead down to just two scores, that’s still a benefit to this squad. And he’ll go out of bounds in the red zone just inside the 20 and just three yds on the catch there. He couldn’t get away. And that’ll make it second down. That was a nice throw out there to the flap, but they defended that pretty well. The hope is to go ahead and put it on him so he can turn and get up field and gain additional yardage. There just wasn’t anywhere to go on that play. On second down, Chimera. And despite the fancy footwork we saw, they’ll get to him just inside the 15. And we are inside at 2 minutes left in this lopsided affair. Here’s third and three. working from the gun. It’s Carr and this is going to be intercepted. Picked off by Shawn Murphy Bunting and the Cards are going to take possession here. It’s a touchback and they’ll take over at the 20 yd line. Well, field goals probably aren’t going to cut it at this point. This was touchdown or bust and unfortunately for them it turned out to be bust. Yeah, they’re feeling like they’ve got to force the issue here. Maybe take some chances they wouldn’t have earlier in the game. But give credit to this defense. They’ve really stood tall throughout and they come up with the interception in the end zone. They begin on the ground here with counter and nothing much materializing there on the first down run. He’ll get a couple and that’s it. You’ve got to be impressed by that defensive front on reps like those. as they were not being moved off the line, kept their shoulders square and gave their teammates time to fight to the ball and limit that gain from the 22. Here’s second and eight again. It’s counter. It’ll be a gain of five, but still about three yds shy of the first down marker. And now it’s third down. It’s not a huge breakaway run, but if your starting running back finishes the game with averages of five or six yards per touch, you’ll take that every single time. Third and three. Now Murray work in the middle of the field and he’s got a man complete and he is going to have a Cardinals first down I do believe. Yes, he’s got it by about a yard there on third and three. Often times we think of those tough yards as grinding yards that a running back has to pick up. How about the tight end there picking up the first down in that situation? That’s what he’s there for, right? Big fella. Get it to him. Let him fight off some people and pick up the necessary yardage. So, it’s a win here for the Arizona Cardinals. And it was their defense that really made the statement after the break. They pitched the second half shutout. Yeah. Think about the team that just got vanquished. They did score in the second quarter. Do you think they thought at all that that would be their last point of the game? No. I But what a second half, the adjustment, whatever they did in the locker room, it certainly worked. It certainly did. And you’re exactly right. Whether it was an adjustment, whether it was just more focus on what they planned to do going in, whether they just played better, whatever it was, it all came together in the second half and no points were allowed. That’s a great way to close them out. So, that’ll do it for us, for my partner Charles Davis, and all the hardworking men and women on our crew. I’m Brandon Gordon. You’ve been watching the NFL right here on EA Sports. Till next time we say so long from the bayou.
Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints | NFL Regular Season | Week 1 | Madden NFL
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