Tag: Cardinals vs. Colts

Cardinals’ defensive, ST snap counts, observations vs. Colts

Check out how the Cardinals divided up 72 defensive snaps against the Colts.

In the Arizona Cardinals’ 21-13 preseason loss to the Indianapolis Colts Saturday night, there were 30 players that participated in at least one of the 72 defensive snaps and 53 that played at least one of the 24 special-teams snaps.

Showing an example of who played a lot after two days of practice with the Colts, look closely at those at each position led the unit in snaps.

The first number after each name is snaps and the second is the percentage. Players in bold were starters.

Defensive linemen

Phil Hoskins 35/49, Naquan Jones 35/49, Ben Stille 32/44, Myles Murphy 30/42, Khyiris Tonga 15/21, L.J. Collier 12/17, Dante Stills 9/12

Did not play: Justin Jones, Roy Lopez, Bilal Nichols, Darius Robinson

The four that didn’t play will be a large part of the rotation when the regular season starts. Lopez and the rookie Robinson played against the Saints. Asked about Robinson not playing, head coach Jonathan Gannon said, “I just like where he is at. He got a lot of work the last two days. I like where he is at. I felt like he needed to not play.”

Collier will also be in the rotation and in his productive 12 snaps had a sack and quarterback hit, and three tackles (two solo) with one for loss. The leading tacklers were Naquan Jones with four (two solo) and Stille with three solo with onje for loss and a quarterback hit.

Linebackers

ILB Tyreek Maddox-Williams 43/60, OLB Tyreke Smith 42/58, ILB Trevor Nowaske 35/49, OLB Victor Dimukeje 32/44, ILB Markus Bailey 31/43, OLB Cam Thomas 29/40, OLB Xavier Thomas 26/36, OLB Jesse Luketa 21/29, ILB Owen Pappoe 15/21, ILB Krys Barnes 8/11

Did not play: OLB Zaven Collins, OLB Dennis Gardeck, ILB Kyzir White, ILB Mack Wilson Sr.

The Thomases led the stat sheet as Cameron had two sacks plus two quarterback hits to go with four tackles (three solo) and a tackle for loss. Xavier had a sack in his second consecutive game for 12 yards, two quarterback hits, two tackles with the solo stop being for loss.

Xavier, who acknowledged being nervous on his first snap the week before, said, “Today I pretty much knew what to expect and things like that. It’s always good to get more comfortable.”

Said Cameron, “I definitely got more opportunities to put on display what I’ve got. I believe I did a pretty good job (and) maximized those opportunities.”

Luketa, Bailey and Maddox-Williams each had four tackles (two solo), while Nowaske and Smith had three tackles with former having one solo.

Defensive backs

CB Darren Hall 51/71, S Verone McKinley III 46/64, CB Bobby Price 27/38, CB Max Melton 26/36, S Dadrion (Rabbit) Taylor-Demerson 26/36, CB Michael Ojemudia 26/36, CB Kei’Trel Clark 22/31, CB Jaden Davis 21/29, CB Divaad Wilson 20/28, S Joey Blount 20/28, CB Elijah Jones 19/26, S Andre Chachere 11/15, CB Starling Thomas V 12/17

Did not play: S Budda Baker, CB Delonte Hood, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, S Jalen Thompson, CB Garrett Williams

Taylor-Demerson had an interception and a pass defensed plus two solo tackles.

He said, “It was real special. I was telling JT (Jalen Thompson) and Budda (Baker) all day today I was going to get one. Then literally told my two best friends I was feeling one. I told my agent I was getting one. Put it in my head all day. The play finally came and I caught it. I was cool. It was like electric going through my body when I caught it. I didn’t know what to do.”

Hall and Jones each had five tackles (four solo) with Jones notching one for loss. Hall had two passes defensed. Wilson and Price had four tackles (three solo), while McKinley had four with one solo.

Clark had two tackles and a forced fumble that was recovered by Dante Stills. Of Clark, Gannon said, “I thought he looked violent, physical. He had a couple good coverages in there – forced the fumble. He looked good in there. He played two spots today, so that was good to see.”

Special teams

CB Bobby Price 14/58, S Joey Blount 13/54, LB Markus Bailey 12/50, LB Victor Dimukeje 12/50, TE Blake Whiteheart 11/46, KR DeeJay Dallas 10/42, LB Trevor Nowaske 10/42, P Blake Gillikin 9/38, LB Owen Pappoe 9/38, LB Jesse Luketa 8/33, TE Tip Reiman 7/29, LB Cam Thomas 7/29, LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams 7/29, CB Elijah Jones 7/29, K Matt Prater 6/25, LS Joe Shimko 6/25, RB Tony Jones Jr. 6/25, CB Darren Hall 6/25, CB Divaad Wilson 6/25, LB Krys Barnes 5/21, DL Phil Hoskins 5/21, DL Ben Stille 5/21, S Dadrion (Rabbit) Taylor Demerson 5/21, WR Daniel Arias 4/17, CB Max Melton 4/17, S Verone McKinley III 4/17, CB Michael Ojemudia 4/17, LS Aaron Brewer 3/13, G Jon Gaines II 3/13, T Christian Jones 3/13, G Isaiah Adams 3/13, T Jackson Barton 3/13, T Austen Pleasants 3/13, WR Andre Baccellia 3/13, WR Chris Moore 3/13, TE Bernhard Seikovits 3/13, DL Naquan Jones 3/13, LB Xavier Thomas 3/13, CB Kei’Trel Clark 3/13, CB Jaden Davis 3/13, WR/KR Xavier 2/8, RB/KR Emari Demercado 2/8, G Marquis Hayes Jr. 2/8, T Elijah Wilkinson 2/8, WR Dan Chisena 2/8, WR Zach Pascal 2/8, TE Travis Vokolek 2/8, S Andre Chachere 2/8, LB Tyreke Smith 2/8, DL Myles Murphy 2/8, C/G Keith Ismael 1/4, WR Tejhaun Palmer 1/4, CB Starling Thomas V 1/4

Gillikin had punts of 62 and 64 yards, an average of 51.7 on six punts with a net of 44.8. Weaver had a 37-yard kickoff return and Dallas one for 38 that was shortened because of a Dimukeje penalty. Dallas also had a 16-yard punt return negated by a Price penalty. A Prater low kickoff landed short of the landing zone from the goal line to the 20, putting the ball at the 40 for the Colts.

On kick coverage, Nowaske had two tackles, while Taylor-Demerson, Pascal and Baccelia had one. In addition to Prater, Dimukeje and Price, Melton was guilty of a penalty on a return.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals’ offensive snap counts and observations against Colts

Check out how the Cardinals split up their 53 offensive snaps on Saturday against the Colts.

In the Arizona Cardinals’ 21-13 preseason loss to the Indianapolis Colts Saturday, there were 28 players that participated in at least one of the 53 offensive snaps.

The first number after each name is snaps and the second is the percentage. Players in bold were starters.

Quarterbacks

Clayton Tune 34/64, Desmond Ridder 19/36

Did not play: Kyler Murray

Similar to the first week, Tune had the edge on Ridder, this time as the starter. Despite being pressured (three sacks), he completed 8-of-10 passes for 79 yards and a 99.6 passer rating. He scored the team’s only touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run late in the half.

Ridder was 6-of-10 for 71 yards and an 81.7 rating.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon characterized Tune’s play as “pretty good. I liked how he finished the half. He made some plays with his arm and his legs.”

Asked to judge his performance, Tune said, “I thought I played well, but obviously, there’s no perfect game. So, there’s always things that you’ve got to clean up. Want to take less sacks, get the ball out quickly, but there’s always stuff to build on.”

He added, “I’ve been playing more on time, playing quicker, getting through my reads, seeing the defense and just being decisive.”

Running backs

Emari Demercado 20/38, Trey Benson 15/28, Michael Carter 9/17, Tony Jones Jr. 9/17

Did not play: James Conner, DeeJay Dallas (played only on special teams), Hassan Hall

Benson ran well with 43 yards on nine attempts and lost more yardage because of penalties. Carter had an 8-yard run and 15-yard reception.

Wide receivers

Andre Baccellia 34/64, Chris Moore 32/60, Zach Pascal 29/55, Xavier Weaver 21/40, Tejhaun Palmer 19/36, Daniel Arias 3/6

Did not play: Daylen Baldwin, Dan Chisena (played only on special teams), Greg Dortch, Marvin Harrison Jr., Zay Jones, Michael Wilson

Baccellia had the most targets with four and caught two for 27 yards. Weaver also had 27 yards on two receptions. Pascal was 2-for-18, while Moore had a catch for 16 yards and Palmer for 15.

Tight ends

Blake Whiteheart 23/43, Travis Vokolek 22/42, Tip Reiman 21/40, Bernhard Seikovits 8/15

Did not play: Elijah Higgins, Trey McBride

Seikovits had two catches for 14 yards, while Vokolek had one for six and Reiman one for three.

Offensive linemen

T Christian Jones 40/75, RG Jon Gaines II (38/72), LG Isaiah Adams 36/68, C Trystan Colon 34/64, RT Elijah Wilkinson 34/64, T Jackson Barton 30/57, G Marquis Hayes Jr. 24/45, C Keith Ismael 9/17, LT Kelvin Beachum 7/13, T Austen Pleasants 6/11, G Dennis Daley 6/11

Did not play: G/C Evan Brown, C Hjalte Froholdt, G Will Hernandez, T Paris Johnson Jr., T Jonah Williams

Gaines had a scare when he left the game with a finger injury and was said to be questionable to return, but came back. Jones had a brutal first half with four holding penalties, one that was declined. The three assessed came on consecutive plays in the second quarter. He continued playing and was penalty-free in the second half.

Johnson and others were seen talking to Jones on the sideline, to which Gannon said, “It matters to all these guys. They want to see their buddies do well. And when that happens, for whatever reason, you’ve got to make sure that you reset yourself and get back to playing fundamentally sound and have a quick memory and go out there and execute. I thought he did that for the most part in the second half.

“He actually reset at halftime and did a good job when he came back out of it. I was enthused about what he did in the second half. I was proud of him.”

Asked about talking to Jones, Tune said, “Yeah, just tell him to settle down. He’s played football before. This isn’t the first time he’s been in this situation. I’m sure he’s had holding calls called on him before. So, he knows how to handle it. You’ve just kind of got to settle him down a little bit.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Some Cardinals duds in their 21-13 preseason loss to Colts

Three players stood out as duds in the Cardinals’ loss to the Colts.

The Arizona Cardinals lost their preseason game on Saturday 21-13 to the Indianapolis Colts. They had a halftime lead and then allowed two second-half touchdowns.

There were some good performances from a few players, earning them stud stats for the game.

A few players were underwhelming and can be classified as duds from the game.

There were three in particular.

QB Desmond Ridder

He was disappointing for the second straight week. He finished the game 6-for-10 passing for 71 yards. However, three of those completions and 32 of those yards came in the final seconds of the game when the Colts were simply protecting deep down the field.

He led the Cardinals to a field goal in the first possession of the second half but then had two straight three-and-outs.

Second-year QB Clayton Tune looked much better.

OL Christian Jones

Jones struggled in the first half. He had three consecutive holding penalties at one point and then was flagged for a fourth that was declined. He bounced back, something that head coach Jonathan Gannon was glad to see, but that was rough.

OL Dennis Daley

Daley bungled the final play. The Cardinals had only 27 seconds to try and score a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. After three completions to get them in at least within Hail Mary range, the Cardinals lined up to spike the ball to stop the clock because they had no timeouts with only five seconds remaining.

Receiver Xavier Weaver did his part running the ball after his catch to the line of scrimmage and everyone lined up quickly, but Daley flinched, getting called for a false start that, because they had not timeouts, led to a 10-second runoff of the clock, which meant the game was over.

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Jonathan Gannon takes responsibility for often sloppy play against the Colts

It was a flag-filled loss as the Cardinals drew 14 penalties in their loss to the Colts on Saturday.

Jonathan Gannon lives by the coaching law that mandates falling on the sword publicly rather than bluntly blame his players.

That was certainly the case after Saturday’s flag-filled 21-13 Arizona Cardinals preseason loss to the Indianapolis Colts. In his opening comments and a follow-up question wondering about the reason for the numerous penalties called, he uttered 193 words, of which 32 placed the responsibility on himself and the coaches.

Gannon started by saying, “OK, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. We didn’t mode to play. One of our modes of play is our brain, and we didn’t use it tonight. Falls strictly on me. I thought we were ready to play physically. Violence was on display, good effort, finish, but I just told them we’re not going to beat anybody making those kind of mistakes.

“It’s too hard to win in this league, and you can’t self-destruct, and we did on all three phases. So that falls on me and the coaches. So, we’ve got to get it cleaned up fast, and that’s what we’ll do on Monday. They’ll be off tomorrow and then come into work on Monday.”

Why all the penalties?

“It falls on me and coaches,” he said. “They weren’t ready to play mentally. I think physically, we were ready to play. Mentally, you can’t make that many mistakes and expect to win a game. So that’s on us … So, we’ve just got to be smarter. Like I said, it falls on me and the coaches. We’ve got to do a better job with them, so they understand and play with proper technique so we don’t foul.”

I have a sneaking suspicion that wasn’t Gannon’s passionate message to his team at halftime and following the game.

After seven penalties were walked off in the first half, he told TV sideline reporter Dani Sureck, “Technique. When you get lazy with technique, you foul.”

Gannon reiterated that in postgame comments when asked if he expected the large number of penalties that occurred. He said, “No, because we looked pretty clean. I mean, we’ve been practicing with refs and nothing that’s crazy. But every crew is a little bit different with how they call it. That’s what they call. We’ve got to play smarter than that and with better technique. Penalties come with decision-making and technique. So, if you don’t make the proper decision, that’s normally a penalty. If you don’t play with the correct technique, you’re going to foul.”

The comment about crews was telling. During the regular season, a lot of time before games is spent analyzing the crew and what they tend to call or not call. Not so much in the preseason, which also takes into account that seven of the 14 penalties were committed by rookies, with four holding penalties (one declined) on rookie tackle Christian Jones. At least one of those appeared particularly bogus.

Still, it’s on the players to be disciplined, just like two neutral-zone violations helped the Saints win on the final drive the week before.

Deep down, Gannon knows that. When asked what he learned about himself that he needs to work on, he said, “That’s a tough question without any self-reflection time, so I’ll pass on that one. But I’ve got to get the football team operating better for us to win games. That’s my snap judgement off that because that’s what was out there.”

Of course, what was “out there” were a lot of players that won’t be, at least together, when the season opens Sept. 8 in Buffalo.

Here’s a look at the penalties, by the numbers:

14: Penalties flagged, of which seven were on offense, four on special teams and three on defense.

11: Penalties assessed, of which four were on offense and special teams, and three on defense.

6: Penalties flagged for offensive holding, four by Jones and one each by Isaiah Adams and Trystan Colon. One by Jones and Colon were declined, while the Adams penalty was offset by a Colts flag.

7: Penalties on rookies with the five by Jones and Adams, along with illegal contact by cornerback Elijah Jones and running out of bounds on a punt return by cornerback Max Melton.

3: Defensive penalties that resulted in Colts first downs. One was by Elijah Jones, one by cornerback Darren Hall for illegal contact and one by safety Verone McKinley III for unnecessary roughness. Those totaled 24 yards.

66: Field-position yards lost on three penalties, two on special teams. A Victor Dimukeje hold cost 19 yards on a DeeJay Dallas kickoff return to the 44, while unnecessary roughness by Bobby Price on a Dallas punt return lost 24 yards. One of the holding penalties on Christian Jones lost 23 yards and wiped out a Trey Benson run to the Colts 2-yard line.

82: Total yards marched off on the 11 assessed penalties. However, the Price penalty was eight yards instead of 15 because it was half-the-distance. A kickoff by Matt Prater that failed to reach the landing zone was placed at the 40, but no yardage was assessed. The three declined penalties would have totaled 30 yards.

1: False start by guard Dennis Daley, which was a fitting end to the game with five seconds remaining at the Colts 34-yard line. A spike was planned to have one shot at the end zone after a 12-yard pass from Desmond Ridder to rookie Xavier Weaver, but Daley moved and a 10-second runoff ended the game.

There was one silver lining on that play. Showing game awareness, Weaver raced from near the left sideline and handed the ball to center Keith Ismael, who wisely waited to hand the ball to the official to spot it.

Those players were surely a lot smarter than Daley.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

These 28 Cardinals did not play in the preseason game vs. Colts

The Cardinals held out all their starters, a handful of non-starters and guys who have barely been with the team.

The Arizona Cardinals lost their second preseason game 21-13 Saturday night to the Indianapolis Colts. They played without a lot of players.

In all, 28 Cardinals players did not play, either because they are starter, expected key contributors or because they have barely been with the team.

These were the players who sat out Saturday night.

  • QB Kyler Murray
  • RB James Conner
  • RB Hassan Hall
  • WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
  • WR Michael Wilson
  • WR Greg Dortch
  • WR Zay Jones
  • WR Daylen Baldwin
  • TE Trey McBride
  • TE Elijah Higgins
  • OL Paris Johnson
  • OL Evan Brown
  • OL Hjalte Froholdt
  • OL Will Hernandez
  • OL Jonah Williams
  • DL Justin Jones
  • DL Bilal Nichols
  • DL Darius Robinson
  • DL Roy Lopez
  • ILB Mack Wilson
  • ILB Kyzir White
  • OLB Zaven Collins
  • OLB Dennis Gardeck
  • CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
  • CB Garrett Williams
  • CB Delonte Hood
  • S Budda Baker
  • S Jalen Thompson

Hall, Hood and Baldwin have all been signed in the last two weeks.

Robinson, Higgins and Jones won’t technically be starters but are clear parts of the offensive and defensive rotation. Their roles are secured.

With the preseason finale next Sunday, expect the same sort of participation, only that Hall, Hood and Baldwin might play, depending on who else has secured their role.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

4 observations on defense, special teams in Cardinals’ loss to Colts

What could we take away from the Cardinals’ loss to the Colt on defense and special teams?

It was a tale of two halves for the Arizona Cardinals defense in Saturday’s 21-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, while never forgetting that it was a game of mostly deep backups for both teams.

The Cardinals were without 10 likely starters and another two that will play a lot when the regular season begins:

Defensive linemen Bilal Nichols, Justin Jones, Roy Lopez and Darius Robinson; linebackers Kyzir White, Mack Wilson Sr., Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck; cornerbacks Sean Murphy-Bunting and Garrett Williams; and safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson.

The only potential starters that played were cornerbacks Starling Thomas V and Max Melton, who returned this week from an injury that kept him on the sideline for the game against the Saints.

No doubting Thomases

Rookie edge Xavier Thomas had a sack for the second consecutive game, while adding two tackles (one solo, which was for a loss), along with two quarterback hits.

Edge Cameron Thomas, who was a healthy scratch for the final two games of the 2023 season, played a lot and had two sacks and two quarterback hits, plus four tackles (three solo) and a tackle for loss.

Edge Victor Dimukeje also played a lot of snaps, so it’s possible he and Cameron Thomas are battling for roster spots. Dimukeje had one solo tackle and whiffed on two potential sacks, one of which he inexplicably jumped slightly.

Xavier Thomas surely has a bright future, but those calling for him to start need to tap the breaks on that premature evaluation considering he has yet to play against any NFL starters. The Colts’ offensive line was, left to right, Blake Freeland, Josh Sills, Tanor Bortolini, Dalton Tucker and Matt Goncalves and not starters Bernhard Raimann, Quinton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries and Braden Smith.

Taking it away

The Cardinals had no turnovers and two takeaways, one a marvelous interception by safety Dadrion (Rabbit) Taylor-Demerson and the other a forced fumble by cornerback Kei’Trel Clark that was recovered by Dante Stills with one second remaining in the first quarter.

On the fumble, the Cardinals gained possession at the Colts 45-yard line. They reached the 12, but three consecutive holding penalties on rookie tackle Christian Jones resulted in first-and-33. However, they got back into field-goal range and Matt Prater connected from 40 yards out.h

Later in the second quarter, with the Colts facing their own second-and-31 from their own 9-yard line with 1:51 remaining in the half after a sack and holding penalty, Taylor-Demerson bolted in front of wide receiver D.J. Montgomery on a pass from Jacob Bean and barely got his second foot in bounds.

Five plays after taking over at the Indianapolis 41-yard line, quarterback Clayton Tune scored from 12 yards and the Prater extra point gave the Cardinals a 10-7 lead with 16 seconds on the clock.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said, “I told them, the takeaways were good and that’s the reason we stayed in the game. Without those takeaways I think we get the brakes beat off of us, truthfully. The interception was a phenomenal play.”

Second-half blues

In the first half, the Cardinals had 142 yards to 119 for the Colts and controlled the ball for 18:02 to 11:58 for Indianapolis.

The final two quarters were a different story. The Cardinals totaled 90 yards, while the Colts had 237 with 22:02 time of possession to Arizona’s 7:58.

Indianapolis finished with 68 offensive plays while the Cardinals had only 49.

Colts running back Zavier Scott rushed 11 times for 55 yards and scored on a 6-yard run in the second half. Quarterbacks Kedon Slovis (8-for-11 for 79 yards) and Bean (5-for-6 for 81), combined to be 13-for-17 for 160 yards in the second half. Slovis attend Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale.

Special teams a mixed bag

Punter Blake Gillikin had two punts of 62 and 64 yards and averaged 51.7 on six punts. His net was 44.8 and four were inside the 20.

Xavier Weaver had a 37-yard kickoff return and DeeJay Dallas would have had one for 38, but Dimukeje was penalized for holding and instead of starting the possession at the 44-yard line, it was at the 25.

Dallas had punt returns for 17 and 16 yards, however, the second one was negated when Bobby Price illegally blocked a Colts player out of bounds. Dallas returned the ball to the 32-yard line, but after the penalty, the possession began at the 8.

Three Colts kickoff returns went to the 24-, 25- and 34-yard line. Not bad. But one low kick by Prater failed to reach the landing zone and by rule the ball was placed at the 40. Not good.

The Cardinals were penalized four times on special teams for 23 yards, but no yardage was credited for Prater’s short kick and the Price penalty was eight yards for half the distance instead of 15.

Incumbent long snapper Aaron Brewer handled all the placekicks while rookie free agent Joe Shimko snapped on the six punts.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

4 offensive takeaways in Cardinals’ 21-13 preseason loss to Colts

A look at what we learned from the Cardinals’ offense in their loss to the Colts.

The Arizona Cardinals lost their second preseason game on Saturday 21-13 on the road to the Indianapolis Colts. They fell behind early, took the lead before halftime and then allowed two second-half touchdowns.

As an offense, they had only 232 yards and 13 first downs, going 4-for-12 on third down.

With the game over, let’s have a look at what we can take away from the game with their offensive performance.

Clayton Tune better again than Desmond Ridder

Tune got the start against the Colts and that fact alone suggests that the competition between both players to be Kyler Murray’s backup is fairly close. Ridder started the preseason opener, playing the first half, and the roles were reversed on Sunday.

Tune led the Cardinals to 142 of their 232 yards in the half he played. He led them to eight of their 13 first downs.

He completed 8-of-10 passes for 79 yards and rushed for a touchdown. His throws were more on target and he overcame three sacks.

Ridder passed for 71 yards on 6-of-10 attempts, but three of those completions came in the final drive when they had only 27 seconds to get down the field and the Colts were playing deep to protect the end zone.

In the second half with Ridder, they had a field goal on their first drive, went three-and-out on their next two drives and then had three plays before time ran out. He led the Cardinals to only 58 yards before the final drive.

So many penalties

The Cardinals were penalized 11 times and had others offset and declined. Three consecutive holding penalties by rookie tackle Christian Jones basically cost them a touchdown in the first half as the second came when rookie Trey Benson had a 20-yard run to the two-yard line that would have given them first-and-goal.

A false start penalty ended the game. With five seconds left and Ridder trying to spike the ball to give the Cardinals one more shot to score a touchdown and tie the game, Dennis Daley flinched and, with no timeouts left, the 10-second runoff led time to expire.

Offensive linemen moved around

The preseason requires this some and, with no starters playing, the Cardinals had guys playing multiple positions.

Jon Gaines started at right guard and moved to center. Elijah Wilkinson started the game at right tackle and moved to right guard. Rookie Christian Jones replaced Kelvin Beachum at left tackle and then moved to right tackle.

Running game still worked

Benson rushed for 43 yards on nine carries (and it should have been at least 63 yards on 10 attempts). As a team, they averaged 4.7 yards per carry on the ground.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Colts 21, Cardinals 13: Pass rush improved, but too many penalties

The Cardinals had 11 penalties and allowed two second-half touchdowns in a 21-13 loss to the Colts.

The Arizona Cardinals dropped to 0-2 in the preseason on Saturday night as they fell 21-13 to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

They allowed two second-half touchdowns after taking the lead just before halftime.

They improved in their pass rush but were penalized 11 times and flagged other times when they were declined or offset.

Clayton Tune scored the Cardinals’ only touchdown of the game.

Here is how it went down.

Clayton Tune gets the start

Before the game started, it was announced on television that Tune would get the start with Desmond Ridder likely to play the second half.

Jon Gaines in starting O-line

The Cardinals had a starting offensive line of Kelvin Beachum at left tackle, Isaiah Adams at left guard, Trystan Colon at center, Jon Gaines at right guard and Elijah Wilkinson at right tackle.

Gaines was playing in a game for the first time since he tore his ACL in last year’s preseason finale.

Colts 7, Cardinals 0

After a bad punt, Sam Ehlinger threw a 27-yard pass to get in scoring position. Ehlinger scrambled for 10 yards and Tyler Goodson ran eight yards for the touchdown.

Ball out!

After the Cardinals had to punt again, the defense got a turnover. Kei’Trel forced Anthony Gould to fumble after a catch and Dante Stills recovered it, giving the offense the ball at the Indy 45.

Colts 7, Cardinals 3

The Cardinals turned the takeaway into points, but it was an ugly drive. Rookie tackle Christian Jones was flagged on three straight plays for holding. One of them negated a 20-yard run to the two-yard line by rookie running back Trey Benson. They ended up with 2nd-and-33. They settled on a 40-yard field goal to get on the board.

Rabbit interception!

After Blake Gillikin had a 64-yard punt, pinning the Colts inside the 10, the Cardinals forced another turnover. Rookie safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson picked off a pass and gave the offense the ball at the Indianapolis 41 with 1:44 left in the first half.

Clayton Tune tuddy! Cardinals 10, Colts 7

Tune gave the Cardinals the lead before halftime, showing off his athleticism, running 12 yards for the score.

Colts 14, Cardinals 10

Indy opened the second half with a 10-play. 75-yard drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown run by Zavier Scott.

Colts 14, Cardinals 13

Desmond Ridder entered the game at quarterback and led the Cardinals to some points. Michael Carter had a third-down conversion catch but also failed to catch a third-down pass inside the 10, leading to a 27-yard field goal by Matt Prater to pull within a point.

Colts 21, Cardinals 13

Going for it on fourth-and-goal, quarterback Jason Bean ran one yard for a touchdown for the first play of the fourth quarter. It capped a nine-play, 66-yard drive.

Colts missed FG

The Cardinals went three-and-out and then the Colts were aided by a personal foul penalty on third down. But on a play when quarterback Kedon Slovis should have been sacked (Victor Dimukeje couldn’t hold on) and should have been intercepted (Darren Hall couldn’t hold on to the ball), Matt Gay missed a 53-yard field goal wide left, giving the Cardinals the ball at the 43.

Another missed FG

The offense went three-and-out and the Colts had a chance to seal a victory, but Gay missed a 44-yard field goal with 27 seconds left, giving the Cardinals at least a shot to perhaps tie the game.

Penalty ends game, Cardinals lose

After three completions, Dennis Daley had a false start with five seconds remaining in the game. Since the Cardinals had no timeouts remaining, time expired with the required 10-second runoff. The Cardinals lost 21-13.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Watch Cardinals rookie S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson pick off pass vs. Colts

“Rabbit” set the Cardinals up for a go-ahead touchdown at the end of the first half.

Arizona Cardinals rookie safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was one of the standouts in their first preseason game. He added a highlight in the Cardinals’ preseason game on Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts.

He jumped in front of Colts receiver D.J. Montgomery and picked off a pass, getting his feet down before going out of bounds at the Indy 41-yard line.

The play set up a 12-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Clayton Tune to give the Cardinals a 10-7 lead before the end of the first half.

Check out the play!

This would be a continuation of what he did in college at Texas Tech. He had great on-ball production in college.

He picked off 10 passes over the last three seasons in Lubbock, having at least three each season, and broke up 33 passes.

“Rabbit,” as he is known, is making an impact early.

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4 Cardinals non-rookie players to watch in preseason game vs. Colts

These non-rookie Cardinals players are guys to watch in the preseason game against the Colts.

The Arizona Cardinals face the Indianapolis Colts Saturday evening on the road with a 4 p.m. Arizona time kickoff from Lucas Oil Stadium. There are a number of things to watch in the game. There are several rookies to pay attention to.

There are also a few non-rookie Cardinals players to pay attention to. In tonight’s game, these are the non-rookies to watch.

QB Desmond Ridder

Ridder started in the preseason opener but struggled. He also played against starters with a second-team offensive line and skill players. As the Colts will not play their starters, see if Ridder is better in the passing phase. He is a playmaker with his legs.

RB Emari Demercado

Demercado, coming back from a practice injury, did not play last week. He seems to have a spot on the roster secured, but it is a competitive running back room. He needs to continue to make plays as a runner, blocker and special teams player.

WR Dan Chisena

Chisena played late in the game but led the Cardinals in receiving. He is a very good special teams player and is a longshot to make the roster. But between his ability to make plays on special teams and showing out as a receiver, maybe another good showing can put him in contention for a sixth receiver spot on the roster.

OL Jon Gaines (if he plays)

Gaines has been healthy and working his way back from a torn ACL. Sitting out the preseason opener might have been part of the plan for his recovery. Will he get his first game action since tearing his ACL in the preseason finale? If he does, where he plays and how well he plays will matter, as there will be a battle for backup center and guard jobs.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.