The Arizona Cardinals ended their two-game losing streak Thursday night and improved to 3-4 on the season with a 42-34 win over the New Orleans Saints at State Farm Stadium.
There was a lot to like and there were still many things not to like.
They had their highest-scoring game since Kliff Kingsbury was hired.
What can we take away from the game?
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New starters
The Cardinals quietly had a couple of changes in the starting lineup on Thursday.
At center, with Rodney Hudson still out with a knee injury, Sean Harlow did not get the start as he had the last two weeks. Instead, it was Billy Price.
At outside linebacker on defense, Markus Golden did not get the start. It was second-year pro Victor Dimukeje.
Confidence in the kicker
After what felt like two disastrous weeks of kicking with Matt Ammendola, the Cardinals had a pretty good outing from Rodrigo Blankenship.
On their first drive, he made a 50-yard field goal, which probably breathed some life into fans.
He also made a 28-yard field goal and two extra points. He did miss one but hitting the 50-yarder did wonders.
The defense was worse but made more big plays
Does that make sense?
The Cardinals did not have a great overall defensive performance. They allowed a season-high 494 yards to the Saints. They allowed 34 points.
The Saints converted 6-of-13 third downs. They allowed nine plays of 15 yards or more and three plays of 40 yards or more.
Chris Olave had over 100 receiving yards.
They did not have a sack.
In previous games, the Cardinals had been fairly stingy but weren’t making big plays.
On Thursday, it was the opposite. They picked off three passes and returned two for touchdowns. That changed the tide of the game.
Now, much of the Saints’ yardage came after the Cardinals were up by three scores and they went into more soft coverage, but New Orleans moved the ball really well.
Big game from DeAndre Hopkins
We expected a big game in his debut. He delivered.
He caught 10 passes for 103 yards and drew three defensive holding penalties. Things offensively just looked easier.
But the offense still wasn't good
The Cardinals only had 326 yards of offense. They were 3-of-10 on third down.
Kyler Murray only had 204 passing yards. Outside of Hopkins, there were only 10 receptions made.
But Eno Benjamin was very good
Kliff Kingsbury said in the offseason that Benjamin looked like he could be a starting running back.
He played like it on Thursday.
He had 92 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, including an explosive 45-yard run.
He also caught four passes for 21 yards, giving him 113 total yards on the evening.
A night of firsts
It was Hopkins’ first game of the year. It was the Cardinals’ first home win of the season. It was their first 40-point game under Kingsbury.
Three players had some big firsts, too.
Antonio Hamilton’s first-quarter end-zone interception was the first of his NFL career. He has been in the league since 2016.
Marco Wilson’s interception was the first of his career and then he scored his first NFL touchdown.
Isaiah Simmons scored for the first time in his career with his pick-six.
Keaontay Ingram’s touchdown run was the first score of his young NFL career.
Better feeling entering the mini-bye
While everything is not great with the Cardinals this season still, the win took a weight off of everyone’s shoulders. They no longer have to answer questions about the losing streak at home. They get the weekend off and the fanbase can collectively let their breath out.
It looked like things are finally going in the right direction.
