3 Takeaways From Arizona Cardinals Preseason Game (Week 1)

On Saturday evening, the Arizona Cardinals played their first preseason game of the 2018, beating the Chargers 24-17.

As far as preseason games go, the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Arizona Cardinals game was very entertaining. There were big names from both sides, a lot of big plays, and most importantly, it was real, live football.

The Cardinals drew first blood with an impressive first drive orchestrated by starting quarterback Sam Bradford. He completed both passes he attempted, one to Ricky Seals-Jones and one to Larry Fitzgerald. Rookie running back Chase Edmonds capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown but David Johnson did most of the heavy lifting on the march. On his only two carries, Johnson notched 28 yards with two separate 14-yard scampers.

Rookie quarterback Josh Rosen took over until the end of the first half, followed by veteran Mike Glennon (more on that later) and rookie Charles Kanoff in the second half. Kanoff threw a 14-yard touchdown to Bryce Williams in the fourth quarter.

For the most part, both sides got solid play at the most important position: quarterback. Besides the Cardinals’ signal callers, the Chargers trotted out two big-name backups in Cardale Jones (Ohio State) and Geno Smith (West Virginia). In this day and age, you can be sure both sides are optimistic about their QB situations after what they saw.

Having said all that, the Cardinals were able to edge out the Chargers by a score of 24-17.  Other scores came on a Matt McCrane field goal and a defensive touchdown by Jeremy Cash.

Here, we’ll take a look at a few notable themes from the game.