Cardinals Vow Not To Fall Flat Against Washington

Big Red

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Mar 16, 2019
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If the Cardinals execute, they should be in good shape this season, as the combination Kingsbury's schematics and a deeper roster proved to be a fruitful combination against the 49ers.


Murray was fantastic on the ground, rushing 11 times for 100 yards before a pair of late kneeldowns dropped him under the century mark. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was a game-changer from the jump, while the defense proved stronger than a year ago.


"It's what we expected, honestly," Hopkins said. "That's the way we practice. That's the way we prepare. We knew going out if we followed our game plan and didn't hurt ourselves, we would have a good chance of winning it."


Washington also enters riding high after rallying from a 17-0 deficit to knock off the Eagles, 27-17, in its opener. The defense was phenomenal, sacking Carson Wentz eight times and forcing three turnovers.


"First and second down, we cannot take sacks," Kingsbury said. "Going through the cutups, Philadelphia was in third-and-25, third-and-23, third-and-17, third-and-15, and you're playing right into their hands."


On the flip-side, the Cardinals' defense has a chance to make a statement against Washington's second-year quarterback, Dwayne Haskins, who went 14 selections after Murray in the first round of the 2019 draft.


The Cardinals struggled against opposing quarterbacks last season and weren't great against Jimmy Garoppolo in the opener, so a lockdown game would be encouraging.


"We've added four or five different starters, so we should be better, but after watching the game on Sunday, we're not there yet," defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. "Good defenses don't give up (76-yard) touchdowns. Good defenses don't get penalties in critical moments."


Despite the issues, the Cardinals not only stood toe-to-toe with the reigning NFC Super Bowl participant, but came away with the victory.


For the first time in a few years, the Cardinals seemingly have the personnel to be competitive week in and week out, provided they are mentally sharp.


"We didn't necessarily consider ourselves underdogs (against the 49ers)," running back Kenyan Drake said. "Getting a victory on their home turf was pretty sweet because of what we felt like we left on the table last year. So it was definitely a good step in the right direction, and now we're going to focus on the Washington Football Team.


"They won against a great team in the Philadelphia Eagles, and watching that tape, they were very impressive. We definitely want to make sure we don't overlook them, because they can come in and wreak havoc on our home turf."

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