Cardinal defense leads to road victory over Carolina

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise Brown catches a pass (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

The Arizona Cardinal’s defense was excellent, the offense not so much in the first half. Still, Kyler Murray became much more involved in the second half, and the Cardinals picked up a road victory over the Carolina Panthers by a score of 26-16. 

While Murray made some plays, Vance Joseph’s defense was the day’s story. J.J. Watt(tone setter) and Zach Allen caused havoc all afternoon on Carolina quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Panthers only put up just 220 yards of total offense.

Offensively, Murray found Hollywood Brown for a touchdown pass to give them a 26-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Brown showed why Arizona gave up a first-round pick to acquire him on NFL Draft night. 

The Cardinals were short-handed on special teams, with kicker Matt Prater suffering a hip injury. Former Arizona State Sun Devil Eno Benjamin would handle the kickoff duties in the second half and did so without any problems.

With the win, the Cardinals move to 2-2 on the season and will host the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday in Glendale.