The preseason is complete for the Arizona Cardinals. They finish 1-2 as they lose to the Tennessee Titans 26-23 Saturday night.
They took an early lead, fell behind and took the lead in the second half, but the Titans scored a go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute left and the Cardinals’ young players were unable to put together an end-of-game drive to win the game.
A number of players stood out in the loss.
How did the game go down? Read on for the recap.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Latest show:
Previous shows:
and
Starting defense
The Cardinals dress only 43 players and start the game on defense.
Here is the lineup:
- DL Jonathan Ledbetter
- DL Christian Ringo
- DL Antwaun Woods
- OLB Cameron Thomas
- OLB Myjai Sanders
- ILB Zaven Collins
- ILB Tanner Vallejo
- CB Josh Jackson
- CB Marco Wilson
- S Deionte Thompson
- S James Wiggins
CB Jace Whittaker is the slot corner.
Cam Thomas first sack!
CAM THOMAS 💪 pic.twitter.com/tdujnUNCkx
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 27, 2022
The Cardinals’ first third-round selection gets his first sack of the preseason. He gets Titans quarterback Malik Willis on second down, forcing a third-and-long and that leads to a punt on the Titans’ first possession.
Offensive starting lineup
The Cardinals start with this lineup:
- QB Trace McSorley
- RB Eno Benjamin
- WR Andy Isabella
- WR Greg Dorth
- WR Victor Bolden
- TE Trey McBride
- LT Josh Jones
- LG Cody Ford
- C Sean Harlow
- RG Rashaad Coward
- RT Josh Miles
Cardinals 7, Titans 0
Enooo pic.twitter.com/TqeizLMNsc
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) August 27, 2022
The Cardinals strike first and go 89 yards in 11 plays, maintaining possession for nearly seven and a half minutes.
Eno Benjamin makes a very nice catch and Andy Isabella has three receptions. Darrel Williams punches it in for the touchdown from one yard out.
Treylon Burks hurt
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1563672556493672449
The Titans’ first-round pick, receiver Treylon Burks, has suffered an injury. He leaves the game and is questionable to return.
OL Rashaad Coward hurt
Coward officially out for the game with a chest injury. S Charles Washington left last week's game with a similar injury.
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 27, 2022
Coward injures his chest and will not return to the game. The Cardinals are down a lineman the rest of the way.
Cardinals 7, Titans 6
Showing off that @EAMaddenNFL speed 💨 @malikwillis
📺: Watch #AZvsTEN on @WKRN pic.twitter.com/eVsTJB52LS
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) August 27, 2022
The Titans get on the board with a rushing touchdown. It is set up by a 50-yard scramble by quarterback Malik Willis. They go for two and Willis is sacked by safety Tae Daley and linebacker Ben Niemann.
Titans 13, Cardinals 7
https://twitter.com/Titans/status/1563684416781705216
Burks returns from his wrist injury and scores a touchdown on a 14-yard pass play from Malik Willis. After a false start on the two-point attempt, they convert on the extra point.
Titans 13, Cardinals 10
All he does is make plays.@_GDortch x #BirdCityFootball pic.twitter.com/Bl98ItlXUh
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 28, 2022
After the Titans’ touchdown, the Cardinals run a two-minute drill to perfection. Greg Dortch makes a great catch and adds a second that gets them in field goal range and the half ends with a 42-yard field goal.
The Cardinals receive the second-half kickoff.
Titans 16, Cardinals 10
The Cardinals turn the ball over on downs in Tennessee territory and then the Titans extend the lead with a 51-yard field goal. Malik Willis completes a 26-yard pass on the drive.
Cardinals 17, Titans 16
https://twitter.com/PHNX_Cardinals/status/1563694477759221762
Jarrett Guarantano enters the game at quarterback and lets Andy Isabella make a play. Isabella’s 74-yard catch-and-run play got the Cardinals inside the five and then Guarantano finds Greg Dortch for a touchdown pass to give the Cardinals the lead.
Isabella now has eight receptions for 115 yards.
INT!
James Wiggins intercepts the tipped pass, deflected by LB Ben Niemann, and the Cardinals take over at the TENN 30.
— José M. Romero (@RomeroJoseM) August 28, 2022
After the Cardinals’ touchdown to take the lead, the defense makes a big play. Willis’ pass is tipped by linebacker Ben Niemann and safety James Wiggins makes a one-handed interception to take the ball away.
Cardinals 20, Titans 16
The Cardinals aren’t able to do much with the ball offensively after Wiggins’ interception. They are penalized for a false start and don’t pick up a first down, but Matt Prater drills a 53-yard field goal to extend the Cardinals’ lead to four points.
Cardinals muff punt
Former USFL receiver/returner Victor Bolden muffs a punt to give the ball back to the Titans.
The defense has two straight sacks to force the punt but Bolden’s miscue gives the Titans the ball again.
Cardinals 20, Titans 19
After the muffed punt, the Cardinals’ defense holds. They don’t sack Willis but hit him twice and the Titans have to settle for a 51-yard field goal.
Cardinals 23, Titans 19
The Cardinals tack on three points with a 42-yard field goal from Matt Prater. The drive takes four minutes off the clock and Jarrett Guarantano connects with Victor Bolden for a beautiful 37-yard pass play.
Titans 26, Cardinals 23
The Titans take the lead with 52 seconds left in the game on a Logan Woodside nine-yard touchdown scramble on fourth down.
Game over
Jarrett Guarantano cannot rally the Cardinals for a game-winning drive. After getting flagged for intentional grounding, the game ends with him being sacked.
