Dealing Cards: D.J. Swearinger crushes Jets’ Charone Peake with hit

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The New York Jets, trailing 21-3, were driving and at the Arizona 33 when QB Ryan Fitzpatrick dropped back and fired a pass over the middle to receiver Charone Peake.

Peake snagged the catch but was immediately drilled by Cardinals safety D.J. Swearinger, who knocked the ball loose and electrified the University of Phoenix Stadium crowd all at once. The Cardinals did not win the game 28-3 because of that play, but it will be one of the most talked about sequences from the Monday Night Football outing.

It was as hard a hit as you will see, and it was legal, too.

South Carolina on Clemson crime as D.J. Swearinger lights up Charone Peake. Glad Peake is Ok. pic.twitter.com/i3NVvNEMcG

— Matt Connolly (@MattatTheState) October 18, 2016

At least, there were no penalty flags thrown on the play.

“You’ve got to see it before it happens,” Swearinger said. “I’d seen a certain route that we were expecting to get. I was hoping he’d throw it — I was actually hoping he’d throw it a little later so I could get an interception, but he threw it when he threw it and I had to make him pay for it.”

And pay, Peake did.

“It’s tough out there, man,” Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “You go across that middle, it’s part of the game. I’m happy he was able to get up from it, but that’s part of it. You go across there, somebody could lay a hat on you. It’s happened to me many a time.”

The receiver ended up leaving with a chest injury and was captured by TV cameras spitting out blood after taking a hit. Swearinger essentially launched himself into the unsuspecting player, though he did hit him below the shoulders.

In an era where defensive players have to balance playing aggressively with not being flagged, it was a satisfying moment for the safety.

“It feels great,” Swearinger said. “My second year in the league, they put a little, I guess a target on my back for the next 15 games, so it’s good to come in and hit the correct way, not get fined, not get a penalty, and play the next play.”

Known to be a big hitter with an intimidating presence, Swearinger went on to end the drive with an interception of Fitzpatrick in the end zone.

“I guess I showed everything on that one drive,” he said. “I’m thankful for it; I’m blessed.”

Injury update

The only Cardinals who left the game with apparent injuries were QB Carson Palmer and receiver Jaron Brown. Palmer (strained hamstring) said it wasn’t serious — just cramps after some long drives — but as for Brown’s injury, coach Bruce Arians said they’ll have to wait and see, though after the game he seemed optimistic.

“He’s in x-ray right now and it appears it’s not as serious as it looked,” Arians said.

Mathieu makes a play

Last week against San Francisco, Tyrann Mathieu found himself back in the slot. It was the role he held last season before tearing his ACL, and one in which he excelled.

He had his struggles against the 49ers and afterward said he had to get the feel for coverage back. On Monday, he again was in the slot, and was again — at times — picked on.

However, Mathieu finished with a team-leading six tackles, notched two passes defensed and also got an interception in the fourth quarter. On the play he raced down the field with the ball and was ruled out of bounds roughly 30 yards before he was eventually tackled.

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Mathieu said. “Even that series before (the interception), I was getting a lot of snag routes, a lot of pick routes, a lot of underneath routes. Teams are trying to see if I can go laterally, so I just have to work on that — continue to work on that — but it felt good to get my hands on the ball.

“And I stayed in bounds, by the way. But it felt good to get a pick.”

It capped an eventful night for Mathieu, who earned a delay of game penalty following Swearinger’s big hit after picking up the bouncing ball and running with it before tossing it away when the pass was ruled incomplete. And then, after his interception, he threw the ball into the stands.

“Well, I’ve got to pay that fine now,” he said. “That sucks.”

Mathieu said it’s OK, though, because it’s all about emotion. That’s a big part of his game, and for the most part, he started to look like himself again.

“I thought Ty was flying around good,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. “He’s still getting used to covering man-to-man down there and they got him a few times, but he got them back.”

First quarter points? First quarter points!

It had become a storyline that would not go away, at least until it was no longer a storyline.

Through the first five games, the Cardinals had failed to score points in the opening 15 minutes. No touchdowns, no field goals. Nada.

Then, Monday night, David Johnson ran 58 yards for a score on the team’s second possession. Goodbye, storyline.

“We finally scored in the first quarter,” Arians said with a smile.

Receiver Larry Fitzgerald, when answering a question about the team having a complete effort in the win, brought it up, too.

“I think we scored in the first quarter, too,” he said, unprompted. “That was nice.”

Fitzgerald was laughing as he said it.

Hey, with the drought over and a comfortable win, there was little reason not to smile. An offense that was great last season but was underwhelming this year finally got that monkey off its back and while it may not have been a big deal around the team, it was something.

“It felt great,” Johnson said of being the first player to score in the first quarter this season. “Our coach has been harping on us about that ever since last week. ‘We have not scored a touchdown in the first quarter this season.’

“And it felt good to get in the end zone and I felt like that’s actually what started the momentum and that’s what started everyone getting hyped, everyone getting into the game. That is one of the biggest things B.A. says: ‘Come out fast and we have to get a score in the first quarter.’ That’s where it starts.”

And, now, where the storyline of the Cardinals going 0-for-the-first-quarter comes to an end.

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