Big Red Recap: Cardinals rebound from Week 1 loss, beat Buccaneers

Good teams don’t lose two in a row.

The Arizona Cardinals believe they’re a good team. And they showed it in Week 2.

Carson Palmer passed for three scores and 308 yards while the defense forced five turnovers, including a pick-six by cornerback Marcus Cooper, as the Cardinals rebounded from a disappointing season-opening performance with a 40-7 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and Jarron Brown were on the receiving end of the Palmer touchdowns, each of which came in the first half as the Cardinals jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Cooper sealed the victory with his 60-yard interception return, one of five turnovers on the day by the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

After a four-touchdown performance in Atlanta, Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston threw four interceptions and fumbled. He was 27-of-52 for 243 yards.

Palmer finished 18-of-31.

David Johnson totaled 143 all-purpose yards.

The Cardinals avoided falling to 0-2, which would’ve been their worst start since 2005.

THE GOOD

It’s early, but Fitzgerald already has three touchdown catches this season, a third of his total from a year ago. His third came on a first-down pass from Palmer in which he was interfered with. It was good for four yards and a 7-0 Arizona lead at the 14:54 mark of the second quarter. It was Fitzgerald’s 101st career touchdown reception, eighth-best on the NFL’s all-time touchdown receptions list. On the drive, Palmer was 6-of-7 for 56 yards.

Twice in the first half, the Cardinals intercepted Winston. First, Patrick Peterson got him on a deep ball intended for Mike Evans in the end zone and then Cooper, playing just his second defensive snap of the season, picked off a pass intended for Vincent Jackson. The Cardinals converted the latter into points. Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 22-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 at the 11:44 mark of the second quarter.

In the last three minutes of the first half, the Cardinals scored twice in the span of 70 seconds. First, Palmer found Floyd open in the back of the end zone and then he fired deep to Jaron Brown. It was a 51-yard pass play, a career-long touchdown reception for Brown, that put the Cardinals up 24-0 with 20 seconds remaining in the first half. Palmer’s three first-half touchdowns were a career-first as a Cardinal. He did so seven times with Cincinnati.

In for all of two offensive snaps in the season opener, Chris Johnson saw much more playing time in Week 2 and made the most of it. He scored from three yards out, capping an eight-play, 65-yard drive in 4:47 to essentially put the game out of reach, 40-7 at the 12:11 mark of the fourth quarter. On the drive, the Cardinals converted a 3rd-and-4 with David Johnson’s 24-yard catch. It was his third reception of the game.

THE BAD

There were not many first-half negatives for the Cardinals — it was another story for the Bucs. Not only was Tampa Bay blanked through the first two quarters, but the offense was held to 92 total yards (27 rushing) on 34 plays and turned the ball over three times. Plus, the Buccaneers lost running back Doug Martin early in the second quarter with what was announced as a hamstring injury. Martin only carried seven times for 23 yards.

Coming out of the locker room for the second half, the Buccaneers looked nothing like the Buccaneers of the first half. They marched 75 yards on 11 plays, including one third-down conversion, in 4:59 for their first scoring drive of the game that concluded with a 19-yard pass by Winston to Evans, who beat Peterson in coverage. The drive, however, probably should’ve ended several plays earlier as Peterson dropped a sure interception.

STAT OF THE GAME

16: The Cardinals scored 16 points off of five Winston turnovers. The Cardinals now have seven takeaways in two games.

HE SAID IT

“I thought our guys had a good week of practice,” head coach Bruce Arians said. “We cut it loose … played with a lot more confidence.”

NOTED

– Calais Campbell (unknown injury) and D.J. Swearinger (concussion) left the game in the third quarter. They each returned.

– Cooper’s pick-six was the 16th defensive touchdown and 12th interception by the Cardinals since the start of 2013, the most in the NFL.

– Fitzgerald caught a four-yard pass on the first play to extend his streak of at least one reception to 181 consecutive games.

– Palmer recorded his 17th 300-yard passing effort with the Cardinals. Only Kurt Warner (22) and Neil Lomax (19) have more.

– Palmer passed Hall of Famer Joe Montana (40,551) and moved into 16th place on the NFL’s all-time passing yardage list.

– Palmer earned his 30th win as Cardinals quarterback, becoming the fifth signal-caller in franchise history with 30+ victories.

– Arians tied Jimmy Conzelman and Charley Winner for fourth place on the franchise all-time wins list with 35. He is 20-6 at home.

– The Cardinals last had three different players catch first-half touchdown passes seven years ago: Nov. 8, 2009, at Chicago.

– The Cardinals moved to 26-6 against teams outside the NFC West (5-2 vs. NFC South) since the start of the 2013 season.

– Among the Cardinals’ inactives were defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche (ankle), who showed up on the injury report Friday.

– In honor of the late Nancy Bidwill, wife of owner Bill Bidwill, decals with her initials will be worn on the helmets of all players.

UP NEXT

After back-to-back home games, the Cardinals will hit the road for the first time this season.

They travel to Buffalo to tackle the Bills on Sunday, Sept. 25. Kickoff is scheduled for 10 a.m. with pregame coverage beginning four hours earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Cardinals have lost five of the past six matchups, including most recently four years ago at then-Ralph Wilson Stadium, which is now called New Era Field.

In fact, the Cardinals have won just once in Buffalo, the first-ever meeting in 1971, 28-23.

The Bills lead the all-time series 6-4.

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