GLENDALE – The Arizona Cardinals spent over $100 million in total contracts this offseason on the defensive line. $77.4 million to edge Josh Sweat, $29 million to Dalvin Tomlinson, $6 million to Calais Campbell and multiple former first-rounders on the defensive line. All those numbers and resources were put to use in the team’s Week 1 game against the New Orleans Saints, which equated to one sack and three tackles for loss.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!A underwhelming performance from big free agent signing Sweat, who only had one tackle and one quarterback hit in the season opener. The lackluster performance could cost coaches to panic, but not head coach Jonathan Gannon as he believes it was just New Orleans head coach Kellen Moore’s gameplan.
Sep 7, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore and Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon hug and talk before the game at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Gannon postgame on Cardinals pass rush having a slow game in Week 1:
“I thought it was a function on how well [the Saints] are coached. Kellen and his staff did a really good job of not letting us rush, and that’s real in a game. But when they do that, you can’t give up explosive [plays]. You should keep the score down, and that’s what we did.”
Sep 7, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Baron Browning (5) tackles New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Moore and his staff game planned against Arizona’s strong pass rush by running plenty of no-huddle, fast-pace offense. The Saints offense was trying to tire out the defensive line and not allow them to sub out to limit the amount of pressures quarterback Spencer Rattler faced.
Rattler abused the underneath, quick routes like slants and curls to get the ball out quick before the D-lineman had a real shot to get to the ball. The 24-year-old have an average passing yards per pass of 4.7, which is extremely low and shows New Orleans’ game plan to get the ball out quick.
Jul 24, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Josh Sweat (10) during training camp at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
While only having three tackles for loss can seem discouraging, it was just the gameplan to limit the Saints explosive plays and scoring. Regardless of the gameplan, investing that much money into a new pass rush for none of them to get a sack or tackle for loss in the first game is tough to digest.
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Reporter Tanner Tortorella covers general assignment for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @TannerTSports
