The Arizona Cardinals once again got off to a slow offensive start and trail the Denver Broncos 14-3 at halftime of their preseason finale.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Cardinals (0-2) started Clayton Tune at quarterback for the second-straight game, and he stayed in the whole half, as the backup quarterback battles continues between him and Desmond Ridder, who will play in the second half. Arizona once again played very few projected starters.
Jarrett Stidham started at quarterback for one drive for the Broncos (2-0), who were also resting a lot of starters, including first-round rookie QB Bo Nix. Zach Wilson came in for Stidham after his first drive.
Matt Prater missed a 55-yard field goal left on the opening drive of the game for the Cardinals, which was highlighted by 21 rushing yards by Tony Jones Jr. The Broncos responded with a 55-yard drive capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Audric Estime with 6:44 left in the first quarter.
The Broncos then forced a Cardinals punt on their next offensive possession after Tune was sacked on a third and 11. On Wilson’s first drive of the game, Cardinals cornerback Kei’Trel Clark had a couple nice plays on the drive, and cornerback Elijah Jones recorded a tackle for loss on a third and one to force a Denver punt.
Tune and the Arizona offense once again could not get anything going on the next drive, and they trailed 7-0 after the first quarter, punting the ball away after a three-and-out to begin the next quarter. Tune completed 5-of-7 passes for 30 yards and was sacked twice in the first period.
Despite an offensive pass interference penalty to begin the next Denver drive, a Wilson 21-yard scramble set up a 10-play, 76-yard drive that ended with Wilson finding Nate Adkins for a three-yard touchdown to give Denver a 14-0 lead with 8:35 to go in the second quarter. Jones (ankle) and cornerback Divaad Wilson (wrist) went down with injuries for the Cardinals on the drive, but Wilson later returned.
After Arizona got the ball back, Tune had his best play of the day, finding undrafted Colorado wide receiver Xavier Weaver for a 43-yard gain while rolling right to avoid pressure on the second play of the possession. The Cardinals advanced the ball all the way to a goal-to-go situation after Tune connected with Weaver again for a 13-yard completion, but Jones was blown up after a third-down catch and fumbled the ball away and Denver took over at its 11-yard line. Jones suffered a shoulder injury on the play and won’t return (per Arizona Cardinals reporter Darren Urban).
deeeeeeep ball for @thtkidzayy!
????: #AZvsDEN on CBS pic.twitter.com/RvhOeyxtlu
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 25, 2024
The Broncos could not capitalize on the turnover and were forced to punt it away to the Cardinals with 1:43 remaining in the half. Cardinals linebacker Chris Garrett had a nice six-yard tackle for loss on the drive, stuffing a pitch play right away.
Tune looked composed and orchestrated a 45-yard drive to set up a 50-yard field goal for Matt Prater as time expired, giving the Cardinals their first points of the game. Arizona was down 14-3 at the half.
Tune had 12 completions on 17 attempts for 120 yards. Jones rushed seven times for 29 yards and Weaver hauled in two receptions for 56 yards. The Cardinals’ most notable stat defensively was five quarterback hits by five different players and three tackles for loss.
Report: Cardinals 1st-round pick has ‘multi-week’ calf injury
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
