It’s a battle of the Arizona Cardinals young gun, Kyler Murray, going against the seasoned veteran from Detroit, Matthew Stafford. Murray wants to make his name known while Stafford wishes to show he knows his game. Who wins?
Other than the paltry three games that the hapless Cardinals won last year, there was one more that may make the difference in 2019 and this game. They earned the dubious honor of selecting the first draft pick for the 2019 NFL Draft. They courted the “hot guy” of the draft, Kyler Murray, from Oklahoma. He’s now the newly crowned golden-child.
wWith that, the dumping of first-round draft pick (10th overall) of the year prior, Josh Rosen, seemed an easy decision.
Once considered their golden-child, Josh Rosen was, suddenly, no longer that, and, worse yet, no longer a Cardinal. Rosen departed unceremoniously to serve as the backup to starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for the Miami Dolphins.
The Cardinals made significant changes last year. From hiring former Texas Tech coach, Kliff Kingsbury, to their drafting of Murray, and the shuttling of Rosen.
Is it enough?
The Lions did not impress in the 2018 season. The hapless Lions ended the season sweeping the floors and clearing the cobwebs of the basement of the NFC North.
Their offseason was but a reflection of their season… they did not impress.
It’s worthy to note that this is the first time that the Lions were last in the NFC North since the drafting of Stafford.
While the Lions hope they can bounce back this season, Arizona presents a challenge. The massive changes make it hard to prep for. Preseason games and game planning are awfully vanilla, so there’s no help there.
Game Info
Date: Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019
Start time: 4:25 p.m. EDT
Location: Glendale, AZ
Stadium: State Farm Stadium
TV Info: FOX
Prediction
This game will come with much hype, as do all season openers. With both the Lions and Cardinals having missed the playoffs, we can safely say that neither team has played this year.
Aged 31 now, Lions signal-caller Matt Stafford feels the door of his opportunity to make his impact on the NFL and Motown. The effect of this can manifest itself in only one of two ways. Will Matt Stafford make rookie mistakes in his quest to leave his mark, or will Murray prove his worth in his opening game?
This game comes down to the QBs. There was nothing done in the offseason by either teams to anything else.
Writing predictions for a first game in a season is difficult. One knows what awaits. As such, it always comes down to the quarterbacks: those generals whose sole job is to direct and execute the game.
Stafford has the advantage. Unfortunately, Murray’s year will be trial by fire. Let’s hope that he can withstand the shots to his confidence and not fall the way of so many rising QBs of the past (Ryan Leaf, Blake Bortles, Sam Bradford, etc.).
For a first game, a first-year coach combined with a rookie quarterback are recipes for failure. Sunday in Glendale, the Lions will feast on the aCardinals.
Final Score: Cardinals 17, Lions 29
