The Arizona Cardinals took off early and never looked back in what was thought to be a close game between them and the Washington Football Team. Despite an impressive Week 1 performance from Washington, their defense could not contain Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense as Arizona sailed to a comfortable victory.
Arizona jumped out to a quick lead after Murray found DeAndre Hopkins on a four-yard touchdown pass. Murray then followed up with a 14-yard rushing touchdown to end the first quarter. Murray used his athleticism all game long, and Washington could not get a lot of pressure this week, only getting three sacks compared to the eight they had last week. Washington rookie Chase Young would be one of the few players to capitalize and picked up another sack.
Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake would add 86 yards on the ground on 20 carries, while Hopkins led the team in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (76). Murray would throw for 286 yards, one touchdown, and would rush for 67 yards and two more touchdowns.
Washington was able to slow down the Cardinals in the second half, outscoring them 15-10, but it was too little too late. The Cardinals would win 30-15 after shutting out Washington in the first half. Washington running back Antonio Gibson turned it on late and scored his first career rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Gibson would finish the day with 55 rushing yards on 13 carries.
Wideout Terry McLaurin was in sync with quarterback Dwayne Haskins catching seven passes for 125 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown. Haskins would finish 19-33, with 233 yards, and one touchdown. While the Washington offense got hot late, similar to last week, they were down 20-3 going into the fourth quarter, which was too big of a margin to overcome.
Highlights
https://twitter.com/AZCardinals/status/1307783222651056129
Murray rushes 14 yards to score the Cardinals’ second touchdown of the day.
https://twitter.com/AZCardinals/status/1307791020264890368
Murray drops a 49-yard dime to wideout Christian Kirk.
7⃣ ➡️1⃣7⃣
📺: #WASvsAZ FOX pic.twitter.com/MzAKEzPJ7D
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) September 20, 2020
Haskins finds his wideout on the slant route, and McLaurin takes it to the house.
With another win this week, the Cardinals look to be serious competitors in the NFC West after easily handling Washington this week with an improved defensive performance. Washington on the other hand, showcased that they might have taken advantage of a hobbled Week 1 opponent. Their defense will need to be more consistent and will need to get things going quicker on offense if they want to compete this season. Washington offensive guard Brandon Scherff walked gingerly off the field before halftime and did not return. This is a big loss for a below average offensive line.
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Main Image Credit:
Embed from Getty Images
