Preview Week One: New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals

Two teams with a lot of question marks surrounding them face off in Week 1, as the New Orleans Saints head to Arizona to face the Cardinals on Sunday.

With injuries and teams that have made several changes in the offseason, here’s a look at the game in Arizona.

Preview:

Arizona Cardinals

Last season, the Cardinals finished the season 11-5, despite heavy uncertainty at the quarterback decision. 

After Carson Palmer tore his ACL and Drew Stanton suffered an injury of his own, Ryan Lindley was thrown into the spotlight and did not end up producing, as the Cardinals fell to the Carolina Panthers in the playoffs.

This season, Palmer starts the season healthy and the Cardinals are hoping to see progression from receivers John Brown and Michael Floyd, as well as running back Andre Ellington.

While the Cardinals defense is still one of the better defenses in the NFL, they lost key players in Antonio Cromartie and Darnell Dockett.

However, the Cardinals still have Patrick Peterson and Tyrann “The Honey Badger” Mathieu.

The Cardinals are still a great team and will be a tough matchup for the Saints.

New Orleans Saints

Last season, the Saints were part of a mediocre NFC South and finished 7-9, completely underachieving on expectations.

This season, the Saints are not necessarily a better team, as they lost key playmakers during the offseason in Jimmy Graham and Pierre Thomas.

Graham was a Pro Bowl tight end and was arguable Drew Brees’ favorite target.

However, the Saints did add C.J. Spiller, who looks to try to replicate what Darren Sproles did in New Orleans.

The Saints are hoping that receiver Brandin Cooks and the entire Saints defense can grow and improve from last season.

While the Saints may be a drastically different team this season, they still can go back to being the dominant force that ruled the NFC South for several years.

Key Factors

For the Cardinals, the loss of Antonio Cromartie is going to hurt their secondary, but any defense the has Patrick Peterson can rely on him to shut down the opposing team’s top option, whether it’s Brandin Cooks or Marques Colston.

Also, Cardinals wide receiver Michael Floyd is a game-time decision against the Saints due to a finger injury.

When it comes down to it, while both teams lost several key pieces during the offseason, the Arizona Cardinals have the better defense and have Carson Palmer back as their quarterback.

Last season, before Palmer’s injury, the Cardinals went 8-1. Look for the Cardinals to bring their success that they had last season under Palmer to this season, starting against the Saints.

The Prediction: Cardinals win 27 – 24.