Arizona Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald contributes big in loss

Despite the Arizona Cardinals losing, 24-6, to the Redskins in Week 1, Larry Fitzgerald still contributed to the offense in a big way.

The Arizona Cardinals lost the season opener to the Washington Redskins 24-6. Offensively, the Cardinals did not play efficiently which was a major factor in the Washington victory. One bright spot appears to be that Larry Fitzgerald is still a high-;evel performer.

Fitzgerald was targeted 10 times by quarterback Sam Bradford. He caught seven passes for 76 yards. His longest reception went for 27 yards. If you take a closer look at his receptions, you will see that Fitzgerald was able to still get yardage after the catch.

Fitzgerald’s receiving chart at NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats, gives you a very good idea how his day went. He lined up four times on the left and six times on the right for his receptions. He caught deep passes on both sides.

Overall, two of his receptions were on routes of over 15 yards. The others were dump off passes under 10 yards. Still, Fitzgerald was able to produce almost half of the receiving yards and about 35 percent of the total offense on Sunday

Washington was able to win the battle in the trenches. The Cardinals could not convert on third downs. They were 12 percent, getting the first only once in eight tries. The Cardinals defense was worn down by the Redskins offense, as well. They gave up over 400 yards of combined passing and rushing. However, the defense recorded three sacks, which is a bright spot.

After giving up 21 first half points, the defense settled in to only allow three more in the fourth quarter. Expect Steve Wilks and his staff to make the necessary changes in preparation for the Los Angeles Rams. Nobody likes losing, especially home games.

If it makes you feel better, currently the Cardinals are tied with San Francisco and Seattle in the NFC West division. They lost their first games too. There are 15 games to play.