The New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals will play their first game of the season on Sunday, and it should be a good one. The Saints have been great for a long time, but are coming off a disappointing 2014 campaign (along with the rest of the NFC South). The Cardinals have exceeded expectations for two consecutive years and are now expected to be among the NFL's top teams this season.
How to watch Saints vs. Cardinals online 2015: Time, TV schedule and live stream
The New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals will face off on Sunday, and here’s how you can watch it.
As such, many feel the Cardinals will beat the Saints in this opener, but that depends on a lot of things going right -- a lot of things that aren't givens. On the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinals desperately need to keep Carson Palmer upright and healthy. They went far without Palmer last season, which shocked pretty much everyone watching, but that kind of approach is unsustainable.
Arizona won all six of the games Palmer started in 2014. The team averaged over 350 yards of offense for each of those games, and Palmer completed 62.9 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions in that time. He was excellent, but he’s getting up there in age and the Cardinals have had issues in pass protection in recent years.
Fortunately for the Cardinals, the Saints aren't known for their pass rush, especially after parting ways with top pass rusher Junior Galette this offseason. It's only the preseason, but the Saints only managed two sacks for the whole preseason. On top of that, there are two defensive backs making their NFL debuts in Delvin Breaux and Damian Swann. It's safe to say that Palmer and the Cardinals will target those players, and if the Saints can't give them any help with a pass rush, it could be a high-scoring game, at least as far as that side of the ball is concerned.
Arizona's defense is quite a bit better than New Orleans', especially in the pass rush department. Drew Brees has excellent pocket presence and as quick a release as you can find in the NFL, but he'll need a great day out of his offensive line to stay upright for the full game and find his receivers. The Cardinals also have a good secondary, led by cornerback Patrick Peterson.
Peterson will likely be matched up against Brandin Cooks, and that's definitely a matchup to watch. Cooks isn't quite New Orleans' top receiver, but they want him to be sooner rather than later, and Brees will likely be looking for him early and often on Sunday. But Peterson is one of the top cornerbacks in the league, so this is a stiff test for Cooks right out of the gate.
As far as the running backs are concerned, the Saints should have the edge, but the Cardinals have a much better defense and are well-equipped to handle what Mark Ingram provides. Ingram made big strides last season, but it's a tough draw for him in Week 1. Andre Ellington will carry the load for the Cardinals. Durability is his primary concern, but in Week 1 the Cardinals will likely give him plenty of touches. It should be a good game overall.
How to Watch
When: 4:05 p.m. ET
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, Pam Oliver
Online: Verizon NFL Mobile
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