Analysis: Defensive big plays carry Arizona Cardinals to long-awaited home win over Saints

Smiles, laughter, handshakes and general happiness ruled the Arizona Cardinals' postgame locker room Thursday night. The Cardinals made enough key plays on offense and defense to finally win a home game, and for one night, all of the issues the team has had were put aside in victory.

A defense that has been the best unit on the field for the Arizona Cardinals this season got off to a rough start and didn't exactly finish well, but two big defensive plays in between were the difference makers in Arizona's 42-34 win over the New Orleans Saints at State Farm Stadium.

Marco Wilson and Isaiah Simmons returned interceptions for touchdowns in the second quarter, and the Cardinals scored 22 unanswered points to take control of a game they had to win for a number of reasons.

"Those back to back (interceptions) really turned it in our tide, and for the first time all season, we could really play with the lead and lean on it and it definitely helped," Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said.

In winning, the Cardinals put an emphatic end to an eight-game home losing streak that started late last season. They improved to 3-4 in 2022 and at worst will remain one game out of first place in the NFC West at week's end.

The Cardinals also showed a pulse on offense, sparked by the return of star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who had a big night on primetime television.

"Today obviously was a success. The main goal is to win. So for me, if I had 10 catches and 10 yards, if we won the game, I would still be very ecstatic," Hopkins said.

With the score tied at 14 in the second quarter and momentum with the Cardinals, who trailed 14-6, Wilson caught a ball off the hands of the Saints' Marquez Callaway and cruised to the end zone, flying over the goal line with a dive into the end zone.

"That's a great way for us to finish that second quarter, and I think that gave us great momentum to come out here and finish the game in the second half," Wilson said.

On the very next Saints possession, quarterback Andy Dalton, pressured by Cardinals rookie Cameron Thomas, threw wobbly over the middle to Simmons, who broke free for a 56-yard touchdown return. The Cardinals succeeded on a two-point conversion, and took a 28-14 lead to halftime.

"Two interceptions alone in the game, back to back, is a momentum changer ... but when you have to pick-sixes back to back, that hasn't happened very much in football," Simmons said. "There's got to be a stat out there for that but it definitely was a big turn for us. That gets our offense going, that gets our defense going."

Playing with the second-largest lead they have held all season, the Cardinals' defense kept the Saints from a comeback while the offense padded the lead.

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State Farm Stadium, save for the ecstatic Saints fans in the stands, was in a state of shock when Dalton connected with Rasheed Shahid for a 53-yard touchdown pass. The Cardinals had been solid in pass coverage all season save for the opener against Kansas City, and on the play, Wilson couldn't catch up in defending Shahid and Byron Murphy Jr. was late to get to the ball.

"I gave up a terrible touchdown. That's on me. But I mean, that's football you know, it's going to happen," Wilson said. "You've just got to bounce back from that, can't get caught up in that and just continue to play like I did."

New Cardinals kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, the second player to replace the injured Matt Prater this season, booted a 50-yard and a 28-yard field goal for the team's first six points of the game. But the Cardinals chose not to go with Blankenship for a short field goal, down 14-6 late in the second quarter.

"It was nice to not have any time to think. Also nice to you know, hit a little bit longer field goal right off the bat to just kind of get your confidence going for the rest of the game," Blankenship said.

Before converting a fourth-and-1 from the Saints' 4-yard line, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury appeared to have a heated discussion in which Murray appeared to shout at his coach to "calm the (expletive) down." But Keaontay Ingram scored on a two-yard run soon afterward.

The exchange wasn't more than a heat-of-battle, difference of opinion situation, Murray and Kingsbury indicated.

There were some notable performances on offense. Hopkins, in his first game after serving a six-game suspension, was a major force with 10 catches for a team-leading 103 yards on 14 targets. Ingram scored his first career NFL touchdown and displayed some hard running, and Eno Benjamin put the game away with a short touchdown run with 6:22 to play.

Benjamin had 12 carries for 92 yards on the day and added a two-point conversion.

New wide receiver Robbie Anderson didn't register a catch but saw his first action since being traded for earlier this week. Billy Price made his first start at center and outside of a low shotgun snap after which the Cardinals scored a touchdown, appeared to handle things well in place of injured starter Rodney Hudson.

Greg Dortch, who did not have a catch the past two games, caught his second touchdown of the season in the third quarter to put the Cardinals up by 18 points. Cody Ford got his first action of the season after coming off injured reserve, replacing Max Garcia during the game at left guard.  And cornerback Antonio Hamilton picked off the first of three Dalton interceptions with a takeaway in the end zone in the first quarter, a huge play with the Saints ahead 7-3 and threatening to go up by even more.

Hamilton only a couple of weeks ago returned from severe feet burns from a life-threatening kitchen fire in his home, and on Thursday got his first career interception, as did Wilson.

Not everything was perfect on both sides of the ball, as the defense gave up some big plays and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the offense bogged down in the red zone early in the game. But Murray was efficient with 204 passing yards and a touchdown, adding 30 rushing yards. And an offense that managed just three points Sunday in Seattle responded with 30 points Thursday, its best output of the season.

The Cardinals needed to recover a pair of late onside kicks to seal the win, which they did.

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Defensive big plays carry Arizona Cardinals to long-awaited home win over Saints