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New England Patriots upset Arizona Cardinals: Likes and dislikes from Week 1

Published Sep. 12, 2016 7:56 a.m. ET

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Jimmy Garoppolo (10) New England Patriots – Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots pulled off a huge upset of the Arizona Cardinals last night. There were things about the win we liked, and things about the win we weren’t so keen on.

Let’s start with the likes from the Week 1 Patriots win.

LIKE: Jimmy Garoppolo

Everyone is talking about Jimmy Garoppolo this morning, so let’s start the conversation with him. His stat line was as clean as a whistle: 73 percent completion percentage, 264 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. The one knock on Garoppolo’s night was a lost fumble (more on that later).

What was most impressive about Garoppolo was his calmness. Clearly, the Eastern Illinois product had done his due diligence preparing for this showdown. He made his reads, worked through his progressions and delivered throws with good timing. Garoppolo never got happy feet in the pocket, maintaining his poise and finding the right receiver.

This was no easy task, stepping in for a quarterback who had started the previous decade and a half of Patriots openers. Garoppolo did great.

Chris Hogan (15) New England Patriots – Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

LIKE: New pass catchers

Exactly one-third of Garoppolo’s completions went to offseason additions. Chris Hogan (three catches, 60 yards), Malcolm Mitchell (two catches, 33 yards) and Martellus Bennett (three catches, 14 yards) made valuable contributions in the Patriots’ passing game last night. The Patriots wouldn’t have won the game without the strong play of this trio of newcomers.

Hogan’s first catch as a Patriot was better than he could have dreamed of, a 37-yard dart that got the scoring started. Hogan possesses surprising speed to compliment his 6-foot-1 frame and tight route running.

Mitchell dropped the first pass that went his way, but he made up for the blunder by securing a much-needed 28-yard grab. This kid is promising.

Last but not least, Bennett was a reliable target for Garoppolo in the short-yardage passing game, picking up a big first down in the first half.

Meanwhile, incumbent pass catchers Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and James White were excellent as well, combining for 154 yards between the three of them. Jimmy’s got help in all directions.

Chris Long (95) New England Patriots – Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

LIKE: Pressure on Carson Palmer

The Patriots did an excellent job of putting pressure on Carson Palmer last night. On the stat sheet, you will see that Vincent Valentine, Jamie Collins and Chris Long earned sacks, and each of those plays were integral in the Patriots’ victory.

Of course, the pass rush could have done better; there were plays in which Palmer evaded the rush and found an open receiver. But for the most part, the baseline amount of steady pressure on the opposing quarterback helped the Patriots keep pace with such a high-octane offense.

Good on Valentine for earning a sack in his NFL debut. The rookie pushed out veterans Markus Kuhn and Terrance Knighton in the preseason, and it looks like the Patriots made the right decision there.

As for Collins, we expect the fourth-year pro to contend for Defensive Player of the Year and corralling a sack in Week 1 is a good start.

Jimmy Garoppolo (10) New England Patriots – Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

LIKE: Protection of Jimmy G

Garoppolo had some help from his offensive line last night, which is noteworthy because the starting five was a rag tag bunch to say the least. The unit wasn’t perfect, but they deserve credit for limiting the fierce Arizona pass rush to just two sacks in the contest.

At the guard spots, draft picks Joe Thuney and Ted Karras locked it down. Thuney played like a seasoned veteran all training camp and has been a projected starter for some time now, but Karras was a surprise injection into the starting lineup with Jonathan Cooper being held out.

On the edges, Marcus Cannon and Cameron Fleming exceeded expectations. Fleming was matched up against former teammate Chandler Jones all night, but he held his own, limiting the ferocious pass rusher to just one sack.

If this makeshift offensive line can hold up under such harsh conditions in Week 1, imagine what they will look like with Nate Solder and Cooper in the lineup.

David Johnson (31) Arizona Cardinals – Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

There were two big dislikes from the Patriots’ Week 1 win that need to be pointed out. For starters…

DISLIKE: Fumbles

Garoppolo may not have thrown an interception, but his first half fumble was a major eyesore. More than anything, the fumble was a reminder that Garoppolo has next to no starting experience and will need some time to gain that awareness of his surroundings that all the good starting quarterbacks have.

Good on Garoppolo for shaking off the mistake and maintaining his cool en route to a very impressive overall performance.

DISLIKE: Poor tackling of David Johnson

On David Johnson’s 45-yard scramble, over half of the Patriots’ defense had a chance to bring down the running back but failed to. He was bottled up in the backfield, but poor setting of the edge allowed for the sophomore pro to slip free, and it took a heroic effort on Devin McCourty to save a touchdown.

That wasn’t the only instance of the Patriots lacking in the tackling department last night, making this a big dislike from the victory.

But on the whole, it was a memorable night and a great start to the season.

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