Johnson, Cardinals roll past listless Jets 28-3

And it might have just saved their season.

The Cards dominated the game from the start, and sent the Jets to a 1-5 record to start the season.

While veteran wide receiver Michael Floyd wasn’t as much a part of Arizona’s game plan last night, the Cardinals found success in the intermediate passing game by targeting third-year wideout John Brown. The pass-interference call came in the second quarter and helped set up the Cardinals’ second touchdown.

“The game was 28-3 with eight minutes left in the game”, Bowles said.

No. 12 killed a long Jets drive on the next-to-last-play of the third quarter on a third-and-seven from the Arizona 14. Arians countered by going short.

How did Brandon Marshall catch that football?

“Questionable or not, four penalties are four penalties”, Bowles said after the game. Even though he may not have registered a sack, he affected almost every play. It’s just whether you throw it or not. “We’re just trying to win a ballgame”. I thought we had our intermediate game extremely well tonight. “It’s always the way wanted to play”.

“It’s been huge for us”, he said.

“We gotta get a spark somehow”, Bowles added. “Anybody you put back there would’ve had problems”.

“It’s hard to go without a 20-yard gain, to go 80 yards, so very pleased when you can twice without a big chunk”. “Whenever I get my chance, whenever that is, I will go out there and do my best”.

And while the Steelers are optimistic their franchise quarterback will return sooner rather than later after tweaking the knee in the second quarter of a miserable loss in Miami on Sunday, the odds of Roethlisberger being ready for a visit from Tom Brady and the Patriots six days removed from the operating table is remote.

Sometimes, however, it comes time to adapt and adjust.

It’s not easy for Arians and Palmer to resist the deep shots, but they did so Monday night and rode a wave of intermediate passes to victory.

“It was a little weird”, Palmer said. “We gotta make plays, we gotta make a play at a critical time to get us going”. We’ve got to take it a week at a time. But, no, our philosophy hasn’t changed. “Didn’t let it bite us like it has in the first few games”. He wasn’t credited with a tackle, but he had a pass defensed.

Quarterback Carson Palmer doesn’t think the Cardinals have changed who they are, either. He got the ball out of his hand. “I think we did a really good job of just getting the ball out and not holding it and just taking what was there”. Kelly feels that the team can build on Kaepernick’s first start, and it should be a foundation for the future. Smith was underwhelming, finishing 4of-6 for 31 yards with the interception and he was also sacked. The running game is working.

All night, Johnson was causing fits for the Jets’ defense.

The running game did produce Johnson’s 58-yard touchdown.

There were 19 penalties in the sloppy game – 10 against NY, nine against Arizona.

After rushing for 111 and catching three passes for 27 yards, Johnson leads the National Football League in yards from scrimmage with 833.

On Sunday night, the Cardinals will host the 4-1 Seahawks in a game that will not decide their season, but give a solid indication of where it might be heading.