Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks Desmond Ridder and Clayton Tune fought for the second quarterback spot when the team lost its first preseason game 14-16 to the New Orleans Saints.
Ridder started in the team’s first warm-up game, as he and the team had a slow start when he three and out in her first series after Ridder was fired by Nathan Shepherd and Carl Granderson.
After the Cardinals lost the field on downs in the second quarter, Saints quarterback Jake Haener and the team’s offense stormed the field and led the Saints to a field goal, giving them a 3-0 lead.
The Cardinals would get into the red zone on the following drive before turning the game over again on downs.
After a 58-yard pass to AT Perry, Haener and the Saints scored three more points and extended their lead to 6-0 at halftime.
Ridder finished his start by completing four of nine passes for 43 yards and also ran for 39 yards.
Tune took over the role of quarterback for Ridder in the second half. On his first drive of the second half, Tune and the offense scored on an 11-yard touchdown run by Michael Carter and secured a 7-6 lead after an extra point by Matt Prater.
.@8kMike switch on the nozzles‼️
📺: #NOvsAZ on CBS pic.twitter.com/rPfJZmZ2vk
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) 11 August 2024
Trailing 13-7 in the fourth quarter, Tune led the team down the field on a 76-yard drive, finishing the drive with a touchdown pass to running back Tony Jones Jr. with less than two minutes left on the clock to tie the game and take the Cardinals’ 14-13 lead after Prater’s extra point.
The touchdown! The jump! We love it!
📺: #NOvsAZ on CBS pic.twitter.com/HULdl5Y4br
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) 11 August 2024
The Saints responded with a drive led by rookie quarterback and Arizona native Spencer Rattler, who led the team 56 yards and put them in field goal position, where kicker Charlie Smyth kicked the game-winning field goal with five seconds left.
Tune finished the game with 15 of 24 completed passes for 163 yards and a touchdown.
Gannon praised Tune’s play after the game:
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on quarterback Clayton Tune’s performance against the New Orleans Saints.
🎥: @FelisDeportes pic.twitter.com/7NTf1pwPWq— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) 11 August 2024
Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. played only one drive in the first half and was not targeted.
After the game, Gannon also shared his thoughts on what Harrison took away from his first NFL game:
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on what rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. took away from his first NFL game.
🎥: @FelisDeportes pic.twitter.com/o5J0zkyMdl— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) 11 August 2024
First-round pick Darius Robinson started as a defensive tackle and made the first tackle of the first series, which led to the Saints punting, While third-round pick Trey Benson got some playing time and ran eight times for 21 yards.
