GLENDALE Larry Csonka Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — The new-look Arizona Cardinals looked a lot like the old ones with a desert dud of a debut under coach Steve Wilks.
Pushed around all afternoon, the Cardinals were dominated in nearly aspect on Sunday to open the Wilks era with an ugly 24-6 loss to the Washington Redskins.
“Obviously, you don’t want to start the season like this,” Cardinals quarterback Sam Bradford said. “We felt like we were in a much better position and felt like we were going to come out and play much better than we did.”
Coming off an 8-8 season, the Cardinals were hoping to rebound quickly with a new coach and quarterback.
Wilks, the former Carolina defensive coordinator, was hired to replace the retired Bruce Arians. Bradford signed a $20 million contract to replace the retired Carson Palmer and, hopefully, teach the NFL ropes to Josh Rosen, the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft.
Bradford was mostly ineffective, unable to find receivers downfield or move Arizona’s offense. He threw for 153 yards with an interception on 20-of-34 passing — most of that after Arizona fell behind 21-0 and had to start passing.
David Johnson, signed to a three-year contract extension the night before, found little room to run and became an afterthought when the Cardinals had to start passing, finishing with 37 yards on nine carries. Arizona had 213 total yards and went 1 for 8 on third downs.
“You saw early on we were running the ball well Delano Hill Jersey ,” Wilks said. “When you get in a situation where you get behind, it sometimes gets you out of what you really want to do. All night we were playing catch-up and that was really the issue, that we were never really able to get into a rhythm when we go behind.”
Arizona’s defense played on its heels all day, missing tackles and assignments as Washington had one long drive after another.
Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-30 passing in his first game with Washington. Adrian Peterson ran for 96 yards and scored in his first game in his Washington debut and the Redskins racked up 429 yards to win their opener for the first time in five tries under coach Jay Gruden.
“There’s no reason to panic, but this is not OK, this is not acceptable,” Cardinals defensive tackle Corey Peters said. “We have to take a good look in the mirror and point the finger at ourselves.”
The Redskins pushed the Cardinals defense around throughout the first half, reeling off small-chunk plays on scoring drives of 80, 73 and 92 yards.
Smith hit Chris Richardson on a 13-yard pass for the first score and Jordan Reed on a 4-yard TD to put the Redskins up 21-0. Peterson scored on a 1-yard run in between. Washington had 261 yards and controlled the ball for nearly 23 minutes in the first half.
Arizona’s offense spent the first half sputtering in neutral, leading to boos from the home crowd.
Bradford was unable to throw anything down the field, hitting 3 of 7 passes for 11 yards. Outside of a couple of decent Johnson runs, the Cardinals had no running game to speak of, finishing the half with 36 total yards — one less than they had in penalties.
“We can’t run 13 plays in the first half and expect to win,” Bradford said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to get points early Lorenzo Alexander Jersey , figure out a way to convert third downs.”
The Cardinals’ offense finally got something going late in the third quarter, but Bradford overthrew Ricky Seals-Jones and was intercepted by Quinton Dunbar.
Johnson scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with about six minutes left in the fourth quarter. After the failed 2-point conversion, the Cardinals were down 24-6 — well on their way to losing their first game under Wilks.
Hamburgers and hot dogs are always great at a football game. How about some pimento cheese melts, fried ravioli or a brat wrapped in a blanket of fried cheese curds on a pretzel bun.
Hungry yet?
For dessert, try a battered and fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich dusted in powdered sugar.
On a stick too. For easier eating, of course.
With the start of the NFL season, teams hit the field trying to show just how much they've improved. In the stands, the pressure is just as intense when it comes to feeding fans. Chefs spend weeks and months each offseason scheming up tasty new dishes to help lure people away from their couches and big-screen televisions into NFL stadiums and up to concession stands.
"We always try to add a few items every year," said Camilo Baquero, executive chef for Delaware North, the food service provider for MetLife Stadium and home to the New York Jets and Giants. "We try to make sure that we stay competitive and trendy with the items that are being put out there. So we always challenge ourselves either to come up with a brand new item or add to concepts that may already exist here at the stadium."
Inspiration for that fried PB&J sandwich served at New Era Field, home of the Buffalo Bills, came from the annual Erie County Fair. Executive chef Jonathan Wilson with Delaware North wanted to boost a stand at the stadium and took inspiration from the fair wanting to make an item that could be held with only one hand. A year ago, they introduced a Polish kielbasa corn dog.
Creating this dessert on a stick required lots of testing. Wilson and his assistants made their own jams and breads with nothing clinging to a stick. Then they tapped the ingredients already used in the meal Tramon Williams Jersey , and the crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich worked after a dip in the batter and 10 minutes in a blast chiller before frying. A stadium steal at $5.
"We figured it would hit everybody," Wilson said. "Kids, adults, something fun to play with. That's how they get legs on the menu. We obviously want to sell it, but we've got to have a good price point."
That pimento cheese melt 鈥?with bacon no less 鈥?can be found at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay.
Some food companies like Aramark, which works with nearly half the NFL teams, tapped celebrity chefs to create some of its new dishes for stadiums . Cleveland native and Food Network star Michael Symon devised the B-Spot Red Zone Bratwurst with kraut, spicy mustard and Tony Paco's pickles for FirstEnergy Stadium and his hometown Browns.
Hometown inspiration came easily to chefs at Lambeau Field, where fans can buy Brat in a Blanket: a brat wrapped in melted cheese curds inside a pretzel bun. Or they can grab a ham and bacon sandwich with sauteed onions and a beer mustard cheese sauce on a pretzel bun. Executive chef Heath Barbato calls it perfect glove or mitten food when the weather turns frigid in Wisconsin.
"Lambeau is still a king of selling brats and cheese curds and things like that," Barbato said. "So we always try to feed the fans that only get out to one or two games something different other than the normal food here."
Sometimes new food items are held back until later in the season, or when a team makes a run to the postseason.
Fried ravioli and jambalaya aren't usually connected with Jacksonville. But the Jaguars teamed with a company called Grunt Style this year to create a military-themed area in one end zone , and executive Sean Kinoshita looked to MREs, or Meals Ready to Eat, in devising chicken and andouille jambalaya with dirty rice. Ravioli also is a popular MRE item Lyle Alzado Jersey , so they decided to fry them up with 10 ravioli per serving.
"It should be pretty decent deal," Kinoshita said.
Fans decide just how good each dish is, of course, though chefs and their companies usually give an item at least a whole season to test its popularity. Demand decides whether a dish stays on the menu or winds up being replaced by something new, and companies closely monitor sales.
Baquero's staff introduced The Fat Rooster spicy hot chicken sandwich a year ago, then looked for something that could appeal to more customers. That led to The Fat Rooster Drummies, chicken brined in buttermilk and hot sauce before being battered and fried and served with either a hot honey or honey mustard dipping sauce.
Jets fan Justin Sandomir, 40, of Nanuet, New York, and his 12-year-old son, Ryan, at a preseason game gave the drummies an early review.
"I like the crunch ..." Sandomir said. "I like the dipping sauce. The spicy honey gives it that little extra kick that I like in my fried chicken."
Sounds like a keeper.
AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak contributed to this report. Antonio Brown Jersey