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ESPN: Cardinals Should be Worried After Week 1

ESPN believes the Arizona Cardinals should be the most worried after a disastrous Week 1 effort.

The Arizona Cardinals shocked nearly everybody on Sunday, and not in similar fashion to last year's season opener. 

After being thoroughly picked apart by Patrick Mahomes and not being able to match Kansas City's strides, the Cardinals are already on a soul-searching journey just one week into the season. 

Injuries have piled up, starters played sparingly (if at all) in the preseason, and Kansas City was simply the inferior opponent coming into the matchup. There weren't many who predicted a win for Arizona, yet it was how they lost that inspired people such as Stephen A. Smith to unload on the organization. 

In a column previewing Week 2, ESPN insiders Dan Graziano (who initially picked Dallas) and Jeremy Fowler believe the Cardinals have the most to worry about after 60 minutes of football. 

Fowler's response to Graziano picking the Cowboys:

"I'll go in a different direction and say Cardinals. They looked pretty lifeless against Kansas City, and I'm starting to wonder if they overachieved in Kliff Kingsbury's first three years. Arizona needs more pieces on defense and misses star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (suspension). I expect the Cardinals to rebound, but there's a lot to overcome here."

Graziano's response

"Yeah, I was at that game, and 'lifeless' is the right word for the Cardinals. They're beaten up with injuries right now, and playing without Hopkins for five more games isn't going to help. Looking that uninspired and that overwhelmed in the opener doesn't bode well for the Cards' chances to hang in the NFC West."

Harsh words for sure, but in this business, that's expected after an outing like that. 

For what it's worth, Graziano also pegged Derek Carr as a great fantasy quarterback this week.

Arizona will have the opportunity to right their wrongs from opening day this weekend in Las Vegas when they travel to take on the Raiders. 

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