THE STORY: Calais Campbell was still dripping with sweat as he walked off the podium postgame on Sunday, a conquering hero in his first home game as a Cardinal after eight years away by sacking Bryce Young to close out an unnecessarily harrowing 27-22 victory over the Panthers.
"I'm tired as (expletive)," the 39-year-old defensive lineman said, smiling from the win.
The victory put the Cardinals at 2-0. But it was exhausting, physically and mentally, a game in which the Cardinals built a 24-point lead in the second half but – for a second straight week – had trouble finishing.
Such things will cause trouble on the scoreboard at some point. At least it wasn't this day.
"I obviously have to do a better job making our guys, all three phases, understand how to close games out," coach Jonathan Gannon said. "That's two in a row now.
"I don't want to take their joy away. I'm glad we're 2-0. But we've got a long way to go."
The Panthers (0-2) just … wouldn't … go … away. It was 27-9, and then Kyler Murray, the Cardinals driving for yet another score, threw his first interception of the season. Then it was 27-15. Then 27-22, with 1:58 left, on a play that Garrett Williams became the third of the Cardinals' top three cornerbacks to leave the game with an injury.
Then the onside kick bounced off Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr., the Panthers recovered just 51 yards from the end zone, and for a second straight game, fans went into nail-biting mode. There would be no relaxing, not until Campbell pulled down Young for his second sack of the game on fourth-and-15.
"Coming out of the tunnel, running on the field, that's when the emotion kind if hit me," Campbell said. "I was turnt up. I felt the love from the crowd. … The way the game went to be able to make the play at the end of the game, and have the crowd go wild, that's a really good feeling."
The Panthers ran a total of 13 snaps to amazingly advance only five yards by the time it was all over. Six penalties were called, at once moving Carolina up and then sometimes back.
"That was kind of a (expletive)show, to be honest," Murray said.
Campbell was a great story. But between the finish and the cornerback injuries, the locker room was more subdued than it could have been. Or should have been.
"We're 2-0, but that's not the way it feels," tackle Paris Johnson Jr. said.
Domination looked like it'd be the theme. The Panthers opened with the ball and linebacker Josh Sweat's first sack as a Cardinals dislodged the ball from Young. Fellow linebacker Zaven Collins eventually grabbed the loose pigskin and rolled three yards into the end zone before everyone had even gotten to their seats.
Linebacker Baron Browning got an interception soon after when Wilson belted Young and the ball fluttered into the air.
Gannon couldn't have asked for anything much better until halfway through the third quarter. The 27-3 lead was exactly what the Cardinals wanted in Week 1. Then it got tense.
"That's not how you script it," Johnson said. "We've got to finish with the ball in our hands. We're here to win, but that's not the only thing we're grading ourselves on."
Johnson lamented the idea the offense didn't do more to keep the Cardinals' defense off the field, causing too many unnecessary snaps – and physical wear-and-tear -- for that side of the ball.
And that has to get better.
"We could be 0-2, but we're 2-0 with this issue," Murray said. "I don't want to make it a thing, but at the same time, we have to finish games. That's (the) bottom line. So, it didn't bite us in the ass today, it didn't bite us in the ass last week. But, you keep playing around, (you'll) get bit. We have to be better."
TURNING POINT: Nursing a 13-3 lead, the Cardinals got a 29-yard punt return with 51 seconds left in the first half, and the Cardinals turned that into a touchdown drive ending with an 11-yard Michael Wilson TD catch with four seconds left. Then the Cardinals went on a TD drive to open the second half, capping it with a 2-yard James Conner scoring run, for a hefty 27-3 lead.
The Cardinals needed every bit of that to hold on at the end.
THE STANDOUTS: Campbell, of course, was a no-brainer. Browning played well and the Cardinals overall did excellent against the Panthers run after it ripped them up a season ago, allowing just 49 yards Sunday. Tight end Trey McBride shined when given the chance, leading the team again with his six catches for 78 yards.
INJURY UPDATE: Cornerback Max Melton suffered a right knee injury chasing down Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan on a 40-yard play in the first half. He was eventually carted to the locker room and did not return. The Cardinals also lost cornerback Garrett Williams to a knee injury when he collided with safety Budda Baker on the Panthers' final touchdown in the fourth quarter and had to be helped to the locker room. In a rough result, the third of the team's top three cornerbacks, Will Johnson, came out in the fourth quarter for good with a groin injury.
Defensive lineman L.J. Collier also left the game with a knee injury.
