Texans vs. Cardinals final score: Jadeveon Clowney debut a quiet one

No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney of the Houston Texans could have had a better NFL debut, making one tackle for a loss as his team got shellacked by the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium Saturday night 32-0.

Clowney made one tackle, taking down Arizona running back Andre Ellington for a five-yard loss in the first quarter.

More from Arizona Cardinals

Playing outside linebacker for the first time in his career, Clowney did get into the backfield consistently on the pass rush, but the Texans’ first defensive unit got torched by Arizona quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton.

Palmer was a perfect 5-for-5 for 84 yards and a touchdown in his brief appearance and Stanton went 11-for-17 for 152 yards and a score with the second unit. Even rookie Logan Thomas got in on the act for the Cardinals, completing 11-of-12 for 113 yards and a touchdown.

By contrast, new Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was erratic, completing only 6-of-14 passes for 55 yards and throwing a pair of interceptions.

Arizona put the game away early, taking a 17-0 lead at the end of one period. Palmer connected with Larry Fitzgerald for a 7-yard score less than five minutes into the game and Stanton got the Cardinals into the end zone with 3:50 remaining in the opening quarter with a 5-yard pass to Jaron Brown.

After Antonio Cromartie picked off Fitzpatrick, Chandler Catanzaro knocked home a 32-yard field goal.

The only score in the second quarter came with 1:20 remaining in the half when Catanzaro kicked a 28-yard field goal.

Catanzaro made his third field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 23-0 and Thomas hooked up with Dan Buckner for a 12-yard scoring pass with 1:53 remaining to cap a 14-play, 69-yard drive that milked 9:04 off the clock.

Arizona closed the scoring when rookie quarterback Tom Savage was sacked in the end zone by Joseph Dickson with 1:28 remaining.

Houston was held to just 82 net yards passing and had 172 yards of offense on the night. Jonathan Grimes led the run game with 39 yards on 10 carries. Case Keenum, the backup quarterback, was 3-for-5 for 29 yards and Savage was 2-for-3 for 14 yards but took two sacks, including the safety.

Zach Bauman had 29 yards on seven carries for the Cardinals, who had the ball on offense for a whopping 41:22. John Brown hauled in five passes for 87 yards and Walt Powell caught three passes for 74 yards.

Mike Thomas had four receptions for 40 yards for Houston.

Home/Arizona Cardinals