For the first time in two years, the Arizona Cardinals emerged from a preseason game with a win. They beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-17, on Saturday night, Aug. 9, at State Farm Stadium.

The Cardinals fell behind 14-3 in the second quarter, undone by a pair of early turnovers, but quickly bounced back. Jacoby Brissett guided them to touchdowns on two of his three drives, finding Emari Demercado and Xavier Weaver for a pair of scores. That proved to be all the Cardinals needed as both offenses were held to just a field goal in the second half.

Preseason, though, matters far more for the performances than the final result. So here are the winners and losers from the Cardinals win.

Arizona Cardinals vs Kansas City Chiefs: Winners

Jonathan Gannon’s decision to play starters

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First off, the most important aspect of the night: No Cardinals starters got hurt. When deciding to use key players in preseason games, injuries are a risk. Emerging healthy is crucial.

But beyond health, this game epitomized why preseason action can be useful.

For the most part, the Cardinals played well. Their first-team offense, for example, averaged 7.1 yards per play. That’s an elite number. Their defense also had some strong moments.

All three units, though, were hurt by miscues. There was Kyler Murray’s first-quarter interception, Will Johnson’s pass interference penalty and the three special teams fumbles. Those types of learning experiences are why preseason exists.

First-team offense (mostly)

Murray’s interception is worth addressing, and we’ll get to that. But outside of that one ill-advised pass attempt, the Cardinals’ first-team offense looked both efficient and explosive — two elements that were rarely simultaneously present last season.

That unit had three pass plays of at least 15 yards: A 21-yard corner route to Trey McBride, a 20-yard screen pass to Trey Benson and a 15-yard dig route to Marvin Harrison Jr. That type of varied explosiveness will be necessary if the Cardinals are to improve on their 11th-ranked scoring offense from a year ago.

One element that made it possible was the offensive line. Murray was not pressured inside the pocket on any of his 10 dropbacks. Right guard Isaiah Adams, one of the standouts of training camp, was especially effective. Pro Football Focus graded him as the Cardinals’ best player on the night.

Defensive tackle Dante Stills

With the addition of so many pieces along the defensive line this offseason, Stills’ roster spot was put in doubt — despite a strong sophomore season.

The preseason opener, though, offered a significant opportunity for Stills. Calais Campbell sat out for veteran rest, while Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols and Walter Nolen are all sidelined. And Stills, as he has all month, took advantage of the chance to show his skills.

On 15 snaps, he drew a hold, created pressure to force a throwaway and worked off a block for a nice tackle in the run game. It served as another reminder of the Cardinals’ improved depth on the defensive line, and how important that may be. At a position where injuries are inevitable, it’s a luxury to have a player such as Stills as a fifth or sixth option.

He wasn’t the only player to improve his roster standing in the win. Wide receiver Xavier Weaver, running back Emari Demercado, cornerback Darren Hall and safety Kitan Crawford were among the players near the roster bubble who had highlight-reel moments.

Losers

Kyler Murray’s ball protection

Murray’s first-quarter interception was notable because it wasn’t an aberration.

During training camp, he mixed some excellent moments with a handful of befuddling throws, finishing camp with three interceptions in 11-on-11 action. One of those came on an excellent play by cornerback Will Johnson, but the other two occurred because Murray tried to sneak a dangerous pass over a defender.

That’s exactly what happened against the Chiefs. Rolling to his left, Murray looked for Harrison on a crossing route. In the process, he ignored defensive back Jaden Hicks dropping into coverage — and ultimately threw the ball directly at Hicks.

There are still four weeks remaining before the season opener, so there’s no need to ring any alarm bells, but Murray has to do a better job of protecting the ball despite a desire to generate more explosive plays.

Special teams

The less said about the Cardinals’ special teams, the better.

It started with an all-around debacle on the first play of the game. Back to return the opening kickoff, Greg Dortch had an opportunity to stand out of bounds while fielding the kick. That would’ve brought the ball out to the 40-yard line. Instead, he brought the ball out and fumbled on the return — all while the Cardinals committed an illegal double team block penalty.

That wasn’t the Cardinals’ only special teams miscue. DeeJay Dallas — who is on the roster specifically because of his capabilities as a return man — fumbled a kickoff return of his own and muffed a punt. That’s a concerning outcome for Dallas, even though the Cardinals recovered both of his fumbles. Plus, like Dortch, Dallas attempted a return on one kickoff that was going out of bounds.

Elsewhere, the Cardinals allowed Kansas City to bring a kick return out to the 48-yard line.

The unit did have one silver lining, with a 50-yard field goal from Chad Ryland, but special teams coach Jeff Rodgers has plenty to clean up ahead of next week’s trip to Denver.

The hype around the young cornerbacks

The performance of the Cardinals’ young cornerbacks was among the most exciting aspects of training camp, but it didn’t fully translate to live action.

On the Chiefs’ first drive, Johnson was called for a pass interference penalty before Max Melton was beat — through little fault of his own — on a gorgeous pass from Patrick Mahomes to Jason Brownlee on a fade route in the end zone.

Both players bounced back with some strong reps later in the game, but that first drive was a reminder to temper the training-camp hype.

Later, rookie Denzel Burke was beaten by a step on a go route before being bailed out by an overthrow from Gardner Minshew. And Elijah Jones — the 2024 third-rounder who missed his entire rookie season — appears to be buried on the depth chart. He didn’t play until deep into the second half and struggled when he did enter, before leaving with an apparent injury.