On the game's first play from scrimmage, Darius Robinson made a tackle. Soon after, he drew a holding penalty.

It was a nice start for the Cardinals' "other" first-round pick, who has been showing out at a high level basically since the pads finally came on in training camp and should be the cornerstone for the defensive line for years to come. But with all the vets sitting out Saturday's preseason opener, there were plenty of other youngsters getting all the reps.

Rabbit Taylor-Demerson, the safety, played into the third quarter and flashed both his big hitting potential and definitely his speed. There was one play in the first half when no one was around Saints tight end Dallin Holker in the flat and out of nowhere, Rabbit exploded into the picture and took him down. The speed of second-year inside linebacker Owen Pappoe also showed up.

"I like Rabbit, man," Pappoe said with a grin. "The future of this defense is bright."

It's a preseason game, and there are, as Jonathan Gannon said, things to learn. The coach took the blame for the 58-yard bomb right before halftime as a communication issue, although rookie cornerback Elijah Jones looked to be in coverage. Rookie guard Isaiah Adams had his ups and downs.

But Starling Thomas V continues to push as a cornerback. Rookie Xavier Thomas had a sack (and earned praise from Gannon -- "He played high, high motor, high effort. ... He caught my eye."

And they have to like what they see in Robinson.

-- There are still two preseason games left, plus two important practices against the Colts that will likely be more important in evaluations than a run-of-the-mill practice. But the quarterback battle behind Kyler Murray is going to be interesting. Desmond Ridder struggled more than Clayton Tune, but Ridder played against better players as the starter. That should flip-flop next week. Gannon also pointed out that Ridder didn't get much help -- the offensive line that started struggled.

But you'd like to see Ridder connect with Andre Baccellia on the fourth down play that looked like it should've been a TD. That would've changed a lot, both on the scoreboard and the analysis.

-- Rookie running back Trey Benson, who had 21 yards on eight carries, was just trying to wrap his head around playing an NFL game for the first time. "Even people on the other team," Benson said. "I'm like, 'Is that really like Tyrann Mathieu?' It was crazy. It was surreal."

-- Running back Michael Carter looked good (5.9 yards a carry and a touchdown) and DeeJay Dallas sure looks like a key special teams component. Emari Demercado didn't play with his minor shoulder issue, but there will be some decisions to be made about how many running backs are kept.

-- Gannon said the Cardinals came out of the game clean with injuries. The team leaves for Indianapolis on Tuesday for their joint practices.

That's all for tonight.