The scoreboard doesn’t reflect how close this game was for the first 3 quarters. That said, on the stat sheet, it was really never close.
The Saints allowed the Cardinals to stay in the game with a couple of poor play calls and poor time management at the end of the first half. They also had the game’s only turnover with a Patrick Peterson interception of Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
The first quarter was a very close game despite the Cardinals only possessing the ball for a little more than 3 minutes. The Saints missed a field goal on their opening drive and the Cardinals hit theirs on the opening offensive drive.