DeAndre Hopkins was everything Cardinals needed him to be in victorious return vs. Saints

Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray were wrong.

DeAndre Hopkins was a miracle cure for the Arizona Cardinals’ sputtering offense that was hit, but mostly miss, during the first six weeks of the season.

In his season debut Thursday night against the Saints, Hopkins clearly showed just how badly this team had been missing him during his six-game suspension to start the year.

“I was trying to go out and do whatever I needed to do,” Hopkins said following Arizona’s 42-34 victory at State Farm Stadium, which snapped an eight-game home losing skid dating back to last season.

Almost everything Hopkins tried to do worked against the Saints. Murray targeted him 14 times and Hopkins responded with 10 receptions for 103 yards. That’s more yards than the rest of his teammates had combined (101). But Hopkins provided more than just mere individua statistics.

He blocked safety Tyrann Mathieu to help rookie Keaontay Ingram scored Arizona's first touchdown of the game.He blocked safety Justin Evans on a running play at the goal line that allowed Eno Benjamin to score on a fourth-quarter touchdown. He also drew a couple of defensive holding penalties. He accounted for six first downs.

More important, his presence made Murray look far more comfortable than he had in recent games, and it seemed to supercharge a stagnant offense that had been struggling to find continuity and confidence.

“I mean, you saw it, right?” coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “It was a different looking deal out there and the confidence that other guys around him play with. It’s good to have him back. I think once he really gets in shape, gets back into running routes and is comfortable in the offense he can really do some things.”

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Kingsbury won’t get any arguments there from Hopkins, who was suspended after testing positive for trace amounts of a banned substance usually found in performance-enhancing drugs. Hopkins said there’s no doubt that now that he’s back, it will only continue to open things up and further help get the offense rolling.

“Yes, absolutely,” Hopkins said. “I think reads are easier for Kyler. I’m not saying that they’re not with other players out there, but he and I have been playing together for a couple of years now so obviously, we know each other very well.

“We had some mishaps, but that’s going to come with us not being able to practice on a short week and really for six weeks not being able to practice. Him and I want to win and we’ll try to correct those things as we go.”

The positives, though, completely outweigh whatever small negatives there were on Thursday night. The Cardinals, after all, are now 9-2 and average more than 30 points in games Hopkins has played in dating back to the start of last season. They are 5-9 and average 20 points without him during that stretch.

Hopkins said he didn’t feel the need to try and do anything extra special against the Saints and their beat-up secondary, which he helped to exploit through numerous one-on-one defensive matchups.

“No, I didn’t,” he said postgame. “I really don’t try to change anything as far as what I do, how I go out and prepare. I really try to keep a poker face and I stay calm. I don’t worry about what’s going on around me. I know what I can do and obviously that showed today. I just stay in my zone and do what I do.”

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Upon officially being activated off the suspended list on Monday, Hopkins said he made sure he reached out to every single teammate he could find at the Cardinals’ Tempe training facility and gave them a hearty hug. He wanted to let them know they could depend on him.

After Thursday’s game, he also made sure to thank all of the people who helped him during his time away from the team, citing trainers, rehab specialists and nutritionists. Earlier in the week, he also credited the folks at EXOS, the Tempe training center where he spent so much time.

“It was great. His energy, he is as talented as ever,” Murray said. “Just having him out there, it didn’t look like there was any rust. He knocked it off if he had any. But just his communication, his feel for the game, all of that, you can’t put a price tag on him.”

Hopkins joked he was ready for some ice packs on him, though, telling reporters, “I feel like I need 10 days to recover.”

“You can’t simulate it, man. I’ve been playing in the NFL for a long time, but I feel great. I feel real good. I think I could have played another two or three quarters if I needed to. I wasn’t winded. I played most of the snaps. So, for me I think it was a good day as far as my body goes.”

His mouth was running just fine as well. Hopkins wasn’t shy about asking for the football, according to Murray.

“If you know Hop, you know he’s always trying to get the ball,” Murray said. “But yeah, he was pretty talkative.”

He also served as a peacekeeper during an animated first-half sideline exchange between Murray and Kingsbury when the coach went bonkers when the offense couldn’t get a play off on time near the end zone. Hopkins stepped between the two and calmed the situation down.

“Both of those guys want to win, and I love to see that,” Hopkins said. “I love being part of a team where two people are dedicated and focused on winning and obviously, you’re going to butt heads. I’m not married, but from what I hear, that’s a marriage.”

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch. 

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DeAndre Hopkins shows just what the Cardinals were missing without him