GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If there were any doubts about Carson Palmer as he returns from the second torn anterior cruciate ligament of his NFL career, he put them to rest Sunday.

The Arizona quarterback enjoyed a three-touchdown, 307-yard passing performance during the Cardinals' 31-19 season-opening victory over the New Orleans Saints at University of Phoenix Stadium, picking right up where he left off.

After throwing touchdown passes of 10 and 17 yards to wide receiver John Brown and tight end Darren Fells, Palmer helped seal the win when rookie running back David Johnson took his screen pass and raced 55 yards for a touchdown with 1:33 remaining to pad the Cardinals' lead.

"I hadn't seen it (Johnson's speed) since the (organized team activities)," Palmer said. "I was screaming at him not to go out of bounds. It looked like he was headed out of bounds, then he kind of just hit the rocket booster button and exploded down the sidelines. It's good to see a young guy get in and make plays like that."

The two "old" quarterbacks in the game looked pretty good, too.

In addition to Palmer helping lead an offense that totaled 427 yards, he was 19 of 32 without an interception, and he wasn't sacked once. Palmer, 35, showed smooth agility when he left the pocket and even gained 14 yards on three carries.

The Saints' Drew Brees, meanwhile, was 30 of 48 for 355 yards with one touchdown and one interception. As good as he was, however, the 36-year-old couldn't help New Orleans finish enough drives, as the Saints had to settle for four field goals from Zach Hocker.

"They do some unique things on defense," Saints receiver Marques Colston said, "but we have to be able to get six on some of our drives. ... You always look to convert touchdowns in the end zone, and it didn't work in our favor today."

The Cardinals lost starting running back Andre Ellington in the fourth quarter with what coach Bruce Arians thinks is a right posterior cruciate ligament injury.

"We don't know the severity," Arians said. "Right now we think it's a PCL. He says that he feels pretty good right now, but we will wait and see on that."

Ellington finished the game with 13 carries for 69 yards and one touchdown, and he caught one pass for 7 yards. If he is out for any length of time, the Cardinals would turn to newly acquired veteran free agent Chris Johnson and also rely on the rookie Johnson.

Trailing 24-19, the Saints were backed up at their own 7-yard line facing a fourth-and-6 with 1:58 left to play. Coach Sean Payton, still having two timeouts remaining, elected to punt and hope his defense could force a quick three-and-out by the Cardinals.

The move wound up backfiring, as David Johnson broke the game wide open with his 55-yard touchdown, but the decision to punt was easy, Payton said.

"I think with the two timeouts and the situation that we had, two minutes, it's something that we normally would do. I think most people would," he said. "Having the two timeouts, you are going with your gut there. I think more often than not, in that type of situation, we would punt it."

The Cardinals built a 14-10 halftime lead behind a pair of 80-plus-yard drives, striking first on a 10-yard touchdown from Palmer to Brown, and then utilizing a 48-yard reception by Fells and a pass interference call that set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Ellington.

Arizona took the opening drive, and Palmer went 5-for-6 for 62 yards and capped it off on his touchdown throw to Brown, who is emerging as the quarterback's favorite target. Palmer was flushed out of the pocket on the scoring play, but he had plenty of time to wait for Brown to get open in the right corner of the end zone.

A great block by free agent addition Jermaine Gresham allowed another Cardinals tight end, Fells, to break free for a 48-yard catch and run. Palmer hit Fells on a crossing route underneath the coverage, and after Fells made his way down the left sideline, Gresham took out two would-be tacklers -- linebacker Ramon Humber and free safety Rafael Bush -- on one big hit.

Fells' big play, coupled with a pass-interference penalty on the Saints, put the ball at the Arizona 1, and Ellington, who showed great bursts of speed throughout the game after being hampered all of last season with a torn tendon in his foot, scored easily.

NOTES: Saints QB Drew Brees is one completion away from moving ahead of Dan Marino (4,967) for third place on the NFL's all-time list. ... Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald finished with six catches for 87 yards. He has caught at least one pass in 164 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL. ... Already missing starting FS Jairus Byrd because of a knee injury, the Saints also had to play without his backup, Rafael Bush, in the second half because of a chest injury. Bush's status wasn't immediately known.