Cardinals complete historic comeback, upset Raiders 29-23 in OT
Kyler Murray celebrates Bryon Murphy’s scoop-and-score touchdown as Arizona improves to 1-1. 09/19/2022 - Getty Images
“FOLKS, IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT! HONK YOUR HORNS! STOMP YOUR FEET! CELEBRATE… IN ARIZONA!!!”
No, the Arizona Diamondbacks did not just win the World Series. However, for the first time in what has felt like a lifetime, Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals showed Valley sport fans that they are capable of flipping a switch, capable of playing competent football, and capable of heroic comebacks that are too spectacular to be scripted.
Heading into Sunday, the Cardinals were a 5.5-point underdog in their Week 2 matchup against the Raiders, and were facing the possibility of starting the season 0-2 for just the second time since the franchise moved to the West Valley in 2006. Through the first two quarters of the game, it felt like that was the dark, unfortunate path the Cardinals were headed down.
The first half of yesterday’s contest may have been worse than either half of last week’s game against the Chiefs, which is saying something. The Raiders scored on all four of their possessions, while the Cardinals scored on none of theirs. On top of going into the half trailing 20-0, the Cardinals were outgained 253-86 by the Raiders while only running two plays on the Vegas side of the field.
Davante Adams celebrates a first quarter touchdown as the Raiders take an early 7-0 lead over the Cardinals. 09-19-2022 - Raiders
The game was trending right on par with what we saw in Week 1 against Kansas City, if not worse. Through the first six quarters of the 2022 season, the Cardinals had been outscored by their opponents 64-21, which is equivalent to losing a four-quarter game 43-14.
Sh*tshow.
Cardinals fans were fuming, and rightfully so. Is THIS the product of football we are going to be forced to watch all year? How does the team STILL look this flat and uninspired after they got their asses handed to them just seven days ago? Could the Cardinals possibly be the worst team in the NFL? Is it possible to fire an NFL head coach at halftime? What happened to the magic of Kyler Murray that catapulted this football team to greatness last season?!
Then, prayers were answered.
After trading three-and-outs with the Raiders on each of their opening possessions, the Cardinals played a near-perfect half of football. The offense got rolling on an 11-play, 79-yard drive which ended with Murray throwing a five-yard touchdown to Greg Dortch. Although the Raiders scored on the ensuing drive, the Cardinals defense managed to hold them to a field goal, keeping the score within a two possession wingspan at 23-7.
The Cardinals reached the Raiders red zone in the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Murray overthrew Zach Ertz on a 4th and 1 in the end zone, ending the drive and turning the ball back over to Vegas.
According to ESPN’s analytics department, the Cardinals had a 1.9% chance of winning the game once they turned the ball over on downs. Arizona needed two stops on defense, two touchdowns, AND two two-point conversions, all under 12 and a half minutes, just to force overtime. Contrary to what we have seen from this football team over their previous seven games, the Cardinals rose to the occasion.
The defense forced a Vegas three-and-out, punting the ball back to Arizona at their own 46-yard line. Check 1.
Murray took the offense down the field and made a clutch throw on 4th and 4 to Marquise Brown, who made a one-handed catch at the Vegas one-yard line. Darrel Williams rushed the ball into the end zone on the following play, cutting the Raider lead to 10. Check 2.
The following two-point conversion was so beautiful that words simply cannot do it justice. Murray managed to scramble for 20.8 seconds and 85 yards in the backfield to avoid the Raider linemen and sneak his way into the end zone for two points, making it a one-possession game at 23-15. Check 3.
"They had two people rushing… I knew they weren't going to be able to tackle me," Murray said. "It was just about backyard football at that point. Try to find somebody. Move, get open, make a play."
Vegas managed to get one first down on their next drive, but they could not match the energy and precision of the Cardinal defense, forcing a punt to Arizona’s 27-yard line and giving the ball back to the Cardinals with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter. Check 4.
18 plays, three fourth-down conversions, and one Kyler Murray rushing touchdown later, the Cardinals cut the Raider lead to just two as time expired. Check 5.
All that was needed was a two-point conversion, and Kyler Murray delivered. After a mind-boggling delay-of-game penalty that moved the ball to the seven-yard line, Murray found A.J. Green in the back of the end zone on a throw that was inches away from being swatted down by safety Roderic Teamer.
23-23. Check 6.
There was one check left: win the game.
The Cardinals started overtime with the ball, but couldn’t cash in any points. Murray threw a 4th and 1 pass to Marquise Brown near the Vegas 10-yard line, but Brown couldn’t haul in the catch, as he got blindsided by Raider safety Duron Harmon. The Cardinals turned the ball over on downs. Devastating.
With the Raiders getting possession at their own 37 yard-line with 5:30 to go in overtime, they wasted no time getting the ball down the field, converting on a 3rd and 3 to Hunter Renfrow who moved the chains all the way to the Arizona 39 yard-line.
With a fresh set of downs and hovering right outside of field goal range, the reality that the Cardinals were going to come up just short of a stunning comeback began to settle in. Less than 12% of teams in NFL history who began the season 0-2 made the playoffs, but so what? What should we have expected? A 0-2 start shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. The Cardinals just don’t have the elite talent, elite play-calling, and overall discipline that you need in the NFL to be established as a legitimate contender. How unfortunate.
Then, the entire perception of the season and what it could become shifted in the blink of an eye.
On 2nd and 10 from the Arizona 39, Carr connected with Renfrow behind the line of scrimmage, and as he was being tackled by Arizona cornerback Jace Whittaker, Isaiah Simmons hit Renfrow from the side, causing him to fumble the football. Byron Murphy Jr. recovered the ball for the Cardinals and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown, giving Arizona an improbable 29-23 win.
Check 7.
“All I knew is I had to score,” Murphy said after the game. “That was the first thing in my head, run as fast as you can and get in the end zone. Everything was slow, it is a blurry moment until you pick up that ball and everything gets faster and faster.”
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury was ecstatic with the victory and the resilience his team showed when facing adversity. “To be able to overcome… self-inflicted wounds against a great team… and be able to fight back and see what you have when you execute… that could serve us well moving forward.”
What will this win mean for the Cardinals moving forward? Only time will tell, but wins like these can carry a team for weeks. When the Cardinals took the field in the second half yesterday, there was a new mojo to them, a mojo that felt similar to last season’s team that started 7-0.
There may not have been a better time to turn the script on the season, as the Cardinals face divisional rival Los Angeles this weekend at State Farm Stadium in a game that could determine playoff implications further down the road when the season is all said and done.
It may have been just one excellent half of football, but that is exactly what the Cardinals needed. There is now a pulse and heartbeat to this football team, and it is up to Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray to maintain the positive energy that was sparked from Sunday’s game. There is no time to waste.
“We got to get a lot better in a hurry.” Damn right you did, Kliff. Now go beat L.A.
Game Notes
Arizona’s 20-point comeback was their largest since 1999, and fourth largest in team history
The Raiders loss after being up by 20 points was their largest blown lead in franchise history
Dating back to last season, the Cardinals are now 9-1 in their last 10 regular season road games
Murray’s 85-yard scramble was the most yards ran on a two-point conversion since the NFL began tracking player movement in 2016
Aside from penalties, the Cardinals were outgained by 187 yards in the first half, but outgained Vegas by 251 yards in the second half
Every NFC West will be entering Week 3 with an identical record of 1-1
Up Next:
Raiders (0-2) @ Titans (0-2), 9/25 @ 1:00ET on FOX
Rams (1-1) @ Cardinals (1-1), 9/25 @ 4:25ET on FOX
