Kyler Murray hobbled off the field following his second interception of the night, leaving Arizona Cardinals fans simultaneously scratching their heads and crossing their fingers.
The two biggest questions after the Cardinals’ 24-21 home loss to the Green Bay Packers: Is Murray OK? And what happened on that end zone INT?
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Murray addressed both questions but provided only a little clarity about the late interception when he met with the media following the game Thursday, October 28. As for his health:
“Yeah, I’m good,” the Cardinals QB said after the game. “A guy rolled up on me.”
Murray came up limping after being tackled by Packers safety Darnell Savage with a little more than a minute to play in the game. He appeared to be favoring his left ankle/leg on the play, which was followed two plays later by the end zone interception.
Murray didn’t address the injury further, and neither did Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, who said he’s “assuming” his QB is fine.
As for what happened on the game-clinching interception by Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas, Murray said he and receiver A.J. Green “weren’t on the same page, and it cost us.”
RASUL DOUGLAS INTERCEPTS MURRAY. #GoPackGo
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Kingsbury: ‘It Didn’t Work Out for Us This Time’
On a night when the Cardinals struggled to move the ball and had a tough time stopping the Packers’ running game, Arizona still found itself in position to win the game in the final minute and at very least appeared headed for overtime.
The defense came up with a huge goal-line stop on fourth-and-1 from the Cardinals’ 1-yard line to keep alive Arizona’s hopes of improving to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.
GOAL LINE STAND.
What a stop by the @AZCardinals defense! #RedSea
📺: #GBvsAZ on NFLN/FOX/PRIME VIDEO
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With less than 3 1/2 minutes left in the game, the Cardinals moved the ball 94 yards on 11 plays and were in position to win or tie before the turnover.
On second-and-goal at Green Bay’s 5-yard line and with just 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals lined up to take one more shot at the end zone. Murray tried to get the ball to Green, but the veteran receiver appeared not to realize he was being targeted and didn’t turn around for the ball.
Instead, the ball hit him in the back, and Douglas alertly made the pick.
After the game, Murray said he hadn’t talked with Green about the play before meeting with reporters.
“I know he’s hot,” he said. “Emotions are running high. Obviously, after the fact, we both know we weren’t on the same page, and it cost us. But we’ll be better because of it.”
Kingbury said the Cardinals got the play call they wanted and that Murray made the correct throw.
“That’s a routine play down there for us, and for whatever reason, it didn’t work out for us this time,” he said.
Murray said he won’t dwell on the play and that he’s “confident in us bouncing back.”
“We can’t go back in time,” he said.
Corner Comes Back to Haunt Cardinals
The game-clinching interception was a big moment for Douglas, a fifth-year veteran who was signed by the Packers from the Cardinals’ practice squad on October 6.
Maybe the Cardinals shouldn’t have let the Packers sign Rasul Douglas off their practice squad 22 days ago.
“The guy who made the pick was with them for four weeks,” Aaron Rodgers said after the game, talking about Douglas. “He was on the street, we brought him in, [and] he’s starting for us. He’s a great dude, and he’s really meshed well with our team. To come up with a play like that with 15 seconds left is incredible.”
With the Cardinals in field goal range, Douglas said he knew he likely had one more opportunity to make a play.
“They’re well in field goal range, so right now it’s like, ‘Let’s see if we can get seven and end it,’ ” he told reporters after the game. “So I gotta make a play. [Murray] threw it to my guy, and I just made a play.”
It was Douglas’ first INT of the season and the sixth of his career.
“That was probably the first time I won a game like that, so it was a shocking feeling,” he said.
With the victory, the Packers (7-1) overtake the Cardinals (7-1) as the top seed in the NFC midway through the season.
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Cardinals QB Kyler Murray Provides Injury Update Following Loss to Packers