[ad_1]
GLENDALE, Ariz .– After using his legs to bring the Arizona Cardinals back in a game they dragged for the most part, quarterback Kyler Murray used his arm to win it over.
Murray found DeAndre Hopkins for a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown with two seconds left to give the Cardinals a 32-30 win over the Buffalo Bills at State Farm Stadium on Sunday to bring the Cardinals in a three-way draw for the first place in NFC West.
Hopkins was draped over three Bills defenders – Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde and Tre’Davious White – when he knocked down the unlikely far left grab of the end zone in front of 4,200 socially distant fans.
The Cardinals needed that last-second touchdown after the Bills took the lead 30-26 with 39 seconds left on a pass from Josh Allen TD to Stefon Diggs.
After betting support for the Cardinals drove the queue over the weekend, Arizona closed as a 3-point consensus favorite in sports betting. Hopkins’ touchdown allowed the Cardinals to progress by two without further time. Instead of risking the extra point being blocked and returned by Buffalo for a two-point tie conversion, Arizona opted to kneel down and end the game.
The Favored Cardinals have attracted slightly more bets than the Bills in most sports betting.
Murray finished with 245 yards, one touchdown and one interception on a 22-for-32 pass. For the second straight week, Murray did what he could to put the Cardinals in a position to win.
As the Cardinals struggled to convert to the red zone on Sunday by throwing the ball, leading to a field goal party in the first 2½ quarters, Murray found the end zone with 5:48 left in the game. third quarter on a 1-yard run to cut Buffalo leads 23-16.
Following an interception by Patrick Peterson, Murray’s shine on the ground was again visible in the closing seconds of the third quarter, when he took off for 28 yards to move the Cardinals deep into the Bills’ territory.
Three games later, Murray ran barely intact for his second touchdown, this one on the 15th, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the game. Murray’s two rushing touchdowns gave him 10 for the season, the first time a quarterback has reached that mark since Cam Newton in 2011. Murray had 61 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
Murray also became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to have a rushed touchdown in at least five straight games. He’s rushed for a touchdown in eight of the Cardinals’ nine games this season.
Hopkins had 127 yards and one in seven touchdowns. Kenyan Drake ran 100 yards on 16 points.
David Purdum of ESPN contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link