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Arizona Cardinals

Fumble Return Completes 20-0 Second Half Comeback For Cardinals

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

After a disappointing week one loss to the Chiefs, all seemed lost when the Cardinals headed into the tunnel for halftime. However, a completely different team came out to play in the second half allowing the Cards to come away with a week two victory.

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Arizona outscored Las Vegas 23-3 in the second half and their defense stepped up huge to secure the massive comeback.

First half

Arizona was dead on offense the entire first half. Kyler Murray headed into the locker room down 20-0 after only throwing nine passes for just 54 yards. In total, the Cardinals produced just 87 yards.

Nothing seemed to be working as Arizona failed to move the ball past the 50-yard line once.

On the other hand, the Raiders scored on every possession in the first two quarters. Derek Carr threw for over 200 yards along with two touchdowns.

Third Quarter

Coming off an embarrassing first half performance, a three and out began the third quarter. However, the defense delivered with a stop giving Arizona a chance to finally gain some momentum.

Greg Dortch started a 79-yard scoring drive with a 29-yard reception. Dortch was the Cardinals leading pass catcher during week one as he took advantage of Rondale Moore’s absence.

A few plays later, Zach Ertz came up with a huge third down catch to bring his team into the red zone. However, it was back to Greg Dortch who gave the Cardinals their first points on the board. This was Dortch’s first career touchdown, and it could not have come at a better time. The 5-yard reception brought Arizona within two touchdowns as they trailed 20-7 with 6 minutes left in the third quarter.

 

Following the Greg Dortch touchdown, the Cardinals defense made a fatal mistake. A 47-yard pass interference penalty gave the Raiders the ball in the red zone. This was their ninth penalty of the game.

Daniel Carlson then pushed the lead back up to 23-7 with a 25-yard field goal.

Murray continued to look much better in the second half. This can be mainly attributed to him using his legs and creating something out of nothing. Murray running throughout the third quarter created pressure on the Raiders defense allowing the Cardinals to finally move downfield.

Fourth Quarter

Darrel Williams managed to break a run open for 31-yards with the first play of the fourth quarter. This rush made Williams the Cardinals leading rusher as James Conner left the game in the first half due to an ankle injury.

However, the Cards failed to convert on a fourth down try on the Raiders 11-yard line. Kyler Murray threw a pass just over Zach Ertz head in the back of the endzone.

Thankfully, Arizona was able to come up with a huge stop to give Murray a second chance to bring the game within a touchdown once again. This time, it was a different story on a second fourth down attempt. Kyler Murray was able to connect with Marquise Brown for a 24-yard one hand miraculous catch.

Darrel Williams finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Murray then ran in a two-point conversion to make it a 23-15 game. Murray’s run took over 20 seconds as he circled around in the backfield juking out the entire Raiders defensive line.

Building off this momentum, Arizona got a quick defensive stop to bring the ball back into the offense hands with 5 minutes left.

The Cardinals drove all the way down within the 10-yard line thanks to TE Zach Ertz and RB Darrel Williams. Arizona had many chances to tie the game and even got bailed out by a holding call on a 4th and one attempt.

Finally, with 5-seconds left, Murray ran it himself into the endzone. The touchdown brought the game within two points.

It was a diving catch by A.J. Green that tied the game with the clock showing zero.

Kyler Murray finished the second half 20-34 for 188 yards and a touchdown.

Overtime

The Cardinals started OT with the ball along with all of the momentum. After overcoming a 20-0 deficit, Arizona did not come this far to fall short.

Murray came out firing from the air connecting with Marquise Brown and Zach Ertz multiple times to quickly bring them inside the 40-yard line.

However, a failed fourth down conversion gave the Raiders the ball back only needing a field goal to seal the victory.

Yet the Cardinals did not give in, and the defense stepped up in a huge way. A 62-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown gave the Cardinals a week two miracle victory.

Somehow, Arizona beat the Las Vegas Raiders with a final score of 29-23.

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