Led by 20 points at halftime, the Cardinals came back from nowhere to win in the city of vice.
Las Vegas Raiders (0-2) – Arizona Cardinals (1-1): 23-29 OT
Mad ! Simply crazy! Led by 20 points at halftime, the Cardinals gradually returned to the game thanks to Kyler Murray (31/49, 277 yards, 1td, 1INT; 5 carries, 28 yards, 1TD) and a missing Raiders attack.
After bringing his team to overtime with a last-second touchdown and a magnificent pass for AJ Green on a 2-point conversion (23-23), Murray was finally able to count on his defense in overtime.
While the attack was blocked on a daring 4th attempt in overtime, the Cardinals defense will give heartbeats to its supporters by being repeatedly close to creating the loss of the opposing ball. First on a fumble covered by the Raiders, then on a missed interception by Thompson. After 2 attempts, it was finally Isaiah Simmons who succeeded by causing Hunter Renfrow to lose the ball.
A scramble then follows Byron Murphy recovers the ball and rushes for 59 yards to score the touchdown of victory. The Cardinals then win 29 to 23 at the end of the madness! Vegas Baby!
GETGIOETHGIUETHGETIUGHTULGHRTEILUGHTUKGBTDKJGBDFKJGNDFSKJGNDFGHDIFUGHDFGDRSGDSFGFDGREGYERIFURHWF pic.twitter.com/kelYbRqgec
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 18, 2022
There is no point running…
There was no match in the first half between the Raiders and the Cardinals. The locals dominated their opponents in the wide width with nearly 19 minutes of possession (against 11), 253 yards gained (against 86) and above all 20 points ahead when they returned to the locker room with a score of 20 to 0.
The Raiders attack played an almost perfect score with points (2 field goals and 2 touchdowns) on each of its drives, including the first model of its kind: 15 games, 9 minutes and Derek Carr (25/39, 252 yards, 2TD) which concludes by finding the inevitable Davante Adams (2rec, 12 yards, 1TD). The second touchdown is scored by Darren Waller (6rec, 50 yards, 1TD) after a series while passing his quarterback (4/7).
If everything goes without a hitch, it is also because the Cardinals are not there. In defense, absolutely nothing works really well and the team once again concedes touchdowns in its red zone (longest series in the league with touchdowns conceded in the red zone). In attack Kyler Murray is under pressure and is pushed to the fault like this interception launched just before halftime.
Heads are low at the Cardinals and Kliff Kingsbury and his assistants do not seem to have an answer for the 2nd week in a row…
… You need Kyler Murray on point.
Perhaps a little too confident after their first half, the Raiders are less conquering offensively in the second half. In defense, they also leave more space for the Cardinals.
Arizona takes advantage of this for the first time with a nice drive. Murray strings together passes with rhythm and finds several different targets. He manages to find Greg Dortch (4rec, 55 yards, 1TD) to conclude in the endzone and score the first points for visitors (20-7).
The Cardinals reach on their next series once again the red zone. But Arizona finds itself blocked on a 4 & 1 on the opposing 11 yards. A decisive defensive stop for the rest of the match and which probably saved the locals from a big disappointment later.
Indeed, Vegas does not advance any more outside a field goal (23-7) and connects the punts. Quite the opposite of their opponents on “fire” at the end of the match. Murray finds Marquise Brown for what is first called a touchdown before being a reception on the Raiders 1-yard line. A short distance that Darrell Williams transforms into a touchdown to bring the Cards to -10 points. But it is above all Murray who makes the difference on a completely crazy 2-point conversion to allow his people to return to -8 points (23-15) or a possession gap!
MURRAY MAGIC!!!!!!!!!@K1 X #BirdCityFootball pic.twitter.com/6lwMSQVP1r
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 18, 2022
Football being a sport of “dynamics” specific to each match, no one is really surprised when on the next drive the Raiders punt again. And it is almost even less when the Cardinals continue to garner yards offensively. They were so harmless in the first half…
The Raiders defense thinks they did the hardest part by blocking a 4th attempt from the Cards in the Red Zone, except that Murray’s legs allowed to stretch the game and push the local defense to the fault. Behind, 16 seconds and 4 new attempts will allow Kyler Murray to be the hero of the evening with a touchdown on a run at the very last second. An action enhanced by his pass for the conversion to 2 points in stride (23-23).
Behind it is this extension of madness that finally saw the defense of Arizona come to life. A jump that allows the Cardinals not to start with two defeats. The opposite of the Raiders who fail to convince offensively despite the arrivals of Davante Adams and Josh McDaniels in coaching.
