The Arizona Cardinals pulled off a very unlikely victory yesterday inside Allegiant Stadium, as they erased a 16-point, fourth quarter deficit to send the game into overtime. And from there, they finished off their comeback against the Raiders when Isaiah Simmons forced a Hunter Renfrow fumble and Byron Murphy Jr. scooped it up and returned it for the game-winning touchdown…
Although it should be noted that their unlikely victory was almost given away in an even more unlikely fashion.
You see, as Murphy Jr. was crossing the goal line for the score, he tossed the ball in celebration. But he nearly did so a little too early.
How close was he to pulling off the DeSean Jackson? According to Next-Gen stats, had Murphy dropped that ball just 0.02 seconds earlier, he would have given up a touchback, and the game would have continued with the Raiders regaining possession at their own 25-yard line.
Murphy was just two-hundredths of a second away from going from hero to zero. I’m sure his coaches will remind him to take a couple of extra steps next time before he celebrates…just for good measure.
The win was a big one for the Cards, as it helped them avoid an 0-2 start to the season. They’ll now look to keep things rolling when they host the Los Angeles Rams in week 3 next Sunday.
