Where: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
When: Sept. 18 (Week 2)
Cardinals’ minimum win probability: 1.7%, when the Raiders faced second-and-goal while leading 20-7 with 1:52 left in the third quarter.
There hadn’t been much to celebrate on the Cardinals’ sideline as they watched Derek Carr take a snap late in the third quarter, just 7 yards shy of leading Las Vegas to its third TD of the day. But Arizona’s defense stood tall, holding the Raiders to a field goal and breathing some life back into Kliff Kingsbury’s crew. That optimism, however, would be short-lived, as the offense would stall on its next possession, failing to convert a fourth-and-1 after a long drive that ended on the Raiders’ 11-yard line.
For the Cardinals, down 16 points with just over 12 minutes to play, hope seemed futile. And then their defense came through again, forcing a 24-second three-and-out that promptly put the ball back into Kyler Murray’s hands, triggering a series of game-changing plays by the two-time Pro Bowler.
On fourth-and-4 from the Raiders’ 25, Murray found Marquise Brown for a 24-yard gain on a slot fade that more than doubled Arizona’s win probability. After the Cardinals punched in the touchdown, Murray ran an astounding 84.9 yards on a the two-point conversion to make it a one-score game.
Murray and Co. would get the ball back again for one final drive in regulation and an opportunity to tie the game. The former No. 1 overall pick worked more of his magic, converting the team’s third straight fourth down — this one on a 3-yard TD run — before throwing a perfect ball in the back of the end zone to A.J. Green (after a delay of game penalty, no less) to send the game into overtime.
As had been the case late, the Cardinals defense showed up once more in the extra period, as Byron Murphy returned a Hunter Renfrow fumble 59 yards — the longest fumble-return TD in overtime in NFL history.