Hail Murray: Cardinals stun Bills 32-30 in final seconds

GLENDALE, Ariz. — DeAndre Hopkins knows that football fans might view his final, winning catch on Sunday as some sort of miracle. Even the players and coaches for the Arizona Cardinals couldn’t hide their disbelief when he jumped over three Buffalo defenders and came down with the ball.

But the three-time All-Pro insists there was no magic needed. Just skill.

“Two plus two equals four,” Hopkins said in his usual low-key delivery. “Go downfield. Throw it up.”

And that’s exactly what the Cardinals did. Kyler Murray completed a stunning 43-yard desperation pass to Hopkins with 2 seconds left to lift Arizona to an improbable 32-30 victory over the Bills.

The catch was as sensational as the throw, which was quickly dubbed a “Hail Murray.”

The game appeared lost for the Cardinals until Murray rolled out to his left as the seconds ticked off the clock. He flung the ball toward the end zone, where Hopkins was waiting with three Buffalo defenders draped all over him. Somehow, the three-time All-Pro came down with the ball, and the Cardinals started a wild celebration in the end zone.

“Just to get the pass off was incredible,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “If you watch the play, he is running and dodging and ducking. I didn’t think he would get it off. Then to put that kind of incredible loft to give him a chance. From my vantage point I couldn’t see much. Just the crowd going crazy.”

Josh Allen threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs with 34 seconds left that looked like it would win it for the Bills (7-3). But Murray and the Cardinals (6-3, tied for the NFC West lead) ended the Bills’ winning streak at three games with the improbable throw and catch.

It was a crazy ending to another entertaining Cardinals game, which usually have come down to the final seconds in recent weeks. Murray threw for 245 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Hopkins had seven catches for 127 yards — and he’ll remember the last one for a long, long time.

“It was on three people. They were in position. It was just a better catch by I,” Hopkins said.

The Cardinals trailed 23-9 midway through the third quarter but responded with two touchdown drives sandwiched around a field goal to take a 26-23 lead by the beginning of the fourth. Murray, wearing bright yellow cleats, ran for both of the touchdowns, including a 15-yard dash up the middle that gave Arizona its first lead of the day.

Allen was having a mediocre game until the late drive that lasted 12 plays and went 73 yards. The quarterback capped the series with a perfect throw to a diving Diggs, who finished with 10 catches for 93 yards. But it wasn’t enough for the Bills, who couldn’t stop Hopkins in the end zone.

“Yeah, I thought we guarded it pretty well,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said. “We had three people around him . … It’s really not a whole lot of anything else to say, just got to find a way to get that ball out of his hands some way, somehow.”

STEELERS 36, BENGALS 10

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger threw for a season-high 333 yards and four touchdowns despite being forced to stay away from the team facility all week due to COVID-19 protocols.

Roethlisberger, one of four Steelers put on the COVID-19 list last Monday following contact tracing after tight end Vance McDonald tested positive for the novel coronavirus, completed 27 of 46 passes on a blustery afternoon at Heinz Field. Roethlisberger connected with Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster for touchdowns in the first half and found rookie Chase Claypool twice in the second half as Pittsburgh improved to 9-0.

Cincinnati rookie quarterback Joe Burrow struggled to generate any momentum behind a patchwork offensive line. Two weeks after a promising victory over Tennessee, the Bengals (2-6-1) were reminded how much work remains under second-year head coach Zac Taylor. Cincinnati went 0 for 13 on third down and Burrow spent much of the second half under duress. T.J. Watt collected two of Pittsburgh’s four sacks as the Steelers won their 11th straight meeting with their division rival.

RAMS 23, SEAHAWKS 16

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jared Goff passed for 302 yards, Darious Williams made two interceptions and the Rams took a share of the NFC West lead with Arizona and Seattle.

Malcolm Brown rushed for two touchdowns and Darrell Henderson had another score as the Rams (6-3) returned from their bye and held Seattle to three points after halftime to win for the fifth time in the rivals’ past six meetings.

Russell Wilson passed for 248 yards and rushed for 60 more for the Seahawks (6-3), who have lost three of four after a 5-0 start. Wilson threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, giving him 10 combined turnovers in Seattle’s three losses.

Los Angeles’ solid performance was dampened by the loss of stalwart left tackle Andrew Whitworth to a knee injury late in the first half. Whitworth, a 15-year NFL veteran, was taken off the field on a cart.

SAINTS 27, 49ERS 13

NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees was pulled at halftime with a rib injury after passing for just 76 yards and one touchdown, but Alvin Kamara scored three times and New Orleans’ defense largely stifled San Francisco (4-6).

Brees’ injury appeared to occur when defensive tackle Kentavius Street was called for a personal foul on a sack in which he got a clean shot at the 41-year-old quarterback and landed directly on top of him. Officials ruled Street violated the NFL’s “bodyweight rule,” which bans defenders from landing on a defenseless passer with all or most of their weight.

Brees missed just two plays after the hit and returned for a third-down pitchback to Kamara that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown that tied it at 10.

Brees continued to play for the rest of the second quarter, going 5 for 6 on a two-minute drive that he completed with a 3-yard toss to Kamara that made it 17-10 just before halftime. But when the second half began, Jameis Winston took the field while Brees stood with his helmet on and his hands on his hips in front of New Orleans’ bench, where he watched the rest of a sixth straight victory for the Saints (7-2).

PATRIOTS 23, RAVENS 17

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Cam Newton threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score and New England fought through rain and wind to hold off Baltimore.

Damien Harris ran for a career-high 121 yards to help the Patriots (4-5) win consecutive games for the first time this season. Newton was 13 of 17 for 118 yards. His touchdown pass, on a short sprint-out to Rex Burkhead in the first quarter, was his since first since Week 3 — a span of four games.

The Ravens’ road winning streak ended at 10. Baltimore (6-3) is 0-6 in the regular season in New England.

Lamar Jackson was 24 of 34 for 249 yards and two touchdowns for the Ravens. New England bottled him up on the ground for most of the game, limiting him to just 11 rushes for 55 yards.

RAIDERS 37, BRONCOS 12

LAS VEGAS — Josh Jacobs ran for 112 yards and two TDs and Jeff Heath had two of Las Vegas’ five takeaways.

Derek Carr didn’t have to do much for the Raiders (6-3) offensively for a change as the running game and an opportunistic defense that came into the game last in the league with five takeaways carried the load.

Heath intercepted Drew Lock twice in the first half, Carl Nassib and Nick Kwiatkoski got picks in the fourth quarter and Nevin Lawson forced and recovered a fumble by DaeSean Hamilton to send the Broncos (3-6) to their third loss in four games.

The game changed late in the first half after Lock appeared to run in for a TD in the closing seconds that would have given the Broncos a 13-10 lead. Tight end Noah Fant was called for holding in the end zone on the play and Lock threw his second interception to Heath on the next play.

The Raiders then put the game away with two long scoring drive in the third quarter.

BUCCANEERS 46, PANTHERS 23

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tom Brady threw for 341 yards and was involved in four touchdowns, Ronald Jones had a franchise-record 98-yard touchdown run, and the Buccaneers bounced back from a dreadful defeat.

Coming off the most lopsided loss of his illustrious career — a 38-3 defeat to the Saints — Brady threw touchdown passes to Cameron Brate, Mike Evans and Rob Gronkowski, then ran for another score in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Jones’ run in the third quarter broke open a tight game. He raced up the middle behind left guard, shook off safety Tre Boston and was gone. Jones finished with a career-high 192 yards and became the fourth NFL player with a TD run of 98 yards or longer, joining Tony Dorsett, Derrick Henry and Ahman Green.

Chris Godwin had 92 yards receiving for the Buccaneers (7-3), who swept the season series and handed the Panthers (3-7) their fifth straight loss.

PACKERS 24, JAGUARS 20

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score as the Packers overcame numerous mistakes to rally.

Rodgers put the Packers (7-2) ahead for good with 9:11 left by throwing a 6-yard TD pass to Davante Adams, who had left with an ankle injury earlier in the second half. Rodgers also had a 5-yard touchdown run and a 78-yard scoring strike to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who caught four passes for a career-high 149 yards.

Keelan Cole scored on a franchise-record 91-yard punt return and a 12-yard reception for Jacksonville (1-8), which lost its eighth straight. Jacksonville’s James Robinson rushed for 109 yards on 23 carries.

Cole became the first Jaguar ever to score on a punt return and a reception in the same game, as well as the first player from any team ever to accomplish that feat against the Packers..

Green Bay entered the game as a two-touchdown favorite but had enough breakdowns to give Jacksonville hope. The Jaguars rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit by scoring 10 points off turnovers in the second half.

LIONS 30, WASHINGTON 27

DETROIT — Matt Prater made a 59-yard field goal as time expired. Matthew Stafford threw two of his three touchdown passes in the first half and directed the winning drive with just 16 seconds left. Rookie defensive end Chase Young was called for roughing the passer, giving Detroit the ball at midfield. Stafford threw a 9-yard pass to Marvin Jones to set up the kick.

The Lions (4-5) won at home for the first time in more than a year after building a 14-point lead at halftime and going ahead 24-3 midway through the third quarter.

Washington (2-7) pulled into a tie by scoring touchdowns on three straight series in the second half in Alex Smith’s first start in nearly two years. But its defense could not stop Stafford when it mattered most.

GIANTS 27, EAGLES 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Daniel Jones threw for 244 yards and ran for a touchdown, and Wayne Gallman Jr. had two TD runs.

The Giants improved to 3-7 under first-year coach Joe Judge with their second straight win, snapping an eight-game losing streak against Philly. The Eagles (3-5-1) still lead the NFL’s worst division, the NFC East. Dallas and Washington are each 2-7.

Carson Wentz and the rest of Philadelphia’s offense were out of sync following a bye. They were 0 for 9 on third downs. Boston Scott had a 56-yard TD run early in the third quarter but the Eagles couldn’t get closer.

Jones ran untouched 34 yards for a score to cap a well-executed 85-yard drive to start the game, and the Giants led the entire game. It was similar to Jones’ 80-yard run against Philadelphia in a 22-21 loss on Oct. 22 except he didn’t stumble at the 8 this time.

Jones finished with 64 yards rushing and the Giants had 151 on the ground.

BROWNS 10, TEXANS 7

CLEVELAND — Nick Chubb returned from a stint on injured reserve and scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter — topping 100 yards rushing along with teammate Kareem Hunt.

Chubb reeled off a 59-yard run with 1:07 left and then smartly ran out of bounds at the 2-yard line instead of scoring so the Texans, who were out of timeouts, wouldn’t get the ball back. Chubb finished with 126 yards on 19 carries in nasty weather. Hunt finished with 104 yards, including 37 yards — and three first downs — on Cleveland’s final drive as the Browns (6-3) ran out the clock.

With the Browns up 3-0 on a day when passing was almost impossible, Chubb, playing for the first time since Oct. 4, took a handoff on the right, cut left and ran past Texans defensive end J.J. Watt as Cleveland finally found the end zone to go up 10-0.

Deshaun Watson’s 16-yard TD pass to Pharaoh Brown with 4:59 left pulled the Texans (2-7) within three, but Hunt pounded away after the Browns were backed up at their 3 after a muffed kickoff.