Big Red
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 1,355
- 0
THE FUMBLE THAT WASN’T
Damiere Byrd had missed two games with a bad hamstring before returning to the field Sunday, and made the longest catch of his career, a perfect 58-yard bomb from Murray. As he neared the goal line, cornerback Isaiah Oliver tackled him, and Byrd – sensing he was close to the goal line – reached to put the ball over the line.
Instead, the ball came loose. The official blew the play dead, Byrd said, which is why he didn’t immediately go after the ball, but the Falcons picked it up, and Atlanta coach Dan Quinn challenged the play. Eventually, the play stood as down at the Atlanta 1.
Afterward, Murray and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald both acknowledged they thought it was a fumble. Kingsbury said he knew it was close. Byrd just said he knew he made a mistake.
“Yeah, next time I’ll just hold on to it,” Byrd said. “I was trying to cap the play off and I got a little greedy. But it worked out for us.”
CHOOSING A FIELD GOAL BEFORE HALFTIME
The Cardinals had the ball on the Atlanta 4-yard line on third down with seven seconds left in the first half and no timeouts. Kingsbury decided to kick the field goal rather than try one more time for a touchdown.
“I got a little spooked after the ball got batted up (on second down) and I just wanted points there,” said Kingsbury, after Murray had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage. “Seven seconds left, that’s close, right on the edge. They were playing some zone defenses, and we just wanted to make sure we got points.”
CHASING DOWN MATT RYAN
The Cardinals got two sacks on the day, both officially split between two players. The first was Corey Peters and Rodney Gunter. Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs split a fourth-quarter sack which forced a punt in a tie game. The Cardinals drove down for the Johnson touchdown catch afterward.
Continue reading...