Five Season-Defining Plays from the 2022 Arizona Cardinals

Aside from the highlights, what were the most important plays of the 2022 season for the Arizona Cardinals?

Author:
Richie Bradshaw
Publish date:
Apr 11, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

In this story:

It was a rough season for the 2022 Arizona Cardinals and we learned a lot about this team during the 17 games we saw them suit up. It was a lot of bad play, but there were also some great moments to come from the season. The bottom line here is that the Cardinals 2022 season was defined by several plays and some that will

Fair warning - this is not a highlight list. The Cardinals did have several highlight-worthy plays in 2022, but this list is about the most important or season-defining plays. Spoiler alert - not every play on here was a good one.

That said, let's get started:

5. Insane trick-play to old man A.J. Green

In the final game of the 2022 season, Kliff Kingsbury and the Cardinals took off the restraints to this offense and just threw everything out there. Whether or not it worked is irrelevant given the team's record and status entering the game. All we wanted was to see some excitement before the season concluded.

The Cardinals were blown out 38-13, but there were some cool moments to take away from the performance, and none more so than the ridiculous trick play called for veteran A.J. Green. On a fake end around and double pass, Green caught a bomb down the field over two defenders and then found himself into the endzone for a 77-yard score. It was one of the offense's flashiest plays all year.

In what ended up being Green's last catch of his career, this was definitely a great way to go out. It was as beautiful a tick play as you'll see executed.

4. Marco Wilson's pick-six dive into the end zone vs Saints

The Cardinals have won just one home game dating back to October 25, 2021, but it was a fabulous Thursday Night Football win vs the New Orleans Saints.

There were several highlight performances from the game both offensively and defensively, but the standout play came from cornerback Marco Wilson on his pick-six off Andy Dalton. It was a wonderful interception that Wilson returned 38-yards for a touchdown including a dive into the end zone that you can probably purchase as a fat head.

The meme-worthy play was one of the most exciting for the Cardinals all season long and accentuated the rare home win for the Cardinals.

3. Game-winning scoop-and-score in OT vs Raiders

I had a hard time deciding which defensive score to put higher but went with Byron Murphy's fumble recovery and a subsequent touchdown in an overtime thriller against the Las Vegas Raiders all the way back in week two of the season.

The Cardinals felt out of this game but like Randy Marsh didn't hear no bell. In spite of a 20-0 deficit at halftime, the Cardinals proceeded to outscore the Raiders 29-3 in the second half with unbelievable plays from Marquise Brown and Kyler Murray on offense (including Murray's ridiculous two-point conversion), but the biggest came in overtime that ultimately sealed away the miraculous comeback.

Isaiah Simmons flew in and gave Hunter Renfrow a nice check to pop the ball free which was then scooped up by Murphy and returned 59-yards for the game-winning touchdown. This play told us that the Cardinals were going to give us more than our fair share of heart attacks during the 2022 season.

2. J.J. Watt's ovation in the final game of his career

The future Pro Football Hall of Fame pass rusher enjoyed a wonderful send-off game against the 49ers. Even though the Cardinals were blown out as previously mentioned, it didn't stop Watt from a dominating individual performance.

Watt was able to bring down Brock Purdy twice and had three TFLs plus a pass deflection in his final NFL game. The game was nothing short of vintage J.J. Watt and even fans of the 49ers were able to appreciate the man's performance.

When the game came to a close and Watt left the field for the last time, he was greeted with a standing ovation from all those in the crowd. Game recognizes game, and this was truly a special moment for Watt and the Cardinals fans who got to enjoy him the last two seasons.

1. Kyler Murray tears his ACL

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the most important play from the 2022 season wasn't a great one. Instead, it was an injury that really put into perspective how difficult the season had been for the team.

In week 14 at home against the New England Patriots, Kyler Murray was injured on a run via non-contact and it wound up that the 25-year-old quarterback tore his ACL on the opening drive of the game. Murray had been battling lingering injuries all season long, but this proved to be the nail in the coffin that ended his 2022 season early and may hold him out to start the 2023 campaign.

When the injury occurred, it simply felt comical as though every time you said "Things can't possibly get worse" they did. It was the worst way to be proven wrong in that regard and it was the perfect way to sum up the Cardinals 2022 season...