Cardinals Rally to Beat Raiders in OT, 29-23

The Las Vegas Raiders seemed headed for the first victory in the Josh McDaniels era for most of the day, before the Arizona Cardinals stole it away.

Linebacker Isaiah Simmons knocked the ball loose from wide receiver Hunter Renfrow of the Raiders, and after a scramble, cornerback Byron Murphy scooped up the pigskin and ran 59 yards for a touchdown to give the Cardinals a wild and whacky 29-23 overtime victory at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The Raiders (0-2) built a 20-0 lead at halftime, and Daniel Carlson’s third field goal of the game gave the Silver and Black a 23-7 lead with 1:38 left in the third quarter, but then standout dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray of the Cardinals suddenly woke up.

Murray, limited to 53 yards passing in the first half, completed three passes for 45 yards while driving Arizona 54 yards on nine plays to a one-yard touchdown run by Darrel Williams. Then Murray went back to pass and ran around the field for almost 21 seconds before scoring a two-point conversion that made it 24-15 with 8:13 in the game.

Quarterback Derek Carr of the Raiders, who was nearly flawless in the first half, got one first down on two runs for 10 yards by running back Josh Jacobs, but the Cardinals held and Las Vegas was forced to punt the ball back with 4:43 remaining.

This time, Murray took the Cardinals 73 yards on 17 plays, by passing for 43 yards and keeping the drive alive with his legs on a couple runs before scrambling six yards for a touchdown on fourth down as the clock ran out to make it 23-21.

The Cardinals were penalized five yards for delay of game, putting the ball at the seven-yard-line, before Murray hit wide receiver A.J. Green with an incredible throw in the back of the end zone and Arizona sent the game into overtime at 23-23.

The Raiders’ defense, which held the Cardinals to 83 yards in the first half, held Arizona on downs at the Las Vegas 41-yard-line on the first series of overtime when Murray threw an incomplete pass on fourth down and the Silver and Black seemed set to move into position for another game-winning field goal by Carlson—who hasn’t missed in his last 28 three-point tries.

Carr hit Renfrow with passes of seven and 11 yards to start the final possession for the Raiders, but after missing on a deep pass to wide receiver Davante Adams, Carr hit Renfrow on a short pass but this time he lost the ball and the Cardinals won the game on Murphy’s return.

The Raiders built their 20-0 halftime lead when Carr drove them 75 yards on 16 plays following the opening kickoff and hit Adams with a one-yard touchdown pass with 5:33 left in the first quarter.

Carlson kicked a 32-yard field goal with 11:40 left in the second quarter, then Carr made it 17-0 on a three-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darren Waller at the end of a 59-yard, seven-play drive with seven minutes left and Carlson’s 55-yard field goal on the last play of the half made it 20-0.

After Arizona scored on Murray’s five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Dortsch with 6:03 left in the third quarter, Carlson added a 25-yard field goal 1:38 before the end of the quarter and it seemed that might be enough,

However, Murray and the Cardinals thought otherwise.

Murray completed 31-of-49 passes for 277 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while running five times for 28 yards and a touchdown, while Williams led the Cardinals with 59 yards on eight carries. Tight end Zach Ertz caught eight passes for 75 yards and Marquise Brown had six receptions for 68 yards.

Carr completed 25-of-39 passes for 252 yards with the two touchdowns without an interception, and was sacked only once after going down five times last week against then Los Angeles Chargers. Jacobs rushed 19 times for 69 yards, while Renfrow led the Raiders with seven catches for 59 yards, Waller had six for 50 and the TD, and wide receiver Mack Hollins had five for 66.

Adams, who made 10 receptions for 141 yards in his Raiders debut last week, was limited to two for 12 yards and the score.

Linebacker Divine Deablo led the Raiders with 15 tackles, while linebacker Jayon Brown added 12 and cornerback Nate Hobbs had 11. The Raiders had only one sack of Murray, that coming from defensive end Maxx Crosby, who added four tackles, two quarterback hits and one tackle for a loss.

The Raiders go back on the road in Week 3 looking for their first victory, traveling to meet the Tennessee Titans next Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. The Silver and Black will return to Allegiant Stadium the following Sunday to take on the AFC West rival Denver Broncos on Oct. 2 before heading out on the road again to play the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night Football on Oct. 12.

That means the Raiders will face the other three teams in the AFC West within the first five games of the 2022 season.

The Raiders (0-2) will kickvoff next Sunday at 10 AM PDT in Nashville, Tennessee against the Titans. You can watch the game on FOX.

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