Late comeback leaves the Arizona Cardinals victorious
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals late-game comeback on Sunday afternoon earned them a hard-fought victory over the Indianapolis Colts
The time was ticking away for the Arizona Cardinals. It was the fourth-quarter of Sunday’s game, and head coach Bruce Arians’ squad somehow found themselves trailing the lowly Indianapolis Colts. A disastrous defeat was now just minutes away.
Down by 10 points, Cards’ quarterback Carson Palmer found wide receiver J.J. Nelson, the team’s new deep threat, for a pretty 45-yard touchdown. Roughly four minutes later, new kicker Phil Dawson booted a 40-yard field goal, tying the contest at 13 apiece. All of a sudden, Arizona fans had interest again.
With a chance to complete the comeback a bit later, the shaky Dawson shanked a field goal attempt of 42 yards. Just moments before, the 42-year old thought he had kicked the game-winner. But it wasn’t to be, the Colts had smartly called a timeout right before, icing the veteran.
Dawson had squandered a golden opportunity, and onto overtime they went. One play into the extra stanza, new Indy signal-caller Jacoby Brissett made the mistake of the day. Safety Tyrann Mathieu snatched an errant throw over the middle, and the Cardinals had another chance to emerge victorious.
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After three safe running plays, Dawson trotted back onto the field for a shot at redemption. This time his 30-yarder was money, and the Cards had escaped, 16-13. The historically accurate placekicker made things right, making the plane ride home with his teammates much more comfortable.
Beating Indianapolis shouldn’t have been so difficult. Not for an Arizona group who’s goal is the Super Bowl. Their showing on Sunday was proof of just how far away from that goal they really are.
After all, Indy didn’t even have their franchise player, Andrew Luck, under center. It’s scary to consider that Brissett, making his first NFL start, almost beat the Cardinals. Losing to the former New England Patriot could have possibly shut the door on the current season, just two weeks into it.
One thing that the late surge by the Cards did show is that they still have heart. Scoring 13 unanswered points on the road, with the pressure on, is something to be proud of. And hopefully something to build on.