Mind-boggling stats from the Arizona Cardinals vs. Raiders

You can count the Arizona Cardinals win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2 as one for the history books. Here are four reasons why. 

With 8:13 to go in yesterday’s game, quarterback Kyler Murray and the offense lined up for a two-point conversion to bring the Arizona Cardinals to within one possession. Murray took the snap, ran backwards, looked, found no one, scrambled again, looked downfield one more time and you guessed it, saw nothing, before finding a running lane and bolting just past the goal line to cut the Raiders lead to eight.

Fast-forward to the last play in regulation, where Murray again used his legs to bring the Cardinals within two points. The rational fan rightfully believes there is no way the Cardinals would realistically score 16 points in a matter of eight-and-a-half minutes to force overtime. But when Murray hit A.J. Green with an accurate pass between three Raiders defenders, overtime commenced.

Thanks to a heads-up play by Isaiah Simmons on Hunter Renfrow, corner Byron Murphy took ran it back 59 yards for the game-winning touchdown. It sealed a comeback win for the ages. But how significant was the win? Check this out:

Mind-boggling stats in Arizona Cardinals Win: Murphy’s overtime TD

Per the Pro Football Hall of Fame, NFL overtime began in 1958 during The Greatest Game Ever Played. Over the past 65 seasons, the NFL saw several astonishing records in the extra period, and Murphy added his name to the list on Sunday.

No one ever returned a fumble recovery so far for a touchdown in the extra period. So for the time being, Murphy didn’t just run his way into a win; he ran his way into the NFL’s record books. It was such a mind-boggling play that it overshadowed one of Murphy’s other big stats – holding receiver Davante Adams to just 12 receiving yards.

Stat #2 – Murray’s 84.85-yard run to get two points

The NFL first adopted the two-point conversion in 1994, and while someone may have run 84.85 yards between then and 2015 to give their team two points, it is a record for the Next Gen Era, which per NFL.com, started in 2016.

That said, we at least know that no one has run so far to complete the two-point conversion since, so the record during the Next Gen Era belongs to none other than Kyler Murray.

Stats #3 and #4 – Cardinals snap Raiders winning streak

There is a first time for everything, and it was the first time the Raiders lost in franchise history after leading by three possessions at halftime. They were a perfect 39 for 39 before Kyler Murray, Byron Murphy, and the Cardiac Cards had other ideas.

Every team also suffers massive meltdowns every now and again. But this was a special one for the Raiders, who had never lost such a big lead since their founding in 1960.

The win could play as a massive momentum shifter for the Cardinals, as they play the Los Angeles Rams this week. Ironically, the Rams nearly blew a 25 point lead in their Week 2 matchup vs. the Atlanta Falcons. After falling behind 28-3 with 9:22 left in the third quarter, the Falcons found themselves within six points with 4:57 to go in the fourth, but they couldn’t quite complete the comeback.

Article Source: 2022 NFL season, Week 2: What We Learned from Sunday’s games by Around the NFL Staff