‘ Hail Murray’ — desperation pass to Hopkins is winner
GLENDALE, Ariz. — DeAndre Hopkins knows that fans might view his final, winning catch Sunday as some sort of miracle. Even the players and coaches for the Arizona Cardinals couldn’t hide their disbelief when he jumped over three Buffalo defenders and came down with the ball.
But the threetime AllPro insists there was no magic needed. Just skill.
“Two plus two equals four,” Hopkins said in his usual lowkey delivery. “Go downfield. Throw it up.”
And that’s exactly what the Cardinals did. Kyler Murray completed a stunning 43yard desperation pass to Hopkins with two seconds left to lift Arizona to an improbable 3230 victory over the Bills.
The catch was as sensational as the throw, which was quickly dubbed a “Hail Murray.”
The game appeared lost for the Cardinals until Murray rolled out to his left as the seconds ticked off the clock. He flung the ball toward the end zone, where Hopkins was waiting with three Buffalo defenders draped all over him.
“I knew when it left my hand it had a chance,” Murray said. “You play quarterback, you can tell the trajectory, the touch of the ball.”
Somehow, Hopkins ripped the ball away from the mass of bodies, and the Cardinals started a wild celebration in the end zone.
“I’m still kind of at a loss for words,” Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “What a phenomenal play.”
Josh Allen threw a 21yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs with 34 seconds left that looked like it would win it for the Bills ( 73). But Murray and the Cardinals ( 63, tied for the NFC West lead) ended the Bills’ winning streak at three games with the improbable throw and catch.
It was a crazy ending to another entertaining Cardinals game, which usually have come down to the final seconds in recent weeks. Murray threw for 245 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Hopkins had seven catches for 127 yards — and he’ll remember the last one for a long, long time.
“It was on three people. They were in position. It was just a better catch by I,” Hopkins said.
The Cardinals trailed 239 midway through the third quarter but responded with two touchdown drives sandwiched around a field goal to take a 2623 lead by the beginning of the fourth. Murray, wearing bright yellow cleats, ran for both of the touchdowns, including a 15yard dash up the middle that gave Arizona its first lead of the day.
“He is playing at a ridiculous level,” Kingsbury said. “You have seen it the last few weeks after that first month. Offensively, we have really settled in. Mixing in tempo making great decisions whether it is with his feet, his arm. It is fun to watch. He’s making us right on a lot of plays.”