The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
D-Hop’s amazing catch: Part planned, part All-Pro excellence
GLENDALE, Ariz. — D.J. Humphries’ stunned expression — mouth hanging open and arms in the air while slowly walking around the field — said it all as Arizona’s left tackle tried to process what he just saw.
But here’s the deal about DeAndre Hopkins’ miraculous catch over three defenders on a throw from Kyler Murray with 2 seconds left that lifted the Cardinals to a 32-30 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday: It was a planned play. Sort of.
The Hail Mary, or in this case the “Hail Murray,“is certainly a low-percentage, desperation play. But this version is one the Cardinals had been practicing for nearly two years since coach Kliff Kingsbury arrived in the desert. It didn’t go exactly to script, but the gist was what the Cardinals wanted.
“That’s the only time I’ve ever seen it not be luck,” Humphries said on Monday. “(Hopkins) went up and took that ball out of the air, grabbed it, brought it down and scored that touchdown. It wasn’t falling and then cradling the ball, it wasn’t a he-tipped-it-and-Icaught-it.’
“It was ‘These three guys are around me, I want the ball more, and I’m going to go get it.’”
Here’s a breakdown of how the play developed from players and coaches:
It started with Murray rolling to his left, which was the plan, even though the right-hander had to throw across his body. The problem was that Humphries slipped and fell while blocking and it allowed Buffalo’s Mario Addison a clear lane to tackle the quarterback.
This is where Murray’s elite speed and shifty style paid off. He did a quick stutter step, which caused Addison to fly by, and Murray had bought himself another second or two to look downfield.
“I fell in the middle of the play; I fall and I lose the edge,” Humphries said. “So I’m thinking, ‘Oh, he’s going to get him’ and ‘Oh my god, I’m going to give up a sack’ to ‘Oh, I forced (Murray to throw) an interception’ to ‘Oh my goodness, it’s a touchdown, we just won!
“There were a lot of emotions within like three seconds of each other.”
After making Addison miss, Murray continued sprinting toward the left sideline. Kingsbury said Hopkins wasn’t the first option on the play: There were a few receivers dragging across the field in front of the end zone, including deep-play threat Andy Isabella.
“But we saw Hop over there and basically said, ‘Hey, if you like the look on Hop, take that shot,’” Kingsbury said.
So Murray did. While falling backward and out of bounds, the 5-foot-10 quarterback heaved the 43-yard pass toward the end zone. He said that when the ball left his hand, he knew it had a chance because of the trajectory and distance.
“It’s funny, all I saw were black gloves arising from everybody,” Murray said. “It was a group of four people, and all I saw were black gloves, so I’m just glad he caught the ball.”