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A head-scratching interception during the Cardinals’ 25–24 loss to the Chargers led to an interesting admission from Kyler Murray during his post-game media session.
The play in question came on fourth-and-1 with 7:11 to go in the second quarter with Arizona leading, 10–7. As Murray looked to extend the drive, the Cardinals quarterback lofted a deep yet underthrown pass to receiver DeAndre Hopkins, opening the door for Chargers safety Derwin James to come away with a huge interception on what was a relatively low-percentage throw for a fourth-down conversion attempt.
After the game, Murray, who made his return from a two-game absence due to a hamstring injury, was asked if he liked the call on that sequence, and proceeded to tell reporters that Hopkins was never meant to be the intended target.
“No, that wasn’t for Hop, actually,” Murray told reporters. “Schematically, I mean, they kind of, we were kind of f-----.”
Murray’s NSFW answer highlights what was another all-around frustrating day for the Cardinals, who endured their third one-score loss on the season to fall to 4–8 and 1–6 at home. For his part, Murray completed 18 of 29 pass attempts for 191 yards, two TDs and the aforementioned INT (his seventh this season).
James’s interception proved to be a pivotal point in the game as the Chargers offense strung together a five-play, 56-yard touchdown drive to put L.A. up, 14–10. Arizona quickly responded with a 14-play, 75-yard series, capped by a five-yard Murray scramble, to re-take the lead just before halftime.
A six-yard Murray pass to running back James Conner early in the fourth quarter broke a 17–17 tie, but both offenses soon stalled, leading to six consecutive punts. Shockingly, the Chargers (6–5) would go on to stun the Cardinals with a one-yard Justin Herbert TD pass to star back Austin Ekeler followed by a two-point conversion toss to tight end Gerald Everett to eke out the road win.
The Cardinals will now have a bye in Week 13 to regroup before welcoming the Patriots (6–5) for a clash on Monday Night Football in Week 14.
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