'We weren't on the same page, and it cost us,' Kyler Murray said of the game-winning interception intended for A.J. Green.
The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers put on a much-hyped prime-time extravaganza that came down to the very end.
And it ended in about the most awful way possible for Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
Murray zipped a pass towards the end zone meant for A.J. Green, who didn't see it coming, but it was intercepted by Green Bay Packers defensive end Rasul Douglas, sealing a 24-21 Packers win and the Cardinals' first loss.
Murray had come up limping off a 1-yard scramble just two plays prior and then limped away from the loss.
Murray's pride appeared to be hurting more than anything else following the defeat, and he maintained what appeared to be a probable injury to his lower left leg was nothing to worry about.
"Yeah, I'm good. Guy rolled up on me," said Murray, who was tackled from behind on a scramble by Darnell Savage, whose weight came down on Murray's legs.
On second-and-goal from the Green Bay 5-yard line with 15 seconds left and the Cardinals behind by a touchdown, Murray took a shotgun snap and fired to the far side of the end zone nearly instantly. Douglas read the ball precisely and was able to cradle the game-winning interception. Green never saw the ball and never turned right.
Murray, who didn't speak until nearly an hour after the game concluded, had no explanation for what went wrong other than a breakdown in communication.
Green appeared to be running the wrong route, as seen by the fact that he'd barely turned to look for the ball (and turned away from it to boot) by the time Douglas intercepted it, according to Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
"It wasn't the route we thought we checked, so we have to communicate better in those situations," Kingsbury said.
Though it's hard to blame Murray for the outcome of the play, he laboured for much of the game, going 22 of 33 for 274 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. With wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins out for most of the game due to a hamstring injury, Green became Murray's primary target, catching five passes for 50 yards on eight targets.
Murray, as previously said, did not speak to the media until after a significant amount of time had elapsed. Nonetheless, he stated that he had not yet spoken with Green, which, if nothing else, does not augur well for their future conversation.
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