New England Patriots Defeat Arizona Cardinals on MNF, 27-13, Murray Injured

The New England Patriots stayed in the playoff hunt following a win on Monday Night Football over the Arizona Cardinals, 27-13. The Pats managed to erase the deficit at halftime and use the fact the Cards didn’t have Kyler Murray, who picked up an injury in the first period and had to leave the game.

Murray apparently injured his knee, and was carted off the field. According to some sources, the former No.1 pick will have to make a pause, not specified how long, but also, for the moment, it seems that his ACL isn’t torn. The Cards’ superstar will have additional tests tomorrow morning when we expect a full report on the situation.

The injury occurred when Murray tried to rush, just a minute and a half into the game, with him not colliding with the Pats’ defenders.

re Kyler Murray, here's his injury and 2 other examples of anterior tibial translation and rapid posterior reduction. pic.twitter.com/vGwnpq2Xl3

— Brian Sutterer MD (@BrianSuttererMD) December 13, 2022

After that, backup QB Colt McCoy entered the field, and for a brief moment, he had a good result in his hands, with the Cardinals leading at halftime, 13-10, but he and the Cards’ couldn’t endure New England’s pressure.

The Pats were ferocious in the second half, scoring 17 straight points to win this one, 27-13, with the critical moment of the game taking place in the third period, once they forced a fumble and returned the ball all the way to the end zone, to break the tie and take a 20-13 lead.

Kyle Dugger forced a fumble, stripping DeAndre Hopkins off a football. After that, Raekwon McMillan took the ball and ran for 23 yards to shift the momentum and bring the lead to the Pats’ side.

“I looked back, saw it was just me and a lineman,” McMillan said of his mindset when scooping the fumble. “I said ‘If I can’t beat a lineman, then I don’t deserve to be out here.'”

From this moment on, it was evident that the Patriots were behind the wheel and that the Cards had no chance of coming back. On the very next drive, the Pats intercepted McCoy, and then Mac Jones led the Pats to another touchdown, which Pierre Strong Jr finalized with a three-yard rush.

It was interesting that Jones didn’t throw a single touchdown in this event, having one interception along the way. He was 24/35 and was sacked once, for 235 yards.

Meanwhile, Pierre Strong Jr. ran for 70 yards on five occasions, Kevin Harris had one touchdown as well, but he had only 26 rushing yards. Overall, the Pats racked up 103 yards on the ground. Hunter Henry was the best receiver, with 70 yards on three catches.

Colt McCoy was once intercepted as well, and he, too, didn’t have a single touchdown pass and was 27-for-46 for 246 yards. What was a problem for the veteran QB, was his protection because the Pats reached him on six occasions for 45 negative yards. James Conner was the leading threat on the offensive side, 15 carries for 85 yards and one touchdown.

“We’ve battled injuries all year long,” McCoy said. “The guys that are going to go in there are going to fight until the very end.”

The Cardinals now travel to Mile High to face the Broncos, who are in terrible shape. Besides the problems on the field, the pressure and the frustration on the sidelines and the stands are massive, with Russell Wilson being in the middle of everything.

On the other side, the Pats also face one team from the AFC West, the Las Vegas Raiders.