Emari Demercado: ‘There’s really no excuse’ for TD-erasing fumble in Titans loss

GLENDALE — The one thing you can’t do on a long run toward the end zone: Drop the ball before crossing the plane.

Unfortunately for Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado, he received a tough lesson in just that in a 22-21 loss to the the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

AGAIN?? what is wrong with these guys pic.twitter.com/s4jeENz1xK

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 5, 2025

Looking to be the dagger to the Titan’s comeback chances, Demercado found the hole on third and one and was off to the races.

The only thing that could realistically stop him was himself.

NARRATOR: That’s exactly what happened.

Before finishing off the would-be 72-yard touchdown run that could have put the Cardinals up 28-6 (barring an extra point) in the fourth quarter, Demercado celebrated early and dropped the ball a second too soon.

The scoring review confirmed as much.

“I made a mistake. There’s really no excuse,” Demercado said after the loss.

“I was obviously emotional. It was a big play, but I just got to be smarter,” the running back added.

Interestingly enough, Demercado marks the second NFL player in as many games to drop the rock short of the end zone, joining Indianapolis Colts wideout Adonai Mitchell in the infamous category.

Both games largely came down to what they did (or this instance, didn’t do).

Kyler Murray on how Emari Demercado’s fumble in the end zone gave the Titans life late and “never in a million years” would he expect the RB to do that given his character and football IQ ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/n04JxYXATz

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) October 6, 2025

“I’m really close with (Emari). I know his character, I know his IQ of the game,” quarterback Kyler Murray said after the loss. “Never in a million years would I think that Emari would do that, but obviously, we all make mistakes.

“He’s going to take that on the chin, he understands that. But at the end of the day, we all just got to be better. He owns up to that. We talk about it all the time. I’m sure he’s frustrated.”

Demercado’s long run before the fumble helped the running back pace the Cardinals’ rushing attack behind 81 yards on three carries.

Michael Carter, meanwhile, got the start and carried the rock 18 times for 51 yards and a touchdown.

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