Kliff Kingsbury addresses Cardinals locker room following dramatic win
Nov 15, 2020, 9:06 PM | Updated: 9:30 pm
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals reacts during final moments of the NFL game against the Buffalo Bills at State Farm Stadium on November 15, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Bills 32-30. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
While Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has plenty of years ahead of him as a coach in NFL locker rooms following a win, he will likely never forget what he had to say after Sunday’s 32-30 final over the Buffalo Bills.
DeAndre Hopkins reeled in Kyler Murray’s throw with two seconds left for a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown to seal the win, and thus, the Hail Murray was born.
Here’s Kingsbury after the game in the locker room.
That's the type of win that gets us rolling.#VictorySpeech x #RedSea pic.twitter.com/YRwOJtQtGz
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 16, 2020
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“That’s the type of win that gets us rolling,” he said. “That’s the type you build off of. You kept fighting, you practiced your (expletive) off all week. That’s a hell of a job. Now we set ourselves up for a Thursday night showdown.
“So let’s celebrate this one for about 12 hours — not the 24, not the 24 this time. Get your 12 good ones, and then get back and get ready to play primetime on Thursday night.”
Kingsbury certainly has to feel relieved, as for the third straight week, his decision-making was under fire.
When the Cardinals got the ball back up 26-23 with 4:30 to go, Kingsbury called three straight passing plays, taking only 47 seconds off the clock on a three-and-out to give the Bills back the ball.
During some games, that would have not been as poor of a choice, but with how the Cardinals were running the ball it sure was. The Cardinals had 217 yards on the ground, with Kenyan Drake (6.3), Kyler Murray (5.5) and Chase Edmonds (7.0) combining to average 6.2 yards per carry.
The result was a disaster, as Buffalo went on to score the go-ahead touchdown in a 78-yard drive that went 3:01, leaving Murray and the Cardinals offense with only 34 seconds to score a touchdown. That window of time for Josh Allen to drive the Bills could have been shorter had Kingsbury run out some clock.
Alas, that will not be what was remembered from Sunday night, and instead, it will be the Hail Murray. What a relief, indeed.
