Kyler Murray returns as Cardinals win late vs. Falcons

Nov 12, 2023, 5:21 PM | Updated: Nov 13, 2023, 1:30 am

(Felisa Cardenas/Arizona Sports)

Arizona Sports

Kyler Murray is back.

Arizona quarterback Murray ran for 33 yards, including 13 yards to Atlanta’s 45-yard line with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter, and threw for 249 yards with a 33 yard teardrop to tight end Trey McBride with 47 seconds left before kicker Matt Prater sealed the deal as the Cardinals beat the Falcons 25-23 on Sunday.

It was Murray’s first action in 11 months — Dec. 12, 2022 — since he tore his ACL against the New England Patriots.

Kyler runs for a TD in his first game back

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Murray didn’t throw for any touchdowns but ran for one, helping move Arizona to 2-8 on the season. He also threw an interception in the win.

Returning alongside Murray was running back James Conner, who ran 16 times for 73 yards. Conner had missed the previous four games with a knee injury that placed him on injured reserve.

McBride did something that a Cardinals tight end hadn’t in 34 years. The 23-year-old became the first Cardinals tight end to have more than 100 receiving yards since Rob Awalt in 1989. Awalt achieved his feat on Nov. 12, 1989, when he hauled in 105 yards against the Dallas Cowboys for the then-Phoenix Cardinals. McBride finished with eight catches for 131 yards.

McBride has had a pretty busy second year with the Cardinals. Entering play Sunday, he was up to 28 catches for 287 yards and a touchdown. That includes 10 catches (on 14 targets) for 95 yards and a score against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8.

Prater, who kicked four field goals in the game, also had his own bit of franchise history: He became the Cardinals’ all-time leader in 50-yard field goals. He kicked his 16th and 17th 50 yarders, one from 51 and one from 56, to break Neil Rackers’ club record.

Rackers accomplished his feat in 100 games, whereas it took the 39-year-old Prater just 40 games.

Up next

The Cardinals will be in Houston to take on the Texans on Sunday.

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