Interceptions by Jefferson and Peterson allowed the Cardinals to take control in Week 2
Sep 20, 2015, 4:19 PM
Arizona Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson (22) celebrates a touchdown after intercepting a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
The story of Week 2 for the Arizona Cardinals is going to be Larry Fitzgerald’s career day, but it would be unwise to forget the two interceptions that Tony Jefferson and Patrick Peterson provided in key moments.
Jefferson’s interception with 3:08 left in the second quarter came at a critical point for the Cardinals. The Bears had tied it at 14 and it looked like a back-and-forth shootout was underway. The Cardinals quickly responded with Fitzgerald’s first of three touchdown catches on the day to give Arizona a 21-14.
Chicago’s offense looked to tie it up again, but instead it was a game-changing 26-yard interception return from Jefferson to give the Cards a 28-14 lead. That pick-six gave the Arizona enough insurance to be able to afford the game to get to 28-20 at the end of the first half.
The comeback was on for the Bears until Peterson had his turn at his own interception, which led to Fitzgerald’s second touchdown of the game to make it 35-20. From that point on, the Cardinals dominated and never looked back.
When a team scores 48 points it’s hard to say that defense swung the game, but those two plays by Jefferson and Peterson were monumental to the team’s win.
