Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals have blown three games in a row. They are the first team to be beaten on a last-second field goal ever in the history of the NFL.
In the last game against the winless Tennessee Titans, Arizona built a 21-6 lead, had a touchdown taken off the board, then the Titans drove and scored on a one-yard TD run. With just under five minutes left in the game, “that play” happened.
Spoiler alert: Tennessee scores a touchdown on this crazy play.
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Let’s break it all down, though, and see if there are details that the officials omitted.
First, set the stage. The Cardinals were up 21-12, but stalled on another drive with a three-and-out, then punted. Tennessee began another good drive, this time from its own 19-yard line.
The Titans completed three straight passes before RB Tony Pollard busted off a 14-yard scamper to their own 46. Several more completed passes gave Tennessee good yardage. It was now third-and-two, at Arizona’s 20-yard line.
Rookie QB Cam Ward is lined up in shotgun. The Cardinals only rushed two, but then LB Akeem Davis-Gaither came towards the pocket on a delayed blitz. DT Zachary Carter, brought up from the practice squad for this game, flushed Ward out to the left-side. DT Calais Campbell made a diving tackle attempt, but just barely missed as Ward went out further into the left flats.
At the 25-yard line, Ward flings it in the direction of backup TE Gunnar Helm, who was hugging the sideline at the 10. LB Mack Wilson is approaching Ward to make the tackle if Ward decides to run. As Ward lets the ball fly instead towards Helm, Wilson jumps up and deflects the pass with his left hand. This makes the ball take a different path and subsequently is flying like a wounded duck going now more so into the field than towards the sideline.
The Cardinals had six defensive backs on the field. Backup safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was guarding Helm. When he saw the errant pass now traveling about three yards in the field of play, Taylor-Demerson came off his man, made a nice leap for the ball, and caught it with two hands on the six-yard line.
As Taylor-Demerson was falling towards the turf, he brought the ball into his left hand. After catching the ball, he took exactly three steps as he was falling, then fell at the five-yard line. He first extended his right forearm, which made contact with the ground. Then he fell onto his back, still holding the ball in his left hand.
The force of the fall, plus his body motion rolling to his left, where the ball was cradled, made the ball pop out. Now he was facing down on the half-body roll, and the ball was completely out. Taylor-Demerson hit the ball with his free right hand, trying to grab it, and the ball traveled backwards as Helm landed on him,...
