SI

Kyler Murray’s Miracle Pass to DeAndre Hopkins Was the First Hail Mary He’d Ever Thrown

In Monday’s Hot Clicks: Kyler Murray explains his incredible game-winning touchdown, Cardinals radio announcer Dave Pasch’s call of the play and more.

Dan Gartland

Not bad for his first time

It’s safe to say that Kyler Murray’s desperate heave to DeAndre Hopkins and Hopkins's muscling the ball away from three defenders was the best play of the NFL season thus far. It doesn’t get any better than a game-winning Hail Mary pass. 

Even by Hail Mary standards, the play was exceptionally impressive. Murray, an undersized quarterback not known for his arm strength, narrowly escaped a tackle and threw a 50-plus-yard bomb on the money despite being off balance. Hopkins then rose above a trio of defenders to make a catch that no one else could have made. 

Murray spoke with NBC’s Peter King to break down the play, detailing what the play call was, how he managed to avoid being sacked by Mario Addison and revealing one surprising fact. 

“I’ve never done a Hail Mary before,” Murray said.

Never? It might sound unlikely, but Murray hasn’t often been put in a position to need a desperate play the buzzer. He won three straight Texas state championships in high school, going 42–0 as a starter. In his only full season as a college starter, he went 12–2 with Oklahoma. He played in his share of close games, but nothing comes close to what he did against the Bills. 

“Well, in high school we had a lot of moments,” Murray told King. “Never like this one, though. Last-second, I mean, this is the highest level. Hail Mary, last play of the game. I really have had a lot of moments in my life ... but this one, none can compare.”

Murray has now started 25 games in the NFL. After leading them to a 5-10-1 record last year, the Cardinals are tied atop the NFC West at 6–3, thanks in large part to Murray’s progression as a quarterback. He may not have thrown a Hail Mary before Sunday, but he’s already shown the ability to come through in the clutch. The Hail Mary capped off his league-leading third fourth-quarter comeback and was the fifth game-winning drive of his short career. He’s making it clear he’s going to be a force in this league for years to come.

The best of SI

Dustin Johnson, with his brother Austin as his caddie, was calm, cool and collected on the way to his dominant Masters win. ... Former NFL receiver Russell Shepard has found success in his post-football career in waste management. ... James Harden’s trade request has the Rockets at a crossroads.

Around the sports world

A 24-year-old Ukranian is the new World’s Strongest Man. ... A goalkeeper in a game in Brazil faked an injury but was attacked by a swarm of ants while on the ground. ... The Heat are bringing back Udonis Haslem for an 18th season with the team. 

Great call by Dave Pasch

Awesome layout by The Arizona Republic (and a great photo by the Republic’s Patrick Breen)

Dustin Johnson was overwhelmed after finally earning that green jacket

Tiger had an epic meltdown

Daniel Jones’s speed isn’t so sneaky anymore

Content is unavailable

The Patriots have another former college quarterback playing receiver for them

Tough break for all the Browns bettors out there

When Lane throws his hands in the air, you know it’s over

Is this football?

He had him on skates

They gonna play with three basketballs?

For the second time in three weeks, the Browns played in hellish weather

That weather eventually got to New England

He’s the fourth player in league history with a run of 98 yards or longer

Holly Rowe was on the broadcast for two Big Ten games in a single day

Big, clean hit

It’s like how they fill beers at the concession stand from the bottom, but for golf balls

Jameis has been working on his tap dancing

This is definitely the least-called play in the Madden playbook

He’s right

The national team from San Marino (population: 34,000) didn’t lose back-to-back games for the first time ever, and you can tell from this guy’s reaction how big a deal that is

Not sports

A hiker rescued from Mount Rainier is recovering after being technically dead for 45 minutes. ... A bust of the Greek god Hermes, dating back more than 2,000 years, was discovered during work on an Athens sewer. ... A Belgian racing pigeon was sold at auction for $2 million.

Very clever

Content is unavailable

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

Published
Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

Home/Extra Mustard