Patriots lean on defense to overpower Cardinals

[December 13, 2022] Linebacker Raekwon McMillan scored his first career touchdown to snap a tie and help propel the New England Patriots to a 27-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night at Glendale, Ariz.

McMillan's 23-yard fumble return gave the Patriots a 20-13 third-quarter lead and Pierre Strong Jr. piled on by rushing for his first career score. Josh Uche matched his career high of three sacks as New England (7-6) had six overall while snapping a two-game losing streak.

Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray was carted off with a potentially serious knee injury on the third play from scrimmage and didn't return. Colt McCoy replaced him and completed 27 of 40 passes for 246 yards and one interception as the Cardinals (4-9) lost their third straight game and seventh in their past nine.

Mac Jones was 24-of-35 passing for 235 yards and one interception for the Patriots. Kevin Harris rushed for his first career touchdown and Matthew Judon had 1.5 sacks to increase his career-best total to 14.5, tying Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers for the NFL lead.

James Conner rushed for 85 yards and one score for Arizona.

Murray was injured on a play in which he dropped back to pass and then scrambled for a gain of 3 yards. He fell awkwardly on the non-contact play and was quickly attended to by team trainers.
 

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy (12) is hit while throwing a pass against the New England Patriots during the third quarter at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Chow-USA TODAY Sports

New England's Nick Folk kicked a 23-yard field goal to tie the score at 13 with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Later in the period, DeAndre Hopkins caught a pass and was carrying the ball loosely. Kyle Dugger supplied a hit and Hopkins fumbled with McMillan picking it up and running for the score to put New England ahead for good with 5:32 left.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Jones teamed with Hunter Henry on a 39-yard pass. The ensuing play was a 3-yard scoring run by Strong to make it a 14-point margin.

After a scoreless first period, Arizona's Matt Prater kicked a 33-yard field goal eight seconds into the second quarter.

Harris scored on a 14-yard run to put the Patriots ahead with 11:25 left in the first half. Prater added a 32-yard field goal and Conner scored on a 10-yard run to give the Cardinals a 13-7 advantage with 2:59 left before the break.

Folk booted a 51-yard field as time expired in the half to pull New England within three.

--Field Level Media

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