Week 10 of the 2020 NFL season was headlined by Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray's desperation long bomb to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the dying seconds of their tightly-contested encounter against the Buffalo Bills. Unknown to many, the play entitled ‘Cowboy' was supposed to be reminiscent of a similar scheme executed a few years ago as told by Fox Sports' Peter Schrager on Good Morning Football.
"The play-call was 'Cowboy', named after Aaron Rodgers' pass to Jared Cook in the '17 Divisional Round game. The first look was for Andy Isabella 20 yards on the drag route, but Kingsbury told @K1 if he had @DeAndreHopkins deep, 'let 'er rip'. He did."– @PSchrags pic.twitter.com/lXpCzZ34WH
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) November 16, 2020
The said play can be traced back to the 2016 Divisional Round matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys where the Wisconsin-based squad was closely trailing with seconds left in the final frame. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a 36-yard dart to tight end Jared Cook who toe-dragged on the sidelines.
It eventually allowed the Packers to move up the field where placekicker Mason Crosby successfully converted a 51-yard field goal attempt to ice the 34-31 victory for his team.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury initially planned for Murray to replicate what Rodgers previously did but also gave the green light for his quarterback to throw a Hail-Mary pass if he manages to find Hopkins open on the end zone.
Strong trust between the two Cardinals teammates was evidently shown as Kyler Murray still threw a long dart to DeAndre Hopkins despite him having multiple defenders covering the passing lanes. The four-time Pro Bowl receiver managed to snag the rock and score on the end zone to lift his team to a 32-30 triumph en route to a 6-3 record.
The last-gasp play serves as a reminder for more exciting things to expect from the Murray-Hopkins connection moving forward. After an exhilarating win, the Cardinals will hope to score another victory against a tough division rival in the Seattle Seahawks for Week 11 action.
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