Murray throws 2 TD passes to help the Cardinals hold on 20-13 in Saints coach Moore’s debut

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kyler Murray felt ill when he woke up Sunday.

The Arizona quarterback’s ability to play through it made him and the Cardinals feel better about the beginning of this NFL season.

Murray threw two touchdown passes and the Cardinals narrowly held on for a 20-13 victory over penalty-prone New Orleans in the Saints’ first game under rookie coach Kellen Moore.

“I woke up with something, but I wasn’t going to miss the game,” Murray said. “I don’t really know what sickness could make me miss a game.”

Murray passed for 163 yards, hitting Marvin Harrison Jr. five times for 71 yards and a TD. Murray also rushed for 38 yards and his other TD toss came on a 4-yard shovel pass to running back James Conner.

“This is the NFL,” Murray said. “It’s not easy, and never will be easy, no matter who you’re playing.”

The margin, in the end, was razor thin.

Saints tight end Juwan Johnson had both hands on a potential tying catch at the goal line in the final seconds, but safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson were able to force the ball loose as Johnson crashed down hard in the end zone.

“It was really guys straining to finish,” Cardinals cornerback Will Johnson said. “That’s what we harp on, and we put that on display.”

Saints star running back Alvin Kamara scored on an 18-yard, tackle-slipping run around the right end. Spencer Rattler passed for 214 yards without a turnover while nearly rallying the Saints back late.

“Spence did some good stuff,” said Moore, who was hired after serving as offensive coordinator last season for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

“I love the way he approached it, the mindset he played with,” Moore said. “He gave us a chance.”

Rattler, a second year pro who has now lost all seven of his NFL starts, drove the Saints for Blake Grupe’s short field goal to pull New Orleans within a touchdown with 2:42 left.

After Alontae Taylor’s third-down sack on a cornerback blitz forced Arizona to punt from inside the 20, the Saints began a potential tying drive on their 42 with just less than two minutes left.

Without any timeouts, Rattler scrambled for 9 yards and completed five quick passes to move the Saints to the Arizona 18. After a spike to stop the clock with 13 seconds left, Rattler took three shots at the end zone, but his first two were broken up and the third sailed a bit long and out of bounds.

“You wouldn’t think that this is just his second year,” Kamara said about Rattler. “He walks into those situations and he just attacks them. … That’s a good thing moving forward to see from him.”

The Saints, who saw their streak of six season-opening victories snapped, took a brief first-half lead on Kamara’s scoring run in the second quarter.

Soon after, Murray’s 45-yard pass to Harrison set up Arizona’s first TD on Harrison’s 1-yard catch.

New Orleans tied it on Grupe’s 36-yard field goal before Conner’s TD made it 17-10 just before halftime.

Chad Ryland’s 50-yard field goal made it 20-10 in the third quarter. But after Grupe missed a 37-yard field goal attempt, Ryland’s 46-yard attempt to further widen Arizona’s lead was blocked by defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, setting the stage for the late drama.

Aging well

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, now in his 15th season, was expected to play more of a reserve role this season but started because Chase Young was out with a calf injury. Jordan had 1 1/2 sacks, pushing his career total to 123, tied for 20th on the NFL list with Robert Mathis.

“I’ll let accolades be what they are,” Jordan said. “I just want to help the defense try and win and I feel like I can do that.”

Flags fly

The Saints were penalized 13 times for 89 yards, with many infractions coming on improper alignments, shifts or motion by the offense.

“We got a play at a higher standard,” Moore said about the penalties. “It’s not something that’s come up the last weeks. So, that’s a frustrating thing when it shows up on game day and puts us in some bad positions.”

The Cardinals were flagged nine times for 54 yards.

Injuries

Cardinals linebacker Cody Simon and safety Joey Blount both were shaken up on kickoff coverage late in the first half. Coach Jonathan Gannon said they were being evaluated for concussions.

Saints right tackle Taliese Fuaga went to the sideline with a knee injury in the second half. He watched the rest of the game from the bench area.

Up next

Arizona hosts Carolina on Sunday, while New Orleans hosts San Francisco.

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