Cardinals vs Patriots: Arizona’s woes continue as Kyler Murray hurt in 27-13 loss to New England | CNN

Arizona Cardinals’ woes continue as Kyler Murray hurt in 27-13 loss to New England Patriots

A devastated Kyler Murray was tended to and removed from the field after a non-contact injury early in the first quarter.
CNN  — 

Things went from bad to worse for the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, who suffered a 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots after starting quarterback Kyler Murray was carted off the field in the first quarter.

On the third play of the game, Murray suffered a non-contact knee injury, going down after a 3-yard run. In a sad scene, the devastated 25-year-old, who already missed two games this season due to a hamstring injury, was taken off the field, visibly upset, hunched over and with a towel over his head, after being comforted by teammates.

Murray, who already missed two games this season because of a hamstring injury, is looked over after his knee injury.

“It’s tough to see a player like Murray get hurt,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “I hope he’s OK.”

Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury added: “You see teams go through it every week, but you lose your starter on the third play of the game, non-contact, it’s just tough to watch and see. You gotta be able to rebound and play the game, though.”

With Murray replaced by Colt McCoy – who threw for 246 yards on 27/40 attempts – Arizona and New England were deadlocked 13-13 in the third quarter, until Patriots linebacker Raekwon McMillan returned Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins’ fumble for a touchdown, changing the course of the game.

Patriots linebacker Raekwon McMillan celebrates after returning a fumble to score a touchdown.

“We missed a couple tackles today, so I was making sure we got the tackle. Kyle Dugger made an amazing play on the ball, got it off of him, and I saw the ball, it was me and the sideline and knew I had to pick the ball up before I get out of bounds,” McMillan explained.

“I was looking back and it was only me and the lineman… if I can’t beat the lineman, then I don’t need to be out here,” McMillan joked.

Early in the fourth quarter, New England running back Pierre Strong Jr.’s three-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 14 and a tough defensive effort – which forced two turnovers on downs from the Cardinals in the final quarter – from the Patriots helped seal the win.

“I’m really proud of the way the team handled themselves. Long week. Long trip out here” Belichick concluded post-game.

“Had some young players step up and make some significant plays in the game. It was good to get contributions from everybody. A short week here with Vegas, and we’ll keep grinding and try to be ready to go on Sunday.”

The Patriots (7-6) are now third in the AFC East and travel to Las Vegas to play the Raiders on Sunday, while the Cardinals (4-9) visit the struggling Denver Broncos the same day.