Cardinals at Patriots score: New England boots game-winning field goal as time expires for fifth win of 2020

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots moved to 5-6 on the season on the foot of kicker Nick Folk, who booted the game-winning field goal from 50 yards out as time expired to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, 20-17. This was a rather improbable outcome for Bill Belichick's club, especially as the Cardinals were the ones seemingly in a position to win the game on a field goal of their own, but kicker Zane Gonzalez went wide right from 45 yards out on Arizona's final drive of the day. 

That miss by Gonzalez gave New England new life after Cam Newton threw what at the moment appeared to be a dagger interception with 4:27 to play in the game. With zero timeouts and 1:47 remaining, Newton was able to redeem himself, helping the Patriots march 33 yards down the field to set up Folk's game-winner. 

Things didn't start out so rosy for the Patriots as Newton's first interception on the day directly led to the Cardinals going up 7-0 to begin the contest. While Arizona seemed to be knocking on the door of running away with this game at times, they were never able to fully get the offense humming. 

Kyler Murray had 170 yards through the air and a pick in the loss. Meanwhile, Newton finished with just 84 yards passing and two interceptions while rushing for 46 yards. Running backs James White and Kenyan Drake each had two rushing touchdowns on the day.

To get a more comprehensive breakdown of how New England pulled off the win, check out our main takeaways below.  

Why New England won

it wasn't pretty, but Bill Belichick and the Patriots were simply able to grind out a win. They didn't play their best brand of football in this contest but did just enough to hang around until the very end of the game and took advantage of key miscues made by the Cardinals. One example was Adrian Phillips' interception of Kyler Murray. On the ensuing offensive possession, Cam Newton and the offense were able to claim their first lead of the game. New England also capitalized off Zane Gonzalez's missed field goal at the tail end of the contest, driving down the field with less than two minutes to boot the game-winner. 

On top of those key sequences, the Patriots defense deserves a lot of credit for silencing the potent Cardinals offense. Stephon Gilmore did a strong job blanketing DeAndre Hopkins to where he only had five receptions for 55 yards on the day. Meanwhile, defensive tackle Adam Butler arguably had his best game as a pro as the fourth-year player out of Vanderbilt was a force on the interior of the defensive line. He finished with five tackles (two for a loss), three quarterback hits, and a sack. 

Why Arizona lost

At times throughout this game and specifically in the first half, it appeared like the Cardinals were on the verge of running away with this game. That said, Kliff Kingsbury's club could never quite get over the hump and get a comfortable lead. They tried doing just that at the end of the first half by opting for a goal-line run with the knowledge that they were also able to get the ball to start the second half, but Kenyan Drake couldn't punch it in. That allowed the Patriots to build up some confidence on the defensive side of the ball, which they carried over in the final two quarters where they allowed just seven points while New England's offense dropped 13.

In the end, the Cardinals just didn't play up to their talent level. Arizona won the turnover battle, created more yards on offense, and had nearly a double-digit time of possession lead, but they couldn't squeak out the win. Zane Gonzalez's missed 45-yard field goal was, of course, a key moment in their loss but you could make a strong argument that the Cardinals shouldn't have even let it get to that point.

Turning point

As is the case with many games, there were a few swing moments that contributed to New England's win. The first came in the closing seconds of the first half as Arizona had the ball at the goal-line. Instead of kicking the field goal to go up 13-7, the Cards tried to punch it in for six. The Patriots held firm, stopped them at the one, and left no time on the clock for a field goal. 

They carried the momentum from that stop into the second half and was sparked even further by Adrian Phillips' interception off Kyler Murray with 6:21 remaining in the third quarter and the score knotted at 10 apiece. The Patriots offense was able to capitalize off that turnover on a six-play, 31-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by James White rushing for his second score of the afternoon. 

Finally, the missed field goal attempt by Gonzalez was obviously another massive swing. That gave the ball back to the Patriots offense at their own 27-yard line with 1:47 to play and only needed a field goal to win, which they were able to get in the closing seconds. 

Play of the game

Even for a game that didn't have many splash plays, it doesn't get much better than this throw from Kyler Murray. On a third-and-7 play from their own 31-yard line, Murray dropped back to pass and almost instantly had pressure in his face from New England's Chase Winovich. More Patriots defenders began crashing down on his blindside in what looked like was going to be an inevitable sack. Because of Murray's remarkable speed and arm, the former No. 1 overall pick effortlessly flicked a 17-yard pass to tight end Dan Arnold for the first. Again, you're not going to find many quarterbacks who can make that throw under that type of pressure. 

What's next

From here, the Patriots will head out west, where they'll face the Chargers (Week 13) and Rams (Week 14) in Los Angeles in back-to-back weeks. As for the Cardinals, they'll head back to Arizona and await the Rams in a pivotal NFC West head-to-head.