Kyler Murray Throws Last-Second INT as Packers Hand Cardinals 1st Loss of Season

There will be no undefeated team in the NFL this season.

The Green Bay Packers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 24-21 in Thursday's marquee showdown at State Farm Stadium. It appeared as if Kyler Murray was going to lead a 99-yard drive to win the game in the final seconds, but he threw an interception to Rasul Douglas in the end zone while A.J. Green didn't even look for the ball.

Green Bay improved to 7-1 on the season as a result even though Aaron Rodgers didn't have his top three wide receivers in Davante Adams, Allen Lazard or Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

The late push wasn't enough for the Cardinals, who fell to 7-1 and just ahead of the 6-1 Los Angeles Rams in the daunting NFC West.

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Notable Player Stats

• Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB: 22-of-37 passing for 184 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
• Aaron Jones, RB, GB: 15 carries for 59 yards, 1 TD; 7 catches for 51 yards
• Randall Cobb, WR, GB: 3 catches for 15 yards, 2 TDs
• Kyler Murray, QB, ARI: 22-of-33 passing for 274 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs
• James Conner, RB, ARI: 5 carries for 22 yards, 2 TDs
• Chase Edmonds, RB, ARI: 7 carries for 30 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches for 39 yards

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Packers' Game Plan Overcomes Goal-Line Struggles

Everything looked to be going as well as the Packers could have possibly hoped for given the absence of Rodgers' presumed top three pass-catchers.

They chewed up the clock to the tune of 37 minutes and 35 seconds of possession and did so with a powerful rushing attack, quick screens and dump-off passes from the future Hall of Famer. Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon set the tone in the first half with their physicality as they bowled over multiple Cardinals defenders.

Jones scored Green Bay's first touchdown by running through multiple tacklers only after Dillon kept the drive alive by overpowering a defender on his own to convert a key fourth down.

Rodgers also wasn't about to go the entire game without finding the end zone even though his weapons were even further depleted when Robert Tonyan exited with an injury. He hit Randall Cobb for two touchdowns in the second half as the Packers continued to keep the ball out of Murray's hands and maximize their efficiency without so many playmakers.

However, there wouldn't have been nearly as much stress at the end for the victors if they could execute at the goal line.

They were up just three at the half in part because they chose to throw three straight times after Rondale Moore's muffed punt set them up with 1st-and-goal from Arizona's 3-yard line. They were all incompletions, but at least Green Bay came away with a field goal that time.

That is more than it could say in the fourth quarter when it had a chance to put the game away, but Jones' touchdown run was overturned on first down before he was stuffed at the goal line on second down. The Packers took a delay of game from there, and Rodgers' third-down run came up short before he threw an incompletion on fourth down.

Dillon was nowhere to be seen for some reason, and the visitors nearly set Arizona up for a dramatic 99-yard touchdown drive to win it. Instead, their clock-controlling game plan paid off.

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Arizona's Offense Comes Alive Too Late

There is just one bye available in the NFC playoff race, and the battle between the Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rams, Dallas Cowboys and Packers figures to be tight throughout the season.

That made Thursday's loss all the more difficult for Arizona to accept, especially since it was at home against a Green Bay team that was missing many of the key players it will likely have if there is a playoff rematch.

The Cardinals defense fell apart late outside of the goal-line stand, but Rodgers is eventually going to break through against almost anyone. Instead, the offense is largely to blame even though it appeared dialed in from the start when Chase Edmonds scored a touchdown in the first quarter after a deep ball from Murray to DeAndre Hopkins.

That was it for the rest of the first half that also included Moore's muffed punt and Hopkins on the sidelines for an extended period of time because of hamstring concerns.

Things got worse when Henry Black picked off Murray deep inside Arizona territory to set up a Packers touchdown to start the second half. Green Bay's defense deserves plenty of credit for keeping Murray inside the pocket for much of the game, but the Cardinals offense was out of sync until the end.

Murray finally started spreading the ball around to different receivers with quick-hitters, and James Conner capped off drives of 81 yards and 75 yards with touchdown runs after the first interception. The offensive rhythm that was missing for so long was finally there, and never more so than during the potential game-winning 99-yard drive as Murray threw darts and made plays with his legs.

Until the interception happened.                      

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What's Next?

Both teams are on the road for Week 9 when the Packers face the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cardinals play the San Francisco 49ers.