Kliff Kingsbury didn’t need to get super tricky when it came to play-calling in the Arizona Cardinals’ 2021 debut.
Scoring the first 17 points of the game against the Tennessee Titans made for a methodical plan from then on.
But Kingsbury did get wacky with the final touchdown drive of the first half of a 38-13 win on Sunday.
Got ‘em. @K1 #AZCardinals
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— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2021
On 2nd-and-goal on the Tennessee 2-yard line and with 1:44 left in the second quarter, Arizona called for defensive linemen J.J. Watt and Leki Fotu to line up as blockers on the left side of a heavy formation.
“Complete decorative look with those two big guys and run it the other way,” Kingsbury told Cardinals sideline reporter Paul Calvisi after the game. “(Fotu’s) been asking for the ball when he does speak, which is very rarely.”
While Fotu didn’t get the touch, quarterback Kyler Murray kept the ball and ran right, jogging into the corner of the end zone to put Arizona up 24-6.
How much eye candy was having two defensive linemen? Titans edge rusher Jayon Brown got sleepy staring at that eye candy before shaking back to the reality of Murray sprinting past him on the edge.
“Yeah, I like that,” Murray told reporters of the play. “You get J.J. (Watt) in there — honestly when I came out there, I thought somebody was going to contain, but it is what it is. I’ll take those.”