GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Emari Demercado committed a cardinal football sin by dropping the ball before crossing the goal line.
His inexcusable gaffe sparked a monumental collapse by the Arizona Cardinals.
Demercado had a 72-yard touchdown wiped away early in the fourth quarter and the Cardinals proceeded to blow a 15-point lead on Sunday, losing to the Tennessee Titans 22-21 on Joey Slye’s last-second field goal.
“I’m really close to Emari. I know his character, his IQ of the game,” Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said. “I wouldn’t think Emari would do that, but we all make mistakes. He’s going to take that on the chin, he understands that. He owns up to that. I’m sure he’s frustrated.”
The Cardinals (2-3) won’t soon forget this mistake.
Arizona jumped out to an early 18-point lead against the previously winless Titans and led 21-6 when Demercado broke through the line on a third-and-1 play early in the fourth quarter.
The third-year running back raced through Tennessee’s defense and had a clear path to the end zone before letting up around the 5-yard line as Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed closed in fast. Demercado flipped the ball away just as Sneed reached for it, and the officials initially ruled it a touchdown.
A review showed that Demercado let go of the ball just before crossing the goal line, and the Titans were awarded a touchback.
It was the second straight week an NFL player turned a long TD into a touchback by losing the ball just outside the end zone. Indianapolis receiver Adonai Mitchell had a similar gaffe in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“I was just reminding him that he’s a professional, he’s made countless plays for us, he’s made a lot of explosive plays and to not let that moment affect him,” Cardinals offensive lineman Paris Johnson said. “I wanted to be one of the first people to find him on the sideline and tell him wipe it off and keep going.”
The game unraveled for the Cardinals from there.
Tennessee quickly marched down the field for Tony Pollard’s 1-yard touchdown run to get within 21-12.
The Titans scored their next touchdown on another blunder by the Cardinals. Arizona’s Dadrion Taylor-Demerson intercepted a pass by Cam Ward, but fumbled the ball into the end zone, where Tennessee receiver Tyler Lockett recovered it for the score.
After an Arizona punt, the Titans again moved quickly down the field, setting up Slye’s winning 29-yard field goal just inside the right upright.
In position to go up 22 points on Demercado’s run, the Cardinals instead left the field dejected after becoming the first team in NFL history to lose three straight games on a score on the final play of the fourth quarter. Arizona lost 23-20 to Seattle on a game-ending field goal last week and 16-15 to San Francisco on another the week before.
“That’s how to lose a game 101,” Murray said.
Demercado joins an inglorious list of players who either showboated or got careless at the goal line.
Last week, Mitchell held the ball out as he neared the goal line and lost control of it for a touchback, negating what would have been a spectacular 76-yard touchdown reception in a 27-20 loss to the Rams.
Philadelphia rookie receiver DeSean Jackson lost a touchdown when he tossed the ball behind him at the 1-yard line in 2008 against the Dallas Cowboys. Denver linebacker Danny Trevathan had a similar mental lapse in the 2013 opener, when he negated a pick-6 in his first NFL start by dropping the ball before he got into the end zone.
Dallas defensive lineman Leon Lett had a famous premature celebration in the Super Bowl on Jan. 31, 1993, a touchdown turning to horror as Buffalo’s Don Beebe knocked the ball out of the 290-pound Lett’s hand just short of the goal line.
Those Cowboys still managed to win the Super Bowl. The Cardinals are searching for answers after Demercado’s mistake.
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