Kyler Murray leads Cardinals to 1st win, 26-23 over Bengals

CINCINNATI — Rookie Kyler Murray ran for a touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive to Zane Gonzalez’s 31-yard field goal on the final play Sunday as the Cardinals got their first win under coach Kliff Kingsbury, 26-23 over the Cincinnati Bengals.

In a matchup of winless teams, the Cardinals (1-3-1) were a little bit better, with their Heisman Trophy winner making the difference.

Murray ran 6 yards for Arizona’s first touchdown and saved them after a late defensive collapse. Andy Dalton threw a pair of touchdown passes that tied it 23-23 with 2 minutes to go.

That’s when Murray took the game into his hands.

The Heisman Trophy winner completed a 24-yard pass to David Johnson and scrambled 24 yards to get in range for Gonzalez’s fourth field goal. Murray ran for a career-high 93 yards and completed 20 of 32 passes for 253 yards without an interception.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor will have to wait at least one more week for that first win, his Bengals 0-5 for the first time since 2008.

Cincinnati ended its streak of seven quarters without a field goal as Dalton threw touchdown passes of 2 and 42 yards in the last 4:08. It wasn’t enough as the Bengals’ defense couldn’t stop the Cardinals’ playmaker on the six-play winning drive.

Chase Edmonds put the Cardinals up 23-9 with a 37-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. The Cardinals piled up a season-high 266 yards on the ground and 514 overall.

Kingsbury took a chance early that helped set up that first win. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Cincinnati 6-yard line, Kingsbury went for it and put the ball in Murray’s hands for a run around left end that culminated in his dive into the end zone.

By contrast, Taylor also took a risk, going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Cincinnati 42-yard line, but his play call went nowhere. Dalton took a shotgun snap and was stopped on a keeper. Arizona turned it into Gonzalez’s third field goal for a 16-9 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Murray outgained the Bengals as Arizona forged its first halftime lead of the season. He ran 48 yards, including the first-quarter touchdown, and threw for 129 as the Cardinals outgained the Bengals 272 yards to 90.

REMEMBERING BIDWILL

The Cardinals wore helmet decals honoring longtime owner Bill Bidwell, who died Wednesday at age 88. A moment of silence was held before the kickoff.

INJURIES

Cardinals: S Charles Washington suffered a shoulder injury.

Bengals: LT Cordy Glenn missed his fifth game since suffering a concussion. LT Andre Smith left in the third quarter with an injured left ankle, leaving John Jerry to take the spot. … WR Alex Erickson hit his facemask on the ground while being tackled after a catch in the second quarter and left with a concussion.

UP NEXT

Cardinals host Atlanta on Sunday.

Bengals play at Baltimore on Sunday.