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Arizona Cardinals win “Clutch Play of the Year” for Hail Mary game-winner

Sad Bills fans.

Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade.

The Arizona Cardinals won the Bridgestone Clutch Performance Play of the Year at Saturday night’s NFL Honors ceremony, but that’s not going to make Buffalo Bills fans happy. Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins connected on the so-called “Hail Murray” touchdown pass to win the game and defeat the Bills with seconds left on the clock.

The remarkable play overshadowed a great clutch performance by the Bills. A nice drive was capped with a gorgeous Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs go-ahead touchdown pass. They gave the ball back to the Cardinals who won the game.

We broke down the play ad nauseum when it happened. Defensive end Mario Addison, safety Jordan Poyer, safety Micah Hyde, and cornerback Tre’Davious White all had shots to disrupt or prevent the play from happening. Sometimes, great players make great plays and Hopkins plucked it from the air on the pass from Murray.

It was Buffalo’s only loss from October 25 to January 24, preventing them from earning a 12-game winning streak.