The Arizona Cardinals took a front row seat to Gardner Minshew delivering new heroics. Minshew came off the bench to lead the comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys 33-30 in overtime Sunday. But that rally likely would've never been made possible if it weren't for Mike LaFleur.
The rookie head coach won his first two NFL games with Jacoby Brissett behind center. But he got real about his decision to switch to Minshew.
“I thought we needed a spark. And it was a collective deal,” LaFleur explained. “You know, I need to be better about with our scheme and play calling. All of us need it.”
LaFleur still showed he made a wise decision. Minshew got the Cards to rally back from a double digit fourth quarter deficit. He found wide receiver Michael Wilson in the back of the end zone to tie things up at 30 with less than seven seconds left. But the Cards missed the point after attempt.
Still, Minshew was behind center for the final eight-play, 44-yard drive that set up the walk off Chad Ryland 42-yard field goal. LaFleur praised the grit of his team as Arizona moves to 3-5 overall.
“They're always in the fight. That was a total team effort right there. Obviously, we didn't do enough on offense, and that was a collective. That was not just on one person,” LaFleur said to reporters.
Minshew finished 15-of-20 passing for 173 yards and tossed three touchdowns. And three of his incompletions were spikes to prevent time from ticking away.