Cardinals running back Emari Demercado made an extremely costly blunder on Sunday as he fumbled away a long touchdown which would have given his team a three-possession lead.
Arizona were leading the Titans 21-6 early in the fourth quarter when Demercado broke loose for a 72-yard touchdown up the middle.
However, replays soon showed that he actually dropped the ball out of his hand before reaching the end zone.
And because the ball bounced out of the end zone, the play was ruled a touchback – scrapping Demercado’s score and giving possession back to Tennessee.
The puzzling moment proved to be a catalyst for the Titans, who pulled off an improbable comeback to notch a 22-21 win.
Tennessee cut their opponents’ lead to two following another bizarre sequence which began after quarterback Cam Ward was picked off.
Emari Demercado lost control of the ball before reaching the end zone on Sunday
He looked disappointed following the mistake – which ultimately cost Arizona the game
It was Arizona’s Dadrion Taylor-Demerson who intercepted the rookie, but he coughed up the ball immediately after.
The ball ultimately ended up in the end zone, where it was recovered by Tennessee’s Tyler Lockett for a score.
Tennessee ultimately won the game with an 11-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a 29-yard field goal.
Incredibly, this is the second time in as many weeks that an NFL player has fumbled away a long touchdown before crossing the end zone.
The Colts’ Adonai Mitchell looked set to score a 76-yard touchdown against the Rams after making a tough catch and spinning his way into space.
But like Demercado, he dropped the ball before crossing the plane.
Demercado’s proved to be a catalyst for Tennessee, who won the game with the help of a Tyler Lockett fumble return touchdown
Indianapolis’ Adonai Mitchell also fumbled a would-be score at the goal line last week
He did try to quickly retrieve the ball but wasn’t able to gain control before it went out of the end zone for a touchback.
That mistake also proved to be costly for Indianapolis, as they lost to LA 27-20.
While Demercado’s mistake cost his team a touchdown, it will also come as a blow as he battles for playing time in Arizona’s backfield.
Following injuries to James Conner and Trey Benson, Demercado is sharing backfield work with Zonovan Knight and Michael Carter – though the latter got the vast majority of the work on Sunday with 18 carries.
Demercado only had three carries but led the team with 81 yards on the ground.
He’ll look to bounce back next week against the Colts.
