Broncos top Cardinals to halt five-game skid

Latavius Murray rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown Sunday as the host Denver Broncos snapped a five-game losing streak to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 24-15. Brett Rypien, starting at quarterback for the Broncos (4-10) for the injured Russell Wilson, passed for 197 yards while completing 21 of 26 passes. He threw a touchdown and an interception. Colt McCoy started at quarterback for the Cardinals (4-10) following Kyler Murray's season-ending ACL tear, but McCoy suffered a concussion early in the third quarter and Trace McSorley replaced him for the rest of the game. James Conner had 63 rushing yards and a touchdown for Arizona, which suffered its fourth consecutive loss. The Cardinals led 6-3 at halftime after two quarters in which the teams combined for only 213 total yards, with each side converting 1 of 7 third downs. The Broncos had 126 yards (3.8 per play) and the Cardinals 87 (2.9), but Rypien was sacked six times with three by defensive end J.J. Watt. Watt's third was a forced fumble that the Cardinals recovered and led to Matt Prater's 50-yard field goal as time expired. On their first possession of the second half, the Cardinals extended their lead to 9-3 on Prater's 55-yard field goal with 8:55 to play in the third quarter. McCoy left the game early in that drive with a concussion and did not return. Rypien then led an 80-yard scoring drive in seven plays to give Denver its first lead. Murray scampered 35 yards on the first play. After Rypien connected with tight end Eric Tomlinson for 25 yards on two pass plays, running back Marlon Mack scored on a 3-yard run to give the Broncos a 10-9 lead. Mack added to Murray's running prowess with 37 yards on five attempts in the game. In the fourth quarter, Murray put Denver ahead 17-9 on a 10-yard run. Three plays later, safety Justin Simmons had his second interception of the game and returned it to the Arizona 10, with an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Cardinals pushing it to their 5. Two plays after that, Rypien hit Tomlinson for a 3-yard touchdown. Conner scored on a 1-yard run with 6:01 left, but the Cardinals could get no closer than nine after a failed two-point try. While in the game, McCoy completed 13 of 21 passes for 78 yards, an interception and a passer rating of 49.3. McSorley was intercepted twice while completing 7 of 15 passes for 95 yards and a 27.8 rating. --Field Level Media