Cards topple Cowboys with blocked punt in OT

In the dark, dank, dungeon that is the Cardinals’ past, the epic finish Sunday only would have resulted in an incredible loss.

A one-in-a-million, yet somehow predictable loss.

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Up by 10 points with little more than two minutes left against the Dallas Cowboys, the Cardinals would have to give up a big play for a touchdown, go three-and-out on offense, then give up a long field goal to be forced into overtime.

They managed to do all three.

They even lost the coin flip in overtime, surely a sign of impending doom.

Everyone who has followed this franchise over the decades could write the heartbreaking script.

“Yeah … that’s exactly what would have happened,” defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said.

But the picture is becoming clear: These aren’t the same old Cardinals.

Sean Morey, one of the smallest players on the active roster and a guy who eked out one of the team’s final spots in training camp, squeezed in an opening from the right side of the line and blocked a Cowboys punt in overtime.

The ball rolled to the feet of teammate Monty Beisel, another guy who battled his way to one of the final roster spots.

He scooped it up at the 3-yard line and stepped into the end zone to give the Cardinals one of their most memorable wins in their 20 years in Arizona.

The 30-24 overtime win give the Cardinals (4-2) a two-game lead in the NFC West over San Francisco and a 2 1/2-game lead over Seattle, the division’s longtime king.

The win is believed to be the first in NFL annals to be decided by a blocked punt for a touchdown in overtime.

Oddly enough, the Cardinals’ punt coverage team had set up for a return, not a block.

“I sit on the sideline most of the game,” Morey pointed out. “The nature of my job is special teams and to watch those guys crack heads and play their hearts out.”

When he slipped through the line and saw punter Mat McBriar holding the ball, Morey thought, “Just smother the kick and finish the play.”

He did just that.

“I was really fortunate to get that opportunity, they don’t come around too often,” said Morey, who is listed, generously, at 5-foot-11, 193 pounds.

Beisel, who slipped past a blocker as well, thought he would get the block.

“Then I saw Sean coming. I let him go ahead and take it, and it fell right in my hands,” said Beisel, who scored his first touchdown since high school.

“It was a great play by Sean.”

The Cardinals were both jubilant and relieved.

Even a graybeard like Kurt Warner seemed mesmerized.

“I can’t remember one that was this crazy, especially toward the end,” Warner said.

For more than three quarters, though, the game was fairly one-sided in the Cardinals’ favor.

Even in the final minutes, they appeared to be breezing. But Tony Romo hooked up with Marion Barber, who caught a screen pass and streaked along the left sideline, eluding Cardinal tacklers en route to a 70-yard score.

That cut the Cardinals’ lead to 24-21 with 2:00 left.

The Cardinals failed to pick up a first down, and the Cowboys got the ball back with 50 seconds left at their own 32.

They were just about out of time when Travis LaBoy, slowed by a groin injury, was called offside when he couldn’t get off the field while the Cowboys were spiking the ball to stop the clock.

The 5-yard penalty gave Nick Folk a shot at a 52-yard field goal with four seconds left.

His kick sailed just over the crossbar and sent the game to overtime.

Linebacker Karlos Dansby praised the Cowboys, saying, “They hung around. That’s what good teams do: They try to be in position in the fourth quarter.

“They have 13 Pro Bowlers. We knew they would make some plays. But we really dominated the game.”

Warner completed 22 of his 30 passes for 236 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He also lost a fumble.

Steve Breaston caught eight passes for 102 yards and his first NFL receiving touchdown.

Larry Fitzgerald’s numbers sound modest: five catches for 79 yards. But he caught a touchdown pass and had a clutch, leaping 39-yard catch on the first play of the fourth quarter to help set up a touchdown.

The Cardinals will be able to enjoy their bye week. They’ll next play in two weeks at the Carolina Panthers.

“We need a week off,” Dockett said. “We’ve got guys aching and bruised.”