National Football League

NFL Week 7 top plays: Murray, Cardinals drop Dalton, Saints on TNF

Updated Oct. 20, 2022 11:43 p.m. ET

Week 7 of the NFL season kicked off with Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals defending their home turf and taking down Andy Dalton and the New Orleans Saints, 42-34, in an NFC tilt on Thursday Night Football.

The Cardinals improved to 3-4 on the season, while the Saints fell to 2-5 with the loss.

Here are the top plays from Thursday's matchup.

Arizona Cardinals 42, New Orleans Saints 34

Bombs away!

Dalton connected with Rashid Shaheed for a monster 53-yard touchdown right out of the gate, as the Saints jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Kick back

Following a long reception from Murray to Rondale Moore, Arizona got on the board with a 50-yard field goal from former Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.

When the Saints don't go marching in

New Orleans looked primed to go up by double digits before Dalton was picked off by Cards cornerback Antonio Hamilton in the end zone.

Closing the gap

Eno Benjamin broke free for a monster pickup that helped move the Cardinals downfield, which resulted in a field goal to keep things close, 7-6.

Bouncing back

After Saints wideout Kevin White's dazzling 64-yard catch-and-run, Dalton hit Taysom Hill for a short touchdown to extend the Saints' lead, 14-6.

Star power

Cardinals running back Keaontay Ingram was the star of Arizona's ensuing drive, capping it off with his first career touchdown.

A successful two-point conversion from Benjamin tied things up at 14 points a piece in the second quarter.

Pick-six!

Dalton was picked off on New Orleans' own side of the field by Cardinals CB Marco Wilson and taken to the house, as Arizona took a 20-14 lead.

Pick-12!

Dalton was intercepted again moments later, this time by Isaiah Simmons, who returned it 55 yards for another score. That gave Arizona a 28-14 lead at halftime.

Blowout alert

The Cardinals strung together a 12-play, 85-yard drive, capped by a 5-yard touchdown toss to Greg Dortch.

At that time, Arizona had scored 29 of the game's 32 points to take a commanding 35-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

There's still time …

The Saints responded quickly with a score, as Dalton hit tight end Juwan Johnson for a 17-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-24 with about 11 minutes remaining.

Have a night, Eno

The Cardinals running back continued to plow through the Saints defense, his latest carry taking him into the end zone to seemingly seal the win.

Comeback not in the Cards

The Saints added another score and a field goal late, but it wasn't enough to spark a comeback, as Arizona held on for a 42-34 win.