Second-year pro was watching NFL games in his parents’ living room just a week ago
Breaking down the Cardinals’ NFL Week 5 victory over the 49ers
Republic sports writers Bob McManaman and Theo Mackie discuss the Arizona Cardinals’ win over the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara on Oct. 6, 2024.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Last Sunday, Chad Ryland was sitting on his parents’ couch in the family’s home in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, watching NFL action with his folks.
On this Sunday, however, he emerged as a hero for the Arizona Cardinals as their emergency kicker, who won the day with three field goals, including a game-winning 35-yarder in their come-from-behind 24-23 victory over the startled and stunned San Francisco 49ers.
“It was a good win for the fellas,” the 24-year-old Ryland said as he finished dressing in the visitor’s locker room inside Levi’s Stadium. “It’s fun to win games and when you’ve got a locker room full of good guys and a coaching staff that has the guys going in the right direction, good things happen.”
Ryland, brought in by the Cardinals on Wednesday as insurance for Matt Prater after the veteran began feeling discomfort in his left knee, didn’t know which direction he was headed. On Tuesday, he flew to Green Bay for a tryout with the Packers. An unsigned free agent after being cut by the Patriots in late August, he was hoping just to catch a break.
A day after being told no by Green Bay, the Cardinals came calling.
His game-winning kick Sunday with 1:37 remaining in regulation, which wasn’t sealed until Cardinals’ linebacker Kyzir White intercepted a Brock Purdy pass 27 seconds later, brought back mega emotions for the former fourth-round pick a year ago out of Maryland.
“I had a lot of emotions,” he said. “It’s almost funny. Last season, I missed that kick (for the Patriots) against the Giants. It was a 35-yarder, right hash (mark), and I missed it left. So ironically, the way the same kick, to go make it. So, it’s a difference what a change of scenery and all that makes.”
Ryland nailed his first field goal — a 30-yarder in the first quarter — with no problems. It tied the score at 10 following Purdy’s 5-yard touchdown toss to George Kittle.
But things got dicey toward the end of the first half, which they’ve tended to do for the Cardinals in recent weeks. After the 49ers forged ahead on a field goal from Jake Moody, who would soon leave with an ankle injury and not return, Ryland’s confidence suffered a major blow.
It happened as he lined up for a 45-yard field goal and his kick was blocked by a huge rush up the middle led by defensive tackle Jordan Elliott. The 6-foot-4 lineman blocked the kick with his outstretched hand and defensive back Deommodore Lenoir scooped it up and rambled 61 yards for a 49ers’ touchdown.
In retrospect, there really was nothing Ryland could have done differently. That kick was going to be blocked almost no matter what.
“I haven’t seen it on tape yet, so that’s something for me I’ll go look at,” Ryland said. “I’ll see if there was something I could have done a little bit better so that one goes in instead of getting shoved back in our face.”
Things weren’t looking any better for the Cardinals after the 49ers extended their lead to 20-10. That’s because facing third-and-6 from the San Francisco 24-yard line after the two-minute warning, Kyler Murray’s short pass to James Conner was intercepted by edge rusher Nick Bosa.
His pick helped set up another field goal by the 49ers, this time by new kicker Mitch Wishnowsky, San Francisco’s punter, as the first half expired. At 23-10, the Cardinals looked like they were on their way to expiring as well — and not just because of the 100-degree temperature.
In the hottest game in the 11-year history of Levi’s Stadium, the Cardinals were toast. Surely, they were headed to their third consecutive defeat and a 1-4 record.
But give this team credit. Arizona pulled a loss out of the ashes and found a way to turn it into an unexpected win. The Cardinals’ maligned defense forced three turnovers and Murray and the offense — along with the help of a no-name kicker signed off the couch from Lebanon, Pennsylvania — scored 14 straight unanswered points down the stretch to make their record a more respectable 2-3.
Those two wins are against NFC West rivals, which is something considering the Cardinals went 0-6 in the division a year ago.
It wouldn’t have happened without Ryland’s three field goals, especially the last one that provided the final margin of victory.
“He was awesome,” coach Jonathan Gannon said of Ryland. “They were going nuts in the locker room. Half of the guys didn’t even know him. He gets here, has an unbelievable week of practice. … The guy can hit it from everywhere and with full confidence, you know what I mean? Go bang it through.
“And that’s what he did, especially after the one got blocked. That’s like shanking a t-ball and having to rip the driver a couple more times. It’s not easy. He did a good job.”
Murray, who passed for one touchdown and ran for another — on a 50-yard scamper during Arizona’s first possession of the game — couldn’t have been more impressed with the mysterious new kicker.
“He did a great job,” the quarterback said. “We couldn’t be happier for him. He did his thing today.”
Ryland said he didn’t know he would be kicking for certain until he got to the stadium. There almost wasn’t enough time for any butterflies if there were, indeed, any floating around inside him.
“I was ready to go,” he said. “That was a big thing for me, that no matter what, show up on game day ready to go. My mindset has always been from the jump. I’m always ready to rock and roll.”
From Sunday in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to Tuesday in Green Bay, to Wednesday in Arizona and Sunday in Santa Clara.
“Hey, it’s fun. Jet-setting, man,” Ryland said with a smile. “Single guy, no dogs, no one at home, so I can get on the plane pretty quick and get ready to rock and roll.”
(This story was updated to change or add a photo or video.)
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch on Fox Sports 910-AM.
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