GLENDALE — The Arizona Cardinals finally found victory again in 30-17 fashion over the New England Patriots in Week 15.

One play stood above all in their win at State Farm Stadium, however.

OL Jonah Williams, who hustled from the other side of the field, recovered a Greg Dortch fumble in the end zone to score the game’s first touchdown.

It was a play that could have made the difference between a win or loss, and afterwards he spoke with reporters about the play in the locker room:

“I was pulling around for a linebacker and sort of blocked him, and then saw the corner out of my eye the ball come out and just mad-dashed to try to get on it. Didn’t really realize what happened till after, when Paris [Johnson] told me I scored a touchdown,” he said.

Williams was actually questionable ahead of game time due to illness but ended up playing.

The play was very close for Williams, who was just inches away from landing out of bounds when he recovered the ball in the end zone.

“Yeah, I was very worried about that. That’s why I wasn’t really sure what happened till after, it was like did I go out? But I guess I didn’t,” he said.

Williams also told reporters the ball would be painted and he’d put in on display somewhere in his house.

You never truly know what’s going to happen on an NFL football field, and Sunday’s win in Arizona was just the latest evidence of that.

PHOENIX – Drones spotted on the East Coast are leaving some on edge amid similar reported sightings in the Valley; a head-on crash left two people dead in west Phoenix; and more – here’s a look at some of the top stories on FOX10Phoenix.com for Sunday, December 15, 2024.

1. Drones spotted in the Valley?

2. Deadly crash in Phoenix

3. Teen allegedly kills family members

4. Jamie Foxx attacked

5. Cards end losing streak

Tonight’s weather

The Arizona Wildcats came into the 2024 college football season with a bright outlook for the future. They were ranked in the top 25 and looked like a potential sleeper contender.

Unfortunately, right off the bat, it was clear Arizona was not the team they were hyped up to be.

The Wildcats managed to scrape together a rough 4-8 record after this past campaign was brutal from an all-around standpoint.

Nothing went right and the awful year has now completely changed the team’s outlook.

Already this offseason, Arizona is reeling in the NCAA transfer portal.

So far, they have already lost 30 players to the transfer portal. This is an unprecedented exodus from a football program and it’s a situation that will be hard to recover from for Brent Brennan and the Wildcats.

Here is the long list of players who have opted to enter the transfer portal this offseason:

CB Treyden Stukes, EDGE Cyrus Durham, S Dalton Johnson, EDGE Nolan Clement, CB Tacario Davis, S Gunner Maldonado, DL Nick Fernandez, EDGE Taitai Uiagalelei, OT Elijah Payne, CB Emmanuel Karnley, LB Kamuela Kaaihue, EDGE Tristan Davis, IOL Jonah Rodriguez, TE Keyan Burnett, WR Malachi Riley, WR Jackson Holman, CB Demetrius Freeney, LB Jacob Manu, WR Raymello Murphy, CB Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine, QB Anthony Garcia, RB Brandon Johnson, IOL Wendell Moe Jr., IOL JT Hand, RB Rayshon Luke, WR AJ Jones, DL Bryce Echols, TE Dorian Thomas, QB Brayden Dorman, S Genesis Smith.

Needless to say, that is a long list of players and it’s going to be difficult to replace them all.

On the outside looking in, this could be the start of a major rebuild for Brennan and Arizona since it likely will take a couple of years to restock the amount of talent that is leaving the program.

However, the Wildcats will also have an opportunity to attack back and try to bring players in through the portal themselves.

Arizona will need to get aggressive in order to be competitive for the 2025 season.

This is part of the new college football setup with the transfer portal. Teams can go from contenders to rebuilding in the space of one year. The Wildcats seem likely to learn that the hard way.

Hopefully, the program can stick together and stay competitive and aggressive.

It’s demoralizing to see this many players leave, but it’s also an opportunity for a fresh start.