Rasul Douglas' NFL career has been an interesting journey, one that added another twist after the veteran cornerback snared the game-clinching interception for the Green Bay Packers in Thursday night's 24-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Douglas, who was on the Cardinals' practice squad at the beginning of the month, was claimed by Green Bay and signed to the active roster 22 days ago.
Just over three weeks later, Douglas was the player that intercepted Kyler Murray in the final seconds to seal the Packers' seventh win in a row while knocking off the NFL's last remaining unbeaten team.
The Packers held a three-point lead with 15 seconds remaining, but the Cardinals were in position for at worst a game-tying field goal after driving 94 yards to the Green Bay 5-yard line. Arizona still had a few plays to get into the end zone for the winning score, which is where Murray tested the waters by targeting veteran A.J. Green. Green didn't turn his head nor saw where the ball went, allowing Douglas to snatch the winning interception.
RASUL DOUGLAS INTERCEPTS MURRAY. #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/ZIDly9m0Bc
— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2021
"They're well in field goal range so right now it's like, 'let's see if we can get seven and end it,'" Douglas said. "So I gotta make a play. He threw it to my guy and I just made a play."
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said it was simply a miscommunication between Murray and Green.
"Yeah, I mean, we feel like it's a safe throw if (Green) knew the route to run," Kingsbury said, via PFF's Doug Kyed. It was the right place to go with the ball. Just didn't communicate on some level and then the guy made a good play."
Douglas earned his first interception since 2018, back when he was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 17 against Washington). The 2017 third-round pick was released by Philadelphia on 53-man roster cutdown day prior to the start of the 2020 season, and was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers shortly after. He signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason and was released in August, then landed on the Houston Texans roster for a week before being released.
Douglas signed with the Cardinals' practice squad in September before the Packers claimed the cornerback and signed him to the active roster. This was just Douglas' third game with Green Bay, as he played a key part in the Packers' quest toward snatching home-field advantage in the NFC.
"That was probably the first time I won a game like that, so it was a shocking feeling," Douglas said. "I was a little surprised as Stokes (Packers cornerback Eric Stokes) came running down saying, 'You just said you was gonna get a pick!' It just came to life."
