Arizona’s Chandler Catanzaro missed a 47-yard field goal with 41 seconds to play.
The miss came after Garoppolo, in his first NFL start, directed the Patriots from their own 19 to the Arizona 15 to set up Stephen Gostkowski’s 23-yard field goal with 3:44 to play.
Garappolo completed 24 of 33 passes with no interceptions. Arizona’s Carson Palmer threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns, both to Larry Fitzgerald.
Not only were the Patriots without Brady, suspended for his role in “deflategate,” but they also didn’t have tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive end Rob Ninkovich and two starters on the offensive line.
A remarkable 45-yard run by David Johnson set up a 2-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown catch by Fitzgerald that gave the Cardinals their only lead of the night, 21-20, with 9:46 remaining.
Ex-Patriot Chandler Jones sacked Garoppolo on the first play of New England’s next possession, but the young quarterback still set up the winning kick by Gostkowski, who also booted a 53-yarder.
A holding penalty hampered the final Arizona drive but a pass to Jaron Brown put the Cardinals within field-goal range. The snap was low and Catanzaro booted the ball to the left of the uprights.
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