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In perhaps penultimate game of his career, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. throws first career TD pass

December 24, 2018 at 4:44AM

Larry Fitzgerald Jr. took a backward pass from Josh Rosen, shuffled a couple of steps right and set his feet.

Arizona's all-time leading receiver cocked his right arm back and let a not-quite-a-spiral fly. The ball landed softly into the hands of running back David Johnson, hitting him stride for a 32-yard touchdown.

The Cardinals lost 31-9 to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but Fitzgerald added another highlight as Arizona fans celebrated what could be the final home game of his storied 15-year career.

Fitzgerald, 35, hasn't decided if he will return for a 16th NFL season. But the Holy Angels product is the Cardinals' leading receiver this season with 66 catches for 702 yards.

Fitzgerald holds the NFL record for catches with one team and is third all-time overall with 1,299. He is second all-time with 16,243 yards.

As for his pass, only his second career completion in four attempts, he said: "I just wanted to put a little air under it. It came out a little wobbly, like [former teammate] Kurt Warner's ball. But, like Kurt Warner's ball, it was effective."

As the clock wound down, the few remaining fans started a chant "Larry!"

"I play a team sport. I'm not Michael Phelps or Tiger Woods. Those guys do individual things," Fitzgerald said. "Everything I've done has been in the context of a team setting. It's a little uncomfortable to be singled out.

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"There's 11 guys with me, and I wouldn't be able to do my job without every single guy doing it. It's cool, but still, you never get used to that."

Injury report

• Initial reports were encouraging after Dallas defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford suffered a scary injury vs. Tampa Bay.

Crawford injured his neck on the second play of the game and was taken off on a stretcher, but the Cowboys said after the game that he was out of a hospital and would be re-evaluated Monday.

• Indianapolis lost center Ryan Kelly (neck) and tight end Eric Ebron (concussion) in the first half.

• New Orleans left tackle Terron Armstead was hurt in the first half and left for good in the second.

• Houston wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was carted off late because of a right leg injury.

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• New England receiver Cordarrelle Patterson left because of a knee injury.

• Green Bay left guard Lane Taylor injured a knee in the first quarter and lost cornerback Jaire Alexander to a groin injury.

• Cleveland lost Pro Bowl rookie cornerback Denzel Ward to an apparent shoulder injury.

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