Admit it—with all the talk about rookie quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and his early faceoffs against Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, you kind of forgot about Kyler Murray. Yes, he had a sneaky-good season last year, but this is the Arizona Cardinals we’re talking about here, so the chances that Murray could recreate the unique magic of his rookie year were remote at best.
Except that’s what’s happening. With all the focus on Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford and Geno Smith, the assumption was that Murray would turn out to be a second-fiddle guy within the division, but he’s lighting up the scoreboard and the box score with some performances that absolutely bring back memories of his rookie season and the two incredible campaigns that followed.
Arizona’s road opener in Buffalo was surprisingly close
No one was expecting much from the Cardinals in their opener, a roadie in Buffalo. Tough environment, long cross-country trip, a playoff opponent and going up against the likes of Josh Allen felt like too tough a mountain for Arizona to climb, beyond the outside chance that they could keep the game competitive.
But the Cardinals never got the memo. Instead they raced out to a 17-3 lead, then refused to fold as Allen and company mounted the inevitable comeback. They were down 31-20 when DeeJay Dallas scored on an electric kickoff return, and the final count of 34-28 was more than enough to put a scare into Bills fans. Murray’s passing stats were modest enough—21 for 31 for 162 yards and a touchdown, but it was impossible not to notice Murray’s rushing line of 57 yards in just five carries.
Murray was even more spectacular against the Rams last week. The game was basically over at halftime with Arizona leading 24-3, and Murray had three touchdown passes to go with another 59 rushing yards, once again on just five carries. Even better, Murray was able to establish an impressive connection with Marvin Harrison, Jr., who made up for a no-show first game with two TDs and 130 yards on just four receptions.
Can Kyler Murray keep it going?
Is all of this for real? We’re not sure yet, but more and more evidence is piling up in favor of Murray reestablishing himself as one of the most uniquely talented quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s definitely over the knee and shoulder injuries that slowed him down after his early success, and he’s become a much better pocket passer who doesn’t have to depend on escaping from the pocket to create chaos and big plays.
Moreover, Murray now has an impressive array of talent around him. There’s Harrison, Jr., who looked like the surest thing in this year’s draft, and against the Rams he played like it. James Conner looks absolutely revived now that he’s escaped from the cage that is the Steelers offense, and Trey McBride has been an effective safety-valve tight end to go with Michael Wilson, who caught 38 balls last year and is on track for another solid campaign.
Make no mistake, this Sunday’s game against the Lions is a big test. Beating a championship-level opponent would give the Cardinals some necessary bona fides to go with their Buffalo game, and if they can pull off the upset Sunday they’ll have the struggling Commanders at home after that. From there they travel to San Francisco, which suddenly looks a lot more like a winnable game with Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel currently on the shelf.
Facing off against Brock Purdy would be a huge challenge for Murray, but a road win against the 49ers would give him a legitimate claim as the best quarterback in the NFC West. And wouldn’t that be an unusual development for most of us who forgot that the Arizona quarterback even existed.
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