Arizona Cardinals need more than stats out of Kyler Murray
By Jim Koch
Throughout the 2020 NFL campaign, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was a fantasy football player’s dream. The second-year performer put up tremendous numbers with both his arms and legs for Kliff Kingsbury’s “Air Raid” offense. At certain points during the season, the supremely-talented Murray was an unstoppable weapon who the Cards could unleash on the various defensive units around the league.
Unfortunately, Murray’s gawdy statistics have not yet resulted in a sufficient amount of victories for the Cardinals. With the 23-year old passer under center, Big Red has compiled an unimpressive 13-18-1 record over the last two campaigns. The Cards were looking for much more out of the former University of Oklahoma product when they selected him first-overall two years ago.
As a rookie in 2019, Murray accounted for 4,266 yards from scrimmage and 24 total touchdowns. Much to the chagrin of the Arizona fan base, however, the impressive stats led to just five wins for the postseason-starved organization.
Last season, Murray turned in an even more sensational performance for the Redbirds. In 16 starts, the 5’10, 207 pounder threw for 3,971 yards and 26 scores through the air. Murray was phenomenal on the ground as well, tallying another 819 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rusher.
It was Murray’s last two outings for the Cards last year that are a major cause for concern. During a week 16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Texas native led an offense that generated just 12 points. Murray completed 31 of 50 passes for 247 yards, without mustering a single touchdown for the club during the matchup.
In week 17, Murray suffered a sprained ankle that cost him a large portion of Arizona’s playoff-killing defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. The signal-caller was shown on the sideline trying to walk off the injury, but appeared to be in no rush to get back into a contest that the Cardinals desperately needed. Murray did return during the fourth quarter, but the fact that he didn’t rejoin his teammates sooner raised red flags about both his heart and his desire to win.
Sure, Murray’s awe-inspiring statistics look great on paper. The new face of the franchise was voted to his first Pro Bowl last year, and the honor was well-deserved. Nevertheless, the Cards would gladly trade those accolades for a few more triumphs out of Murray going forward.