3 favorable matchups for the Cardinals in Week 7 vs. the Texans

Kyler Murray vs. Texans defense

This one sounds obvious, but Murray is in a prime position to cook against the Texans’ passing defense. Yes, we already talked about the rushing offense and the advantage they have. But with the Cardinals’ passing game clicking under Murray facing a Texans’ passing defense that’s averaging 7.6 net yards gained per pass attempt, Murray can really light it up against them.

Murray, who is among the favorites to win the MVP award in 2021, has had, at worst, pedestrian games such as his performance against the 49ers. Murray was also iffy at times against the Jaguars, so recent history shows he may have one of his not-so-good games against the Texans.

However, Murray has also shown that he can play any defense well following his performances against Cleveland and the Los Angeles Rams. Given the way the Texans’ passing defense, while they rank 19th in yards allowed, they’re still among the NFL’s worst in yards per pass attempt with 8.3, and in yards per catch, with 12.5. Both of which ranks them at 29th in the NFL.

With an MVP-caliber quarterback like Murray playing well enough to make fodder of the Texans, this is a favorable matchup to approach with caution. Murray needs to show that he can make quick work out of things against teams that the Cardinals should beat by a sizeable margin.