3 reasons why the Cardinals loss to Lions was not surprising
By Sion Fawkes
Arizona’s offense stagnates in December
Last year, we made excuses for Kyler Murray. The Cardinals’ offense stagnated because he tried to play through an injury. So in 2021, when Murray got hurt again, he made sure he was 100 percent before stepping back onto the field.
As with my claim regarding Kliff Kingsbury that good coaches beat bad teams routinely, good quarterbacks stop hitting the Rookie Wall in the third season of their career. Kyler Murray looked like an MVP, or at least a Pro Bowler in September and October. Now, he looks like a serviceable spot starter late in the season.
Now it’s official: The Cardinals’ offense stagnates in December. When something unfortunate happens once, it’s alright. Bad season. Injuries, the whole nine yards. When something unfortunate happens again, there’s a problem.
Right now, the Cardinals have a legit problem when they can’t score against what was the league’s worst team. And in the NFL, the buck stops with the quarterback. Especially a talent like Murray, whose job is to elevate the talent of everyone around him. Until Murray proves he can do this for 18 weeks, he is not an elite quarterback.