Arizona Cardinals: Kyler-Hollywood Connection is sizzling in the desert

The Arizona Cardinals may be 2-3 with a rather inept offense given the absence of DeAndre Hopkins. But Marquise Brown has salvaged the situation. 

The Arizona Cardinals have to be disappointed in quarterback Kyler Murray. Now in his fourth season, one would think Murray would have the talent to elevate those around him and win close games. Not always, and he’s shown he can’t win consistently without DeAndre Hopkins in the lineup.

He is a quarterback who needs ultra-talented teammates to help him put up productive numbers. And in Hopkins’ absence, Marquise Brown is showing that his connection with Murray can at least make the Cardinals competitive. Something we saw yesterday afternoon in the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Arizona Cardinals fans got to love the early returns on K1 to Hollywood

Just how good has Brown been for Murray in 2022? His statistics are beyond mind-boggling. And while Brown doesn’t lead the league in any major category, he is on pace for the following: 129 receptions, 10 touchdowns, 1,418 yards, and a 69.1% catch percentage. 

Through five weeks, he is also fourth in the NFL for receptions at 38, sixth with 417 receiving yards and 21 first downs, and fifth with 7.6 receptions per game. He is also seventh in the league in yards per game at 83.4.

Murray has targeted Brown on 25.5% of his passing attempts, and 26.9% of his 141 completions have gone to his old college teammate. Murray has six passing touchdowns on the season, and half have gone to Brown. Of Murray’s 65 first downs through the air, Brown has caught 32.3% of them.

While Murray has seen his fair share of struggles with just 5.8 yards per pass attempt and a modest 84.3 quarterback rating, Brown has, thus far, kept the quarterback’s numbers from sliding into a tailspin.

No, the success these two college teammates hasn’t often translated into wins. But it has saved the season from collapse in the early going. The Cardinals are 2-3 with Brown as their top receiver, and four of their first five games have either ended up as wins or close outings.

(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)