The Arizona Cardinals need to stick with Colt McCoy
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals offense actually looked functional on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, even if it did not look explosive.
No, this is not an overreaction to the Arizona Cardinals 27-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams. But the 36-year-old Colt McCoy showed the presence of a savvy veteran that incumbent starter and former first overall pick Kyler Murray lacked in virtually every game this season.
For once, the Cardinals offense looked functional, and that alone should keep McCoy in the driver’s seat for the foreseeable future. Further, head coach Kliff Kingsbury is likely coaching for his job, and McCoy’s offense has put up more offensive points than Murray’s have in all but one of Murray’s starts.
For context, Murray led the Cardinals to over 27 offensive points just once this season, and that came in Arizona’s 42-34 (30 offensive points) win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7. While the dual-threat showed franchise quarterback traits in Week 2, it still served as his high-water mark until that Week 7 victory.
McCoy gives the Arizona Cardinals offense a chance to produce
No, McCoy’s numbers were not off the charts, having completed 26 of 37 passes for a completion percentage of 70.2%, 238 yards, and a touchdown, for a quarterback rating of 96.5. He did lack in the yards per pass attempt category, logging just 6.4, but that was about the only downside for McCoy.
He also showed toughness, leaving the game with a leg injury before returning to finish the job over what was the league’s fifth-ranked defense that also ranked 11th in passing defense. It was an impressive job overall for the longtime backup quarterback.
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Now, this isn’t to say McCoy should be the long-term starter. He’s been a backup for most of his 13 NFL seasons for a reason. But if Kingsbury is interested in potentially saving his job, he needs to go with the hot hand that can most effectively run his offense. Today, McCoy showed that while Murray has stagnated at the position all season.
(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)
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