What letter grade does Kyler Murray earn following his performance in Week 15?
By Sion Fawkes
Kyler Murray had an opportunity to move the Arizona Cardinals offense efficiently against one of the best defenses in football, and he fell short. Murray finished the game 26 for 39 while throwing for 211 yards, 5.4 yards per attempt, one touchdown, two interceptions, and a 67.4 passer rating, which won’t inspire many fans or critics.
However, Murray also didn’t have good pass protection (again) and his receivers were nothing short of awful, so it’s also not like you can pin all the blame on him. He also once again showed us he didn’t lose a step in the running game, scrambling for 49 yards on six attempts for 8.2 yards per carry.
But you still want to see a former number-one pick lift up the team to at least a degree, even if Murray isn’t elevating everyone around him. He didn’t do that, and it wasn’t like the game was completely over until roughly the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter when the San Francisco 49ers took a 42-22 lead.
Kyler Murray gets a C for his efforts in Week 15
Murray is, however, continuing to build chemistry with his tight ends, having completed 15 passes to Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins, and Geoff Swaim. If he’s given more time to throw and has just a receiver or two who can get and remain on the same page, then Murray will be scoring something better than an average grade.
We will see if the line can fare better next week when the Arizona Cardinals travel to Chicago and face the 5-9 Chicago Bears. Chicago, like San Francisco, boasts a takeaway-happy defense that ranks second in the league with 18 interceptions. They are also giving up just 3.5 yards per carry, the third-best mark in the league, so despite the 5-9 record, Kyler Murray will have his work cut out for him.
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(Statistics and information provided by ESPN.com and Pro-Football-Reference)