The Arizona Cardinals played their best game of the season in a huge win against a team that won the NFC crown last season. As the Philadelphia Eagles are in a perfect position to successfully defend their NFC title, it didn’t deter the 3-12 Cardinals, who played about as good a game offensively as you could ask.
While the Redbirds faced adversity early thanks to a pick-six from Sidney Brown that put Arizona behind the eight-ball and put Philadelphia up 14-3, Murray was nearly flawless from there on out and had the Eagles on the ropes over midway through the fourth quarter.
Of course, Murray had some help as guys like James Conner made an unbelievable catch that helped tie the game at 21, but he also made a lot of incredible plays. Down 28-21 late, it was Murray who extended the play on a Cover 0 and made a legendary throw on his back leg to the struggling Michael Wilson, who caught his first touchdown pass since Week 4, and that’s just one example.
Vintage Kyler Murray returns in Arizona Cardinals Week 17 outing
Throughout his first six starts of the season, Kyler Murray looked good at times, but there were other instances when he just looked dreadful, with the Week 12 loss to the Los Angeles Rams serving as a prime example. Weeks 13, 15, and 16 were good, not great outings, but they were nothing compared to what we saw in Week 17.
Overall, Murray finished 25 for 31 for 232 yards, with three touchdowns, one interception, and a 116.7 quarterback rating. Now, the challenge is whether he can keep this up in Week 18 vs. the Seattle Seahawks, and if he can build even more momentum as the 2023 season comes to a close. If he can, then it would indeed be more surprising than initially thought if Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort decided to trade Murray.
(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)