Thanks to a dominant, 31-6, win over the New York Jets on Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals maintained their slim lead in the NFC West race. After winning just eight games over the previous two seasons, the Cardinals have been one of the biggest positive surprise stories in the NFL this season and there is one pretty big reason for the rapid turnaround.
Quarterback Kyler Murray.
Not only is he back and healthy in the lineup after missing most of the 2023 season, but he is playing like the $100M franchise quarterback the Cardinals always hoped he would and could be.
Murray was always going to be their biggest X-factor coming into the season, and there was going to be no quicker path for a turnaround then getting him back on track.
They seem to be doing it.
Murray was electric on Sunday, completing 22-of-24 passes for 266 yards, one touchdown and rushing for a second touchdown. At one point he completed 17 passes in a row and was in complete control of the game.
Nothing can turnaround an NFL team faster than strong quarterback play, and this level of play is something that has been missing for both Murray and the Cardinals for most of his career. Murray and the offense became stagnant under former head coach Kliff Kingsbury, and then a knee injury late in the 2022 season kept him out of the first half of the 2023 season.
When he finally made his return, it was clear he was not quite 100% healthy and needed some games to start to get back up to game speed.
Then, this offseason, the Cardinals went out and got him some serious playmaking support by drafting wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, drafted running back Trey Benson and put all them together with a rising star in tight end Trey McBride.
He has already started to develop a chemistry with Harrison Jr., as the rookie has quickly become one of the best big-play receivers in the league. He entered play on Sunday averaging 15.9 yards per catch, while his touchdown catch on Sunday was already his sixth of the season.
While Murray's yardage numbers are not anything that jump off the stat page, he is quite simply playing winning football for the Cardinals.
He entered play on Sunday with a 71.9 total QBR that ranked third in the NFL, trailing only Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, while only throwing three interceptions to 11 touchdowns. Those numbers only improved with Sunday's efficient effort.
Add in the fact he is averaging more than eight yards per rush and he is a game-changing dual threat quarterback that has rapidly turned the Cardinals into a playoff contender.
They needed this version of Murray. They are finally starting to unleash it.
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