Kyler Murray Continues to Make Strides as the Cardinals Offense Gets Better

Not many knew what to expect when the Arizona Cardinals took the field for real to start the 2019 NFL season on opening day.

If you had to place a bet with Novibet on that first Sunday of the year, the Cards were underdogs against the visiting Detroit Lions, and the Lions really took it to the Cards for about three quarters, building a decent sized lead.

But hence, that’s why you play all 60 minutes.

Enter the first overall pick of the draft, a player who despite the hype had his share of struggles both in the preseason and early on in his first NFL start.

For Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense, it was time to make a statement, and the first-overall pick led Arizona to 18 points in the final quarter, working hard for a 27-27 tie.

Arizona had two chances to win in extra time and so did the Lions, but all they could do was trade field goals.

“It’s like a participation trophy,” Arizona offensive lineman Justin Pugh said after the game. “I want to throw it out.”

For the Cards though, it showed that maybe, just maybe, it was the right decision to give up after one year on Josh Rosen and take a huge gamble on drafting Murray with the first overall pick.

That day though was a coming out party for the Cardinals offense, and while there’s been some expected growing pains along the way, overall this is an offense that has taken some solid strides already in 2019.

Murry sits already with a mark of 2-3-1, and thus far sits with a solid quarterback rating of 87.6, not bad for a quarterback that many felt was being pushed too hard, too soon.

He’s shown poise as well as the ability to lead, which are two things that the team really never had under Rosen in his one year in the desert.

The Cardinals still have a long way to go with their developing offense, their young quarterback, and a defense that simply needs to step up and play better with the game on the line.

Murray has thrown for 1,664 yards, putting up a completion percentage of 56.6. He has been wise in most of his throws (has been picked off four times with seven touchdowns), and also has not forced the ball which is the usual routine for young quarterbacks.

It will be interesting to see how things play out when the Cardinals take on another young QB in the Giants Daniel Jones.

For Murry and that Cards offense, they’ve been about as good as advertised in 2019 do date.

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