Drew Petzing became a popular man in the talk radio circles during the bye week after the Cardinals offensive coordinator appeared on the podcast of ESPN's Adam Schefter and talked about why Kyler Murray was a franchise quarterback.

It was inevitable he was going to be asked about it again when he got in front of the Cardinals media.

Petzing smiled at first, noting he'd probably just repeat what he had said already. "He's a franchise quarterback," Petzing said. "Just the way he carries himself, the way he plays the game, the way he leads, the type of person and player he is warrants that. He has done a really nice job of embracing that and continuing to grow and improve."

Halfway through Murray's return to the field, the QB has quite the finishing kick he must traverse: the 49ers, at the Bears, at the Eagles, the Seahawks. It's, on paper, a rougher stretch than his first four games back. Meanwhile, it feels like Murray has worked hard in many areas to bond with the coaching staff and get to a place where he isn't just afranchise quarterback but the Cardinals franchise quarterback.

It doesn't seem like the draft will be about a QB but instead players to put around the QB already in place, which has always been the Cardinals' best-case scenario.

"To have the faith of J.G., Drew and Monti (Ossenfort), all those guys, it means a lot," Murray said. "It's on me though to go out there and prove why they paid me, why I got drafted, all of that. That's a battle every single day. It should be for me, and it should be for every player. They're obviously different reasons why I play the game, but for them to have my back for sure is definitely a good feeling."

Petzing acknowledged questions about the QB is "part of being an NFL coach." They will inevitably come up again and again. It's a popular topic. But as Murray plays the Niners again for the first time since Week 5 of the 2021 season, Jonathan Gannon and staff will watch it play out, and are patient enough to let it play out.

"We'll take it day by day," Gannon said. "He's played a lot of football so it's a little different, I think, if it was a rookie or one year guy, but Kyler has played a lot of football. I just want to continue to see him get better every day."

-- Murray popped up on the injury report this week with a right thumb issue – something that automatically gives pause. But Murray practiced full all week, and coach Jonathan Gannon didn't sound concerned. "He's good to go," Gannon said. "Probably a little more maintenance, truthfully."

-- Murray, who owns the NFL rookie record for most consecutive passes without an interception with 211, has a current streak of 91 straight passes without one. The Cardinals don't have a giveaway in the last two games.

"I take pride in taking care of the ball," Murray said. "Again, we're all going to throw interceptions, we're all going to fumble. It happens. But I try to limit those as much as possible."

-- Receiver Hollywood Brown hurt his heel in Houston and really hasn't been the same since; he exited the Steelers game early, unable to fight through it – which goes to the gravity of his pain.

"I'm one of the only guys that plays through injuries so I'm taking pride in that," Brown said.

-- The Cardinals hope (expect?) to have both Brown and Michael Wilson back at wideout on Sunday. In the last game, with both out, Murray had 11 of his 13 completions go to tight ends – an odd ratio for a team that has long underserved the position. Part of that is the emergence of Trey McBride, but part was a dearth of wideouts that changes if Wilson and Brown are available and healthy.

-- Brock Purdy, famously the final pick of the 2022 draft, MVP candidate and of course local product who went to high school at Gilbert Perry, will play his first NFL game in Arizona Sunday. Purdy has been to State Farm Stadium many times, including after he was named the 2017 Cardinals High School Player of the Year. As a senior, Purdy thew for 4,405 yards and 57 touchdowns as well as running for 1,016 yards and another 10 TDs.

-- There are only three teams that have passed for more than 3,400 yards this season, and the 49ers (and Purdy) are one of them. Here's the M. Night Shyamalan twist: The 49ers are last in the NFL in pass attempts.

-- Uniform watch: WE HAVE A SWITCH. The Cardinals will be wearing the all-whites for the first time at home, their last home game before Christmas.

-- The roof will be open at State Farm Stadium for the game.

-- As of today, it has been 684 days since the 49ers last lost to a divisional opponent. That was when they fell to the Rams, 20-17, in the 2021 NFC Championship game.

-- With the 49ers visiting Arizona Sunday, it made sense for this week to be the debut of the Folktales episode from the first time the 49ers played in Arizona – back in 1988, when the eventual Super Bowl champ 49ers build a 23-0 lead only to lose on a stunning Cardinals comeback. Lomax to Green. Check it out, won’t you?

-- Gannon is coaching in his first post-bye game as the head man. The Cardinals haven't been great over the years coming out of the bye, although the results often link up with the kind of season the team is having. Since Ken Whisenhunt took over in 2007 – spanning the Whiz-Arians-Wilks-Kingsbury eras – the Cardinals are 6-10 after the bye.

-- The Cardinals and Desert Financial Credit Union are hosting a toy drive before the game on Sunday at State Farm Stadium to benefit The Foster Alliance. Volunteers from Desert Financial Credit Union and The Foster Alliance will join Cardinals cheerleaders to collect new unwrapped toys as well as take donations outside of each stadium entrance near security checkpoints. Monetary donations can also be made by using a QR code that will be posted throughout the stadium.

-- The last word comes not from a Cardinal but from 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, the No. 2 overall selection in 2019, analyzing to Bay Area reporters the No. 1 overall selection in 2019, Kyler Murray, since Kyler returned from his ACL tear.

"I think he looks great moving around and I think he's actually playing this scheme better than the previous regime there," Bosa said. "He's kind of sitting in the pocket and playing quarterback more. Then obviously the run game and the scrambles, he's an added element there. ... (He's) just a one-of-one type of athlete."

See you Sunday.