For the majority of Kyler Murray's football life, he always felt like he had space. Space to make a play, space to make defenders miss.

"You get to the NFL," the quarterback said, "space feels limited."

The magic of Murray is often tied to that space, whether it be running or at least scrambling until he can find a receiver. The off-schedule moments are high variance, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said, and Murray was even more blunt in their outcomes: He and the Cardinals need to be more effective.

There will always be conversations about getting Murray into space within the offensive system. Play-action rollouts for instance, which have increased in frequency since Petzing arrived. But the other stuff the Cardinals need -- Murray thrived in the off-schedule notably in that excellent 10-2 start to the 2021 season, or put up a highlight-reel play like his amazing two-point scramble in Las Vegas in 2022 -- can't really be practiced. Murray said the Cardinals can rep it and should, but again, broken plays happen organically.

"One is true decision-making within the system, one is almost like fastbreak basketball," Petzing said. "'Are you playing point guard the right way, is the ball going where I should?' Those are game-changing plays. And he is one of the few people in the league that can do it physically at a high level and create some of those, so we want to make sure we are taking advantage of those."

In a season where again much is on Murray's shoulders, finding some Murray magic in the unplanned is crucial. Murray in space is always a potential big-play-in-waiting.

"You get to the NFL, there are just better athletes," Murray said. "Guys are smarter, angles are different. So anytime I can get in space on this level, I love it. That's a point of emphasis not only for me but for Drew to find ways to get me out in space, scramble drills, stuff like that. We have to be better in off-schedule plays. I have the ability to extend plays and we have the guys to go do it."