There are tangible reasons the Cardinals are sold on Kyler Murray as they move forward.
Debates about quarterbacks are never-ending. That's understood. Lamar Jackson is going to be MVP, but his playoff loss will chase him on the talk-show circuit. Murray, like the rest of his QB brethren, isn't going to escape it either. But after the Cardinals inserted him into the lineup after Josh Dobbs (plus one Clayton Tune game) the improvement was not only noticeable -- that was expected -- but impressive when measured league-wide.
That started with the most basic stats. The Cardinals average 16.8 points a game pre-Kyler, which was 28th in the NFL, and 289.7 yards a game, which was 26th. After Murray returned? The points moved up to 22.4 -- 13th -- and the yards were top 10 with 362.8 -- 9th.
| Stat | Wks 1-9 | Rank | Wks 10-18 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 159 | t-19th | 171 | t - 10th |
| Rushing Avg | 4.78 | 4th | 5.27 | 1st |
| Rushing Yds/Game | 127.0 | 8th | 152.8 | 2nd |
| Rushing TDs | 7 | t - 12th | 10 | t - 5th |
| Runs 10+ | 31 | t - 5th | 40 | 2nd |
| Completion Pct | 62.4 | 25th | 65.7 | 10th |
| Passer Rating | 76.9 | 28th | 89.4 | 15th |
| Third Down Pct | 36.5 | 23rd | 41.8 | 10th |
| Scrimmage Yds/Touch | 6.6 | 26th | 7.4 | 11th |
The Cardinals, with Kyler, also were in or around the top 10 in the league in yards per play (No. 10 at 5.6), successful play rate (No. 11 at 34.9 percent), scoring drive rate (No. 5 at 42.5 percent) and TD drive rate (No. 9 at 25 percent.)
Individually, Murray completed 71 of 99 passes for 724 yards, six TDs and only one interception for a 108.3 passer rating in his final three games, which the Cardinals would've gone 2-1 if it wasn't for a couple of missed field goals.
The numbers aren't perfect. The Cardinals need to score more than 22 points a game. But again, this is about what Murray can be in this offense as they move forward together, and what the coaching staff sees in that potential.
