Kyler Murray Playing Every Bit Of His Role As No. 1

As Caleb Williams comes to town, Cardinals quarterback driving offense up

Oct 30, 2024 at 04:49 PM

Darren Urban

azcardinals.com

Kyler Murray threw for 307 yards against the Dolphins on Sunday as the Cardinals' passing game had its best game of the season.

The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, Caleb Williams was self-aware soon after the Bears made him the top choice in the NFL.

"I'm always going to have scrutiny," he said.

Obvious, sure, yet sometimes there needs to be reminders. Williams and the Bears come to State Farm Stadium on Sunday to play the Cardinals, where Kyler Murray – now six seasons into his role as former No. 1 overall pick and franchise quarterback – has felt every bit of that scrutiny since 2019.

"I remember that first game against the Lions, that (expletive) was going terrible," Murray said with a chuckle on Wednesday. "At halftime I was like, 'I know everyone is thinking I should be going back to play baseball.'"

Instead, Murray has gone through a roller-coaster of a career to find himself here, coming off one of his best games as a professional, showing touch in and out of the pocket, avoiding pass rushers like he could see the future, and capping it off with a highlight-worthy run on third-and-4, dodging tacklers for a game-sealing first down.

Murray is third in the NFL in ESPN's QBR stat – which takes into account specific plays and teammate contributions -- behind Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, even though his NFL quarterback rating is 12^th. He has thrown only three interceptions. He has been sacked only 11 times, and while his blocking has helped him, he has certainly played a major role.

Most importantly, he has orchestrated three late fourth-quarter game-winning drives over the past four games.

"It's trust in the franchise that we are all going to play hard regardless of who is back there," tackle Paris Johnson Jr. said. "But when you know you are playing with a franchise guy, one of the best guys in the NFL, the confidence level and excitement level is up. When you know the guy can make the superhuman plays, you know you don't have to do anything special. I just have to do my job."

Kyler Murray

Playing top 5 QB ball
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 30, 2024

Williams, meanwhile, is just getting started. The Bears have won four of seven, and he had two very good games before struggling for most of what ended up to be a heartbreaking loss to the Commanders on Sunday after a Hail Mary touchdown.

He has been sacked 22 times already this season, although he has thrown just one interception the past four games.

"I don't think the thought of, 'it's time to be Superman' pops in my head," Williams told Chicago reporters. "There are times where you go out there, you make plays and everyone calls it a Superman play.

"I understand that is a learning process, I understand that I don't know everything, I'm still learning. (I have) both ears open to any coaching, whether it's my teammates or it's the coaches. Things they have seen, things they have been a part of. Hopefully sooner rather than later."

That is the journey Murray has been on, one in which the Cardinals hope nears a plateau of greatness. The game the offense had in Miami, with Murray throwing for more than 300 yards and Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. each having huge receiving games, will be deadly with consistency.

Murray even wore a slight smile after Sunday's game when talking about the passing game, acknowledging how good the Cardinals are running with James Conner but hoping there would be more explosive fireworks through the air.

"He loves the ball in his hands, as do all great players," offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said.

The scrutiny will never go away, not for a quarterback who was once the No. 1 pick. But Murray can live with it – he's scrutinizing his own game all the time.

"You feel good about the things that happened (in Miami)," Murray said, "but I love to look at the things we can get better at."

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Arizona Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas V (24) and Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson (34) during practice at the Dignity Health Training Facility on Wednesday, October. 30, 2024 in Tempe, AZ.