The question had been asked many times before, if this is his best football, and Kyler Murray gave the same answer he always does.
“I told you it’s the best I’ve felt,” the Cardinals quarterback said about his professional life and the way he has been playing.
“The game being taken away from you (with his ACL injury) and being in a system like this (and) the attention to detail,” Murray added. “I say it all the time with (OC) Drew (Petzing), the way he communicates it. There’s no gray area. We’re on the same page. Year Two being in the system, I just feel good seeing the game slowed down.”
Murray has been playing like his whole football world has clicked into place. That showed Sunday in a 31-6 win over the Jets, when Murray completed 22-of-24 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown, while running in two other scores.
It was the kind of performance the Cardinals need, and the kind of performance that earned Murray the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
He is the first Cardinal to win the OPOW award since Week 2 of 2021, when Murray took it home. This is the sixth time the QB has won it, with one during his rookie year of 2019 and three in 2020. His six awards are the most ever for a Cardinal, breaking the tie at five he had with Patrick Peterson, Kurt Warner and Chandler Jones.
His 2022 was interrupted with the ACL tear, and his half-season in 2023 allowed a ramp-up period in the Petzing offense that put Murray in a good position for this season. He’s been excellent as a passer — 12 touchdowns, only three interceptions, and added another 371 rushing yards and four TDs as his knee is no longer an issue.
“I felt in my mind if we put the right people in place and coach them the right way he could elevate his game to another level, which I think he has,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “I don’t think he’s hit his ceiling yet.”
No sequence perhaps best illustrates Murray’s growth and level of play than a four-play stretch against the Jets, which began by Jets linebacker Quincy Williams hammering Murray on a sack so hard Murray’s helmet flew off.
After handing the ball off to James Conner for a play, Murray then stood in the pocket on the following play, calmly waiting for tight end Trey McBride to get open for a 13-yard completion — never once showing happy feet despite his recent meeting with Williams. The next snap, Murray lofted a perfect 9-yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison Jr.
“He’s elite,” McBride said. “The guy is in a zone and locked in. He’s got that look in his eye and when he is in that mode, he is unstoppable.”
Murray was a star in the win at Miami. The next week against the Bears, the QB didn’t have to do much at all as the Cards ran over the Chicago defense and shut the Bears’ offense down.
The running game was again good against the Jets, but more was needed from Murray and he was near perfection. His 91.7 completion percentage was second-best in franchise history (Kurt Warner had a 92.3, 24-for-26 game in Jacksonville in 2009) and best in the NFL this season. His active 17 straight completions streak is the longest in franchise history.
“You can’t ask for much better than that,” left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. said.
