TEMPE — The chatter has been there for weeks now as Kyler Murray works his way back from a foot injury.
With Murray sidelined, the Arizona Cardinals offense has taken a noticeable step forward under quarterback Jacoby Brissett. The games still resulted in losses but were something to build on heading into the bye week.
Regardless of Brissett’s stats or impact, though, Arizona has remained steadfast on backing Murray:
When Murray is healthy, he’s the guy. It’s been reiterated since he went down despite Brissett looking like the better option to lead offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s unit in recent weeks.
The coaching staff and front office backing Murray off the field is one thing. The signal caller proving it on the field is another.
That’s why Monday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys marked the perfect opportunity to do just that while silencing a lot of the noise engulfing the QB given his excellence at AT&T Stadium across his football career.
Spanning high school (five wins), college (two) and the pros (two), Murray is a perfect 9-0 playing at AT&T Stadium.
Simply put, the dude knows how to get it done at Jerry World.
He, however, won’t get a chance to make it a 10th win with Brissett already announced as the starter for the tilt due to Murray’s foot issue.
That being said, Murray could still have a role on game day depending on where his health bucket is at, Gannon said Saturday. But even that sounds no more than a backup or gadget role.
And what a missed opportunity it is for the franchise signal caller.
In his two wins as a Cardinal, Murray was a thorn in the Cowboys’ side, ripping off 451 yards and four touchdowns on 56.5% passing for a 100.9 passer rating. He added another 118 yards and a score on 19 carries.
Before the injury, Murray putting up those kinds of numbers in 2025 seemed very doable, too, based on how ugly the Cowboys defense has been.
Entering Week 9, The Cowboys have allowed the highest opposing passer rating (112) in the league while giving up 20 touchdowns through the air. That’s another top mark in the NFL.
Dallas has also allowed the second most points (31.3), total yards (404.6) and passing yards (258.6) per game.
Need another reason Dallas is so bad?
Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns to one interception against the Cowboys in Week 2! He put up no more than 168 yards in each of his two other starts and totaled two interceptions and no scores before being benched for rookie Jaxson Dart.
A return to Dallas could have been just what Murray needed to bounce back and quiet a lot of the talk surrounding Arizona’s quarterback position since he went down.
Instead, Brissett gets another prime opportunity to add to his 2025 successes while turning that quarterback chatter into a full-blown roar.
