Cards know they must play better to win
BALTIMORE — He was the first rookie quarterback in Cardinals’ history to throw for 300 or more yards in his NFL debut. After losing 96 consecutive games — and 228 games out of 230 — in situations when the franchise found itself trailing by 18 or more points in the fourth quarter, he engineered a wild comeback to help his team settle for a 27-27 tie.
He was also the only one of eight active quarterbacks in the league who were selected No. 1 overall not to lose in their first NFL game.
But when rookie quarterback Kyler Murray stepped off the field last Sunday after an impressive series of late-game heroics against the Lions, he didn’t necessarily feel like he had just stamped his own ticket of worthiness at the NFL level.
“No, I was upset,” Murray said. Murray and the Cardinals will be a lot more miffed if the Ravens run them off the field on Sunday at M&T Stadium like they did the Dolphins last week in Miami.
The Ravens scored a franchise-record 59 points in their season opener and set a new all-time team high with 643 total yards of offense.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson passed for five touchdowns, tying another single-game club mark, and he was extremely efficient in completing 17 of 20 throws for 324 yards.
His efforts earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors and he barely ran the ball at all, which opened a lot of eyes across the league.
“That was very impressive. He went out there and he lit it up,” Cardinals outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, the former longtime defensive leader of the Ravens, told Baltimore reporters during a conference call. “He played, he was on a roll, and he showed exactly who he is and what he can do in this league.”
So did Murray, although for much of the first three quarters, he and the rest of the Cardinals’ offense looked a little lost and plenty confused.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury blamed himself, telling anyone who would listen that he had too much time to tinker with his play calling and as a result, got “too cute.”
He didn’t call enough of the right plays, he said, to get Murray into a nice easy rhythm to start the game.
Things were a little too complex and everything got clunky after that until the fourth quarter. But up to that point, “It was as bad as it could have been,” according to Kingsbury.
“I don’t know, he’s probably just taking one for the team,” Murray said.
Murray completed 20 of 29 secondhalf passes for 238 yards, two touchdowns and a critical two-point conversion to tie the score late in regulation.
“He’s had games where he’s had to come back, but never when it’s just been bleak the entire time,” Kingsbury said. “So, I think he grew up a lot. He understands now what it takes to perform at this level and I think he’ll be better moving forward.”
To move the chains early against a very good Ravens defense which figures to bring steady pressure from all points, Murray could focus on screen passes to running back David Johnson, try hitting on quick curl outs and crossing patterns, and do whatever he can to get steady veteran Larry Fitzgerald the ball as much as possible.
Fitzgerald was the spark Murray badly needed and the 36-year-old finished with eight catches for 113 yards and a touchdown, the 117th of his career to move him into sixth place on the NFL’s all-time list.
“I’m not taking anything away from the rookie quarterback, but as good a receiver as Larry is, I think he and could have some chemistry,” joked Don Martindale, the Ravens’ 56-yearold defensive coordinator.
It’s no joke that Fitzgerald can provide some much-needed stability for Murray, though.
“I think every young quarterback needs a security blanket,” Murray said. “Him being that guy for me, he knows what he’s seeing out there. He’s seen it a lot and he can still run around. He can still run. Whether you think he can or not, he’s going to be there, so I can count on him and that helps me out a lot.”
If the Cardinals hope to try and steal a win during their first road game of the year, they are going to need their defense to rise to the occasion.
Arizona has to not only find a way to limit the dual-threat Jackson, but also keep a lid on Baltimore’s running game behind bulldozing running back Mark Ingram.
He’s the perfect blend of speed, size and strength that can cause all sorts of mismatches, especially when he gets out in space.
“That’s a good observation, very important,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said during a conference call. “He’s just a really savvy player, downhill player, very talented. … I think he’s one of the absolute best running backs in the league. His style fits the type of back we felt we needed.”
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