QB Murray, LB Kennard build on ’19
When the Lions and Cardinals met on the field last year, linebacker Devon Kennard sacked quarterback Kyler Murray three times.
That will not happen in this year’s meeting between Detroit and Arizona for two important reasons. To start, Kennard is on the Cardinals now, which very much minimizes his likelihood of going after Murray to zero. But just as important, if not more so, is how much Murray has grown in his ability to evade the sack since that NFL debut.
It was apparent throughout last season. And it was expected. Any rookie quarterback needs to work through adjustments in the NFL, and Murray’s style of play lends to a higher sack count. He tied for most sacked last season, though he was often able to avoid more punishing hits.
Now, he leads the league in yards per carry. He had three rushing touchdowns. He has two wins and a ballooning amount of highlights.
“That’s a part of his game, it’s part of what makes him great,” coach Kliff Kingsbury said Monday. “The MVP last year (Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson) had a ton of quarterback runs, and he did all right.”
But for Murray’s run game to truly take off, first he had to be grounded.
All three of Kennard’s sacks last year came on second down. All three kept the Cardinals out of the end zone, with two shutting down drives just a couple of plays later.
The final sack came on second and 1 when the Cardinals were just one yard shy of the end zone. Murray was unable to connect with Larry Fitzgerald on the next play, and the Cardinals had to settle for a 20-yard field goal late in the first half, their first points of the game.
At halftime, it was 17-3. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals trailed 24-6. From there, Murray spearheaded a comeback, throwing for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone. But in a game that ended in a tie, Kennard’s disruptive sacks were particularly significant.
“I remember being upset that DK (Kennard) had such a good game against us,” linebacker Chandler Jones said Thursday. “Maybe if DK didn’t get all of those sacks, we wouldn’t have tied.”
The three sacks totaled 19 lost yards. Kingsbury may now be hazy on some of the exact details, but his takeaway was clear.
“I don’t remember them specifically, but I talked about it all offseason,” Kingsbury said Wednesday. “That was a big point of emphasis — first and second down, we’ve got to stay out of those situations. We’ve got to get rid of the ball, can’t take those sacks, and that first game, he was feeling what he could get away with, what he couldn’t get away with.”
The list of things that Murray can’t get away with is shrinking. So between his own growth and his willingness to throw it away and opposing defenses planning for that and the offensive line pushing back, would any of those sacks happen again this year?
“No,” Murray said. “No, that wouldn’t happen.”
It is not surprising that he is confident, and Murray’s teammates like that about him.
Kennard is willing to grapple with the hypothetical question a bit more, but there’s no clear answer. Even if he doesn’t want to shortchange his own play, he’s seen more and more of what Murray can do.
“Man, I don’t know. The way he’s running away from guys, it’s hard to say,” Kennard said Thursday. “I like to say if I beat a guy, I’m still gonna make that play, but I don’t think anybody wants Kyler in the open field right now, seeing what he’s doing to even defensive backs.
“There’s not many people who want that smoke. I definitely don’t, so I’m glad he’s on my team.”
What Kennard does want is to keep stacking sacks in State Farm Stadium. He got his first sack as a Cardinal last game against Washington.
“He’s been playing his butt off this season, and I know he’ll be fired up for this one on Sunday,” Kingsbury said.
Kennard is looking forward to the game, but not from a standpoint of seeking revenge. While his release from the Lions was a surprise, he holds no ill will. He had a strong relationship with coach Matt Patricia and General Manager Bob Quinn. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was at his wedding on Leap Day. Kennard says it feels “like a lifetime ago now,” especially considering how this year as a whole has gone. And it led him to a team he grew up watching.
Kennard entered the league with the Giants in 2014 and spent four seasons there. Then, in his two years in Detroit, he had seven sacks each season. While some of those were to the chagrin of the Cardinals Week 1 last year, he caught General Manager Steve Keim’s eye.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph praised Kennard’s abilities as a natural SAM linebacker. He’s boosted the Cardinals defense, which looks improved so far this year, another positive development for this team.
“Both teams have changed dramatically, I think, in personnel and evolved schematically as well,” Kingsbury said on last year’s meeting. “You don’t take too much from it except that it was the first game, and offensively we didn’t have a great feel, I don’t think, for what we could do or be. Hopefully we’ve made big strides since then.”
The big strides may be literal Murray.
In the Week 2 win over Washington, his footwork was on full display. On a purposeful stutter step, his arms and legs floated up as if on puppet strings as he gracefully left safety Landon Collins reeling. He kicked out, and he took off.
The would-be touchdown was called back for holding. But even if erased in that sense, it was still seared in the minds of anyone that watched.
“I’m sure you guys saw that hezzie (hesitation) he gave one of the safeties last week: He’s just a problem,” Kennard said on Murray.
“And don’t forget, he can throw the ball as well.”
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