Murray at home in Cowboys’ stadium
Taxpayers and Jerry Jones paid for it. AT&T’s name is on it. Jones runs it. But as for the true owner of the Cowboys’ home in Arlington, Texas?
When it comes to players, it’s Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who could find the the stadium’s light switches in the dark.
Murray proved that again Monday night in Arizona’s 38-10 win over Dallas. After a rough start that included completing only three of his first 12 passes, Murray warmed up a bit.
Just as he did when he won five games, including three state championships, there while at nearby Allen High. Just as he did when he led Oklahoma to a Big 12 championship.
They call it Jerry World. Fair enough.
But Murray knows where the spare key is hidden.
Murray didn’t make it look easy Monday night. None of the Cardinals’ offensive players did.
He completed 9 of 23 passes for 188 yards, a weird performance given the Cardinals scored 38 points on offense.
But two of his passes were for touchdowns, including an 80-yarder to Christian Kirk. Murray’s performances can’t
be judged by passing alone. He also ran for 74 yards on 10 carries, including a touchdown. It was legs, as well as a sturdy defensive performance, that led to the Cardinals’ victory.
Murray said he “felt like I’d been playing there every Sunday, honestly. It was comfortable, felt good.”
While Murray felt good, he didn’t play that way, he said. He called his performance sloppy, detailing missed passes to DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald for example. “We can still be a lot better,” he said. “Starts with me.”
The entire offense was so shaky early the pertinent question wasn’t if the Cardinals were ready to play, but if they could.
Murray was off and his receivers didn’t help him much. The running game plodded. Penalties hurt, again. All were highlighted in a miserable possession that started at Arizona 49-yard line and ended at their 37. The Cardinals punted on their first three possessions.
There are a lot of qualities that make Murray special. Here are two: He does not lose confidence in himself and he’s dangerous even when he’s inaccurate.
That was on display again Monday. In the Cardinals’ first TD drive, he ran for 11 yards on 3rd-and-10, and 11 more on 4th-and-1. On the second TD possession, there was another 11-yard run.
By then, Murray’s accuracy had improved a bit. First-and-10 at the Cardinals’ 20, he threw deep to Christian Kirk, who made a fingertip grab and scored from 80 yards out.
The Cardinals led 21-0, and against a banged-up Dallas offense and a talentless defense, that was enough.
Everyone has scored against Dallas (2-4), so it’s hard to say if a Cardinals offense that had the rhythm of a junior high band in the first five weeks is now snapping its fingers in time with the music. But imagine the vitriol had it struggled against the Cowboys.
The Cardinals’ offense didn’t do it alone. In fact, it might have not done it at all if the defense hadn’t played so well. It forced and recovered two fumbles by Cowboys running Ezekiel Elliott in the first half and intercepted two passes in the second. The first three turnovers led to touchdowns.
Coordinator Vance Joseph took advantage of the Cowboys’ struggling offense line by blitzing from everywhere except Jones’ suite.
By midway through the third quarter, the Cardinals led 28-3, and Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury was showing off the offensive diversity made possible by Murray.
In the first half, Murray picked up a nice gain with an old-fashioned bootleg, the kind where the quarterback hides the ball behind his leg. And Kirk’s first touchdown came on a pitch from Murray that traveled maybe 6 inches.
In the second half, Murray continued with the hidden balls tricks. On one play he faked a handoff up the middle, then
faked a reverse to receiver Andy Isabella. That fake included Murray turning his back to the defense, then simply tossing the ball up a few inches and catching it. He then ran around right end for 10 yards and a first down.
It was one example of what makes this offense so dangerous, especially when it doesn’t inflict pain upon itself. It has scored touchdowns on 11 of its last 12 red zone opportunities and has been successful on all five of its fourth-down attempts this season.
“It’s exciting when you can coach in a
38-10 win and still feel like you have a lot of room for improvement,” Kingsbury said.
We’ll find out what the Cardinals are made of over the next five weeks. In that time, they play Seattle twice, an improved Dolphins team and Buffalo.
But that’s borrowing trouble by looking too far ahead. On Monday night, the Cardinals did what was required. So did Murray. He can put his key to AT&T Stadium back in its hiding place, comforted by the knowledge that the place still looks and feels like home.