‘Not good enough’: Cardinals and Kyler Murray have trouble greatly against the Rams
The Arizona Cardinals came out strong behind quarterback Kyler Murray for the second straight game.
And that was Arizona’s offensive high point for the second straight game in a humiliating 37-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12.
That’s not the score many fans anticipated when the clock struck zero at State Farm Stadium, based on the Cardinals’ opening drive, but that’s what happened.
After the game, head coach Jonathan Gannon stated, “Obviously, not good enough today.” “We seemed to have underperformed against them in terms of effort and zeal for the entire game. When someone beats you like that, that is entirely my fault.
We need to carefully consider how we’re organizing the week because, in my opinion, it wasn’t competitive at all. That’s my fault initially, then the coaches’. Before we go to Pittsburgh, we need to put together a better plan.
An in-depth examination of the successes and failures in Murray’s third game following an ACL tear and Arizona’s 10th defeat of the year:
The blueprint to success
Murray and the Cardinals did the same after witnessing the Rams effortlessly break through the defense and score a touchdown from Matthew Stafford to Tyler Higbee on the opening drive.
Arizona completed a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown scamper from Murray before rookie Clayton Tune was himself pushed in for the two-point conversion. Arizona needed three more plays than Los Angeles to win the game.
Not only did Arizona take an early lead against a team that has historically had its number, but the possession also provided the Cardinals with the ideal model to emulate.
Drew Petzing, the offensive coordinator, chose a far more balanced attack with five plays under center and seven out of the gun, despite the fact that the team has been heavily relying on shotgun play since Murray’s return over the last two weeks.
Murray and company were able to find paydirt early on thanks to four plays of at least 12 yards that came from the nearly equal distribution.
Abandon ship?
The Cardinals completely abandoned their blueprint just when it appeared they had discovered one to follow, for whatever reason.
Even with that early success, the offense went back to using a lot of shotgun plays.
The outcomes were anything but positive.
Murray ran out of shotgun 15 times in the five drives that followed Arizona’s scoring possession, compared to just one under center.
Throughout all those possessions, the Cardinals never even came close to sniffing the end zone; instead, they booted three punts and committed a downs turnover.
After a 56-yard field goal by Matt Prater to close the half, it appeared as though the Cardinals would win the game, but an offensive holding penalty rendered the play invalid.
Murray completed eight out of seventeen passes for 66 yards in the first half, but he only completed one of his six passes for 50 yards through the air.
With Murray recording two snaps from under center to 22 out of the gun the remainder of the game, there wasn’t much of a change from the halftime adjustments back to what was effective.
The outcome remained largely unchanged, with only another Prater interception and a garbage-time touchdown to show for it.
Murray remarked, “Obviously, we have to keep moving forward even though we’re not where we want to be right now.”
No time and little chances
The Cardinals’ offensive woes can be summed up by a few stats:
– Five three-and-outs
– 6-for-17 on third down (35%)
– 25:08 in time of possession compared to 34:52
After Arizona’s first-drive touchdown in the first half, the team went on its most egregious run, as four of their next five possessions ended in three plays.
Murray commented on the offensive setbacks following the first drive, saying, “We can’t allow that to happen.” Simply put, poor football. Because of that, we will be better. We had the opportunity to observe and assess what went wrong.
The first half’s only extended period of play for the Cardinals came during a four-play drive that ended in a downs turnover.
No matter who you have on the roster, that’s not going to translate to wins.
“I’m sure they made some plays, but we got to get in rhythm and get some first downs so we can sustain drives and we can get plays off that are good and that accentuate our guys,” Gannon said.
“It’s hard when you’re going three-and-out and the scoreboard’s ticking on the other side. That’s deflating. We just got to find a better balance of getting in rhythm with the run and pass game and making sure we’re staying on the field a little bit to give ourselves a chance to score points.”
“Not discouraged at all”
Murray didn’t mince words after his 256-yard, one-touchdown performance on 27-of-45 passing.
“We got beat,” he said postgame.
The QB, however, isn’t letting Sunday’s tough loss cloud his vision or dampen his approach.
“I’m staying positive,” Murray said postgame. “This is my third game, seventh week of practice. There are obviously growing pains with this. It’s a new scheme, new everything for me.
“I’m not discouraged at all by it. We’ll be better because of it, but these are some of the things we’ve got to go through. It’s part of it.”
The Cardinal killer
The Cardinals have been unable to stop Kyren Williams in their last two games against the Rams.
In Week 6, he ran for 158 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries against the Cardinals.
Six weeks later, Williams scored 143 yards on 16 carries, essentially repeating the same outcome.
As a pass receiver, he was even more effective, recording six catches on six targets for 61 yards and two touchdowns.
On Sunday, the absence of leader and MIKE supporter Kyzir White was felt deeply.
Despite being the star players, Williams was the one who gave the Rams the victory on Sunday, along with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
The Rams amassed 457 yards of offense to the Cardinals’ 292, and his and Stafford’s play was too much for the defense to handle.
L.A., which gained 228 yards on the ground and 229 through the air on Sunday, executed a well-rounded attack.
Safety Budda Baker stated following the game, “(We just have to) keep competing.” “We are not guaranteed this game. We simply go to work and try to be the best players we can be, taking each day as it comes. It’s all about the rivalry.
“We have more opportunities to play football, so that’s what we have to do, even though our record isn’t what we want it to be.”
Related Posts
About The Author
