Kyler Murray Did Take Advantage of Double XP Weekend

The Cardinals quarterback rolled the dice and came up successful in Vegas.

Author:
Andrew Harbaugh
Publish date:
Sep 19, 2022 2:00 PM EDT

In this story:

Heading into the weekend, us here on staff covering the Arizona Cardinals had no hope for this team as it currently stands. The team had just given up 44 points last week to the Kansas City Chiefs and heading into this week's game against the Las Vegas Raiders there was little hope.

Expectations were the Raiders passing attack would mangle the Cardinals defense. The Raiders run game would control the clock and the defense would run amuck on Kyler Murray and company. For the first half, all of those predictions had been coming true.

Halftime would change things though.

For the first time in forever, this coaching staff led by head coach Kliff Kingsbury made halftime adjustments. They started to use linebacker Isaiah Simmons in a more roaming coverage role. This started to help fend off Las Vegas' usage of screens and outside runs which then forced Derek Carr to have to take more chances passing.

The defensive backs would make plays then that would ultimately win the game, despite Byron Murphy nearly throwing the ball all the way into the Golden Horseshoe.

This win was needed, it was just week two but had this resulted in a loss then questions would start being asked.

For now, though, the spotlight deserves to be on the franchise cornerstone Kyler Murray, as without him this game never gets to overtime.

New Week, Same Results

Murray had a less than ideal performance in week one against the Chiefs. The blame for that was divided between he and Kingsbury but ultimately it should have been a mute point. What is worth discussing now though is the changes they made from last week to now.

Kyler Murray had a rough first half, it appeared to be a repeat of Week 1. The team almost was able to get into scoring position but on a third-and-two, Murray pressed the issue. He extended a play which ultimately would result in an interception. The team would go into half with no points and nothing to build on.

The offensive line was getting beat like a drum by Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby. Both men were creating pressure which helped cover the fact that the Raiders secondary couldn’t cover the Cardinals receivers if their life depended on it.

All it would take is some slight tweaking and the offensive line would find itself being able to handle itself in the second half.

Kyler Murray and Company Finally Click

After scoring zero points in the first half, Murray and the Cardinals offense came out to prove a point. The offensive line was done being pushed around, the receivers were ready to make plays, and Murray was going to lead all of this.

An unsung hero in this win would be a newfound connection between receiver Greg Dortch and Murray. Murray had been without Rondale Moore and DeAndre Hopkins through two games but the presence of Dortch is somehow masking that now. Dortch would see himself gather in four passes for 55 yards and one score.

That stat line may not seem like much but Dortch played a major part in the second half of Murray's takeover.

Murray Cashes in, Finally

All offseason, we heard that Murray may not be the guy for the Cardinals. They paid him his big contract but the talk was all about the study clause. Come Sunday, the talk then came that Kyler Murray had never won a game when Call of Duty had a double xp weekend.

For those of you who don’t understand, double xp is when players of Call of Duty can put in more hours for double the payoff for in-game materials. Murray doesn’t have time for your games or anyone else's, he took over the second half.

Murray postgame talked about him getting in the zone stating, “I just tried to get the guys in position to make plays…sometimes I gotta pull something out of my ass and make it work."

Putting guys in position to make plays is exactly what he did. Even it meant for him to extend plays with his feet, he never took his eyes off the receivers downfield. That trait to keep his eyes downfield while also not just deciding to tuck and run is something we may not have seen in years prior.

Murray is maturing, he is having fun, and this offense and team may still have a chance. Double xp or not, Murray is cashing in and getting the most out of his weekends.

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