Cardinals Score Two Touchdowns with Murray Calling Plays

This week, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray had more success calling plays than he did the week before against Cincinnati as the players executed better.

On the scoreboard at the end of Sunday night’s Cardinals loss to the Baltimore Ravens, it read 24-17.

However, there is another tally worthy of note. It was 14 points for the Cardinals with quarterback Kyler Murray calling plays and only three with head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

In the opening preseason win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cardinals went three-and-out with Murray calling plays in the fourth quarter and Jarrett Guarantano at quarterback.

Sunday, with the Cardinals trailing 24-3, Kingsbury gave the headset to Murray with 1:57 remaining in the third quarter and the ball at the Arizona 26-yard line.

Sixteen plays later, the Cardinals scored their first touchdown of the game on a possession that lasted 8:33. Quarterback Trace McSorley completed 6-of-9 passes in the drive for 73 yards, including completions of 21 yards to running back Keaontay Ingram, 13 and 19 yards to wide receiver Victor Bolden Jr. and 15 yards to running back T.J. Pledger.

The pass to Ingram was on third-and-19 from the 23-yard line when McSorley scrambled away from trouble and found Ingram. Two plays later, McSorley ram for an apparent touchdown, but a replay review ruled the ball one-half yard short of the goal line. On the next play, McSorley executed a deft fake to Ingram and ran for the score.

On Baltimore’s next play, quarterback Anthony Brown, who had completed 8-of-9 passes and two touchdowns, threw the ball right into Chandler Wooten’s hands. The rookie linebacker returned the interception to the 19-yard line and it didn’t take long for the Cardinals to find the end zone again, this time with Guarantano at quarterback.

After a 3-yard completion to wide receiver Jontre Kuirklin and a 1-yard ruin by Pledger, Guarantano threaded the ball to Kirklin at the back corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown. Suddenly, with 6:55 remaining, it was a one-score game.

After the defense stopped the Ravens, the Cardinals got the ball at their 15-yard line with 3:50 remaining in the game. On third-and-10, tight end Chris Pierce Jr. gained 19 yards on a pass play.

However, that’s when the hope of stopping the Ravens’ 21-game preseason winning streak died. Guarantano was sacked for a total loss of 15 yards on first and second down. Guarantano got those 15 yards back on a scramble, but on fourth-and-10, he slightly overthrew Kirklin on a deep pass down the right sideline. It was typical Murray.

Said wide receiver Greg Dortch of Murray’s play-calling, “He’s very aggressive. He wants to make a play every timn. He’s a competitor.”

Kingsbury agreed, saying, “Yeah, he’s going to take a shot. We were all telling him to just take a little bit, but he wanted to take a shot.”

Overall, the head coach said, “He did a nice job. He’s fired up. Way more excited than he gets when he throws one. I don’t know what that’s all about, but it was fun to watch. He was talking to those guys and doing a nice job leading.”

Even though he also had a headset on when he didn’t last week, Kingsbury said, “He called it all. He was talking to Colt (McCoy), talking to his quarterbacks. He did a good job.”

As for what is gained by having Murray call plays, Kingsbury said, “He gets a chance to really back off and get a macro view of it and see what all goes into it. Protections and knowing where the back goes and seeing the coverage.

“Then, even the leadership on the sideline, talking to Trace, ‘Hey, this is what I’m looking for.’ On the plays, he’s giving him tips. It’s just a good way for him to stay involved and just see it from a different perspective.”

Finally, when he was asked what’s it’s like not calling plays, Kingsbury said, “My life would be a lot easier if I didn’t call plays. That’s a good gig if I could just do that. But I wouldn’t get paid to do that.”