Analyst: Kyler Murray Will Hold Cardinals Back

The Arizona Cardinals need more consistency from Kyler Murray.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) throws the ball against the New England Patriots at State Farm Stadium on Dec 15, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are still eying a playoff push, though they don't control their own destiny thanks to a staggering three straight losses out of the bye week.

The Cardinals have plenty of reasons to blame for their three game skid (before capturing a win vs. New England this past Sunday), though turnovers are the main culprit - mostly at the hands of quarterback Kyler Murray who tallied five turnovers during that stretch.

Murray's inconsistent play is the reason Bleacher Report believes Arizona won't make a deep push into the postseason:

"For the Cards to stand a chance to make a surprise run this early in their rebuild, they need Kyler Murray to be consistently awesome. And that simply hasn't been the case at all," wrote Brad Gagnon.

"The quarterback, who has an 80.6 passer rating the last five weeks, has posted a rating in the 90s just three times in 14 games. Even if the Cardinals somehow sneak into the playoffs, he'll inevitably put together a dud pretty quickly."

The Cardinals are 5-3 in games where Murray doesn't throw an interception this year.

Even after a win, Murray's been fairly critical of himself through the season - something head coach Jonathan Gannon acknowledged when his quarterback did the same after Sunday's win over the Patriots:

“He's being pretty critical. He put up 30 in an NFL game. That should be good enough to win. I thought we were efficient on third down, we ran the ball well and in the red zone were pretty good. What he feels is— I thought he operated extremely well," said Gannon.

"There was really a ton of need for splash plays, which is probably what he's feeling because he is normally a part of those splash plays, but we played well enough to win.”

Arizona's mishaps out of the bye week can't all solely be placed on the shoulders of Murray - though it's quite clear the Cardinals do ride and die with the decision-making of their franchise quarterback.