Cardinals Legend Defends Kyler Murray Pick-Six

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray did what he needed to do.

Nov 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) passes against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray has been at the center of talks after the team's 16-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

It was the first time all season where Murray turned the ball over without a touchdown to pair and just the fourth time in 2024 where his completion percentage was below 65%. Murray completed 24 of 37 attempts for 285 passing yards, and when Seattle stumped Arizona's rushing attack, the Cardinals had little answers.

The Cardinals were outplayed, though the true turning point of the game came in the third quarter, when Murray and Arizona's offense were tasked with converting a 4th-and-short in Seattle territory.

The play ultimately resulted in a turnover after a pressured Murray overshot Michael Wilson, rather finding Seahawks cornerback Coby Bryant for a pick-six and putting Seattle up 13-3.

COBY BRYANT PICK-6 IN SEATTLE!

📺: #AZvsSEA on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/xVFRwEbk70

— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024

No one singular play decides the outcome of a game, though Murray received plenty of flack online for the mistake.

Former Cardinals quarterback and franchise legend Kurt Warner wasn't having it, however, taking to the streets of Twitter/X to make his opinion known:

"Sitting here all week listening to #TalkingHeads saying the #KylerMurray Pick 6 play was AWFUL, I don’t get it… it’s fourth down, you aren’t picking up 1st down by running, so QBs are taught THROW IT, TAKE A SHOT! And he did… yes not a great throw & unfortunate it went for a TD, but he did exactly what we are coached to do: don’t take a sack or throw it away on 4th down, give someone a shot!!"

Sitting here all week listening to #TalkingHeads saying the #KylerMurray Pick 6 play was AWFUL, I don’t get it… it’s fourth down, you aren’t picking up 1st down by running, so QBs are taught THROW IT, TAKE A SHOT! And he did… yes not a great throw & unfortunate it went for a…

— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) November 26, 2024

After the loss, Murray spoke on the play:

"Yeah. The play that we successfully have run here in the past, 21 did a good job of redirecting. Obviously he's a good player with good feel. So he made it tough to get the corner. Once I found out I wasn't going to get the corner, obviously that's on me, it's on me. It's on me. Cant give them seven points, especially when our defense is playing the way that they're playing," he said following the game.

"I feel like if I don't do that, we're in the game four quarters because that's the way it was trending. Defense was battling their ass off doing everything we needed for them to do to win the game. Offensively we got to be better. We didn't hold the ball to finish in the red zone."

When meeting with reporters this week, head coach Jonathan Gannon says those certain situations are coached differently, and Murray had every right to try and make a play.

“They happen those plays. That's in a' gotta-have-it' (situation), so he's okay to put the ball at risk. We coach 'gotta-have-it’s' a little bit differently just because a 'gotta-have-it' is just that. But yeah, I'm sure he wants the throw back a little bit, but credit to them," Gannon said.

"I thought (Seahawks CB Devon) Witherspoon played that well. We thought they were going to sell out there, and honestly, he was going to be able to run it in and he kind of rocked out of it. Then we missed the throw, but I did like the response. I think they ended up missing the PAT there. They had a taunting (penalty) and then we returned it 37 yards, so that was good. The value of the ball's real. They know that.”