How Arthur Smith Expects Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray to Attack Atlanta Falcons Defense

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray will make his return from injury on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons are looking to get back to the .500 mark on the season after losing three of the past four games, which includes a two-game losing streak, with a win on Sunday versus the Arizona Cardinals. 

On paper, it looks like a favorable matchup for a Falcons team that has recently seen a slip in performance following a promising 2-0 start; however, despite their 1-8 record, the Cardinals could have an advantage with the return of starting quarterback Kyler Murray.

Murray, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, will make his first appearance in almost a year on Sunday, as he has recovered from his season-ending ACL injury. 

“I expect him, like I said, to play to his strengths, move the pocket, let him get out there a little bit, be able to see it, use his skills to his advantage with their offense," Falcons coach Arthur Smith said of Murray. "They’ve got fast receivers. Play to his strengths and get something going, and probably try to exploit things other people have tried. That’s our job to fix it. I’m sure it will be very similar. Try to stay ahead of downs, take their shots where they can get them, see if they can get a lead and play into their hands when they can play a shell coverage and shorten the game. I’d bet that would be close to their game plan.”

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) runs for a first down against the Atlanta Falcons during the fourth quarter October 13, 2019. Falcons Vs Cardinals :: Michael Chow/The Republic, Arizona Republic via Imagn Content Services, LLC

While the Falcons have prior years of tape on Murray, they have not seen him since they hired Jonathan Gannon to replace Kliff Kingsbury as their new coach. As you'd expect with a coaching change, there have been schematic changes to the Cardinals' offense, making it somewhat of an advantage for Arizona heading into Sunday, as the Falcons don't know how different their usage of Murray will be. 

This could spell trouble for a Falcons defense that hasn't fared well recently against teams with a change at quarterback. The Falcons so far this season, are 0-2 against teams who started a different signal-caller against them. Both of those losses have come in the last two games, as the Tennessee Titans beat Atlanta with the starting debut of Will Levis, while the Minnesota Vikings followed it up the next week with Jaren Hall.

Before his Week 14 injury last season, Murray threw for 2,368 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 66.4 percent of his passes in 11 games. 

Murray will be looking to lead the Cardinals to their second win of the season on Sunday as they host the Falcons inside State Farm Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.