Von Miller Previews the Rams' Matchup vs. Kyler Murray, Stating He's 'Very Familiar' With Him

Von Miller's familiarity of Kyler Murray dates back to their Texas ties.

Nicholas Cothrel | Dec 10, 2021

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Of the Los Angeles Rams' four losses this season, their shortcomings to the Arizona Cardinals have held the most significance up to this point.

The Rams trail the Cardinals by two games in the NFC West standings but in Week 14, they'll get their opportunity to narrow the gap if they can knock off their divisional foe.

In the first meeting between the two clubs, Arizona punished L.A. with a lethal offensive attack that displayed a ground-and-pound rushing effort, paired with the passing ability of quarterback Kyler Murray. The Cardinals handed the ball to their committee of rushers 40 times in comparison to Murray's 32 passing attempts, totaling 465 all-purpose yards.

Murray, who had missed three consecutive games due to an ankle injury, returned to action last Sunday in which he led the Cardinals to a 33-22 victory over the Chicago Bears.

As for Week 14, Murray was not listed on the Thursday injury report, indicating he'll be a full go against the Rams on Monday night.

While Murray's dual-threat ability poses a task for any defense, Rams' pass rusher Von Miller says he’s quite familiar with the former 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Miller says that Murray has played against his high school alma mater, stating that the two schools have squared off to reach the state championship. Both NFL stars came out of Texas – specifically, Miller is from DeSoto, while Murray is from Allen. Despite there being an age distinction between the two, Miller says he's kept his eye on Murray throughout his football trajectory.

"My high school, they played his high school to go to states yearly," Miller said. "And so, I'm very familiar with Kyler. He went to Texas A&M for a short bit. And then he went to Oklahoma. So very familiar with Kyler, man. He's the goat. He does everything well. He can throw the ball down the field, scramble, read option. Whatever it is that quarterbacks do well, you create a checklist, and he has all of those checks for sure.”

In the Rams' first meeting against Murray, he ran the ball himself six times, averaging 6.5 yards per attempt. Murray's mixture of possessing a strong arm from inside the pocket, throwing off-platform when plays break down and taking off, using his legs when needing to bye time or when he turns into a runner, is what ultimately makes him so strenuous to defend.

“It’s tough. (There’s) not too many quarterbacks out there like Kyler," Miller said. "I think Lamar Jackson – they're two totally different guys – but when it comes to running the ball, they're kind of similar. They kind of have the same speed. Throwing the ball is different from those guys. I'm not comparing, I'm just saying that he can run like Lamar. We played Lamar earlier in the season with the Denver Broncos. And you just got to be outside. You got to always be conscious of his escape routes. Here with the Rams, we got a team full of monsters on defense. So, I don't want to get too caught up in containing the quarterback and trying to keep them in the pocket, I just want all the guys to rush up front. And if we could just play our style of ball, we'll be good. Score some points and play solid defense. That’s the way we do it.”

Murray currently sits atop the NFL in completion percentage (72.7%), yards per attempt (8.9) and quarterback rating (112.2). Factoring in that wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has also returned to action after missing a month – who's logged eight touchdowns in nine games – the Rams' secondary will have their hands full. However, an adequate pass rush will fundamentally force Murray to get the ball out quick, which in theory will uplift the coverage from the Rams' pass defense.

“Going against a player like that, especially with all the talent that he's surrounded by, it’s going be extremely tough, man," Miller said. "We got (to) score points on offense and we got to play solid defense. That is how you stop him.”

Miller acknowledged that he would like to take his game up a notch as his contributions haven't quite been up to his liking since joining the Rams. Miller has yet to record a sack since coming to L.A., logging nine tackles and three TFLs over the course of three games.

“I think they traded for me for sacks and pressure and just to be a solid edge defender and (to) make game-changing plays and help out AD (Aaron Donald)," Miller said. "This is the game where I should be able to do that. That's why they brought me here. That's my job. That's my responsibility. I'm going to have to do that for this team to have success in the playoffs and, hopefully, go to the Super Bowl."

Miller says he and Murray don't know each other on a personal level but that the respect is mutual, saying he's been a fan of Kyler's game for a long time.

Murray achieved a new milestone in Arizona's Week 13 contest as he became the fourth-youngest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career passing yards.

Kickoff for this Week 14 matchup between the Rams and Cardinals is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 13 at 5:15 p.m. PT inside State Farm Stadium.

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Nick Cothrel is the publisher of Ram Digest. Follow Nick and Ram Digest on Twitter @NickCothrel & @RamDigestSI for more Rams coverage.

Published Dec 10, 2021

NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel covers the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated.