Kyler Murray has one last dance with Cardinals after season of close calls
Dec 29, 2024, 9:47 AM

Trey McBride #85 of the Arizona Cardinals celebrates a touchdown with Kyler Murray #1 during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on December 28, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Close doesn’t count in football, a sport where bottom lines are like goal lines. Did you win? Did you get in? Or were you left outside on the doorstep once again?
Clarity matters in moments like this.
After a 13-9 loss to the Rams on Saturday, the Arizona Cardinals are assured of their 25th losing season in 37 years. They entered the bye week with a 6-4 record, sole possession of first place in the NFC West, and a buttery soft schedule to close out the regular season.
They are 1-5 ever since, losing all three division games, including a debacle against the lowly Panthers. Collectively, they squandered a great chance to win a division title in a down year, a chance to bring the NFL playoffs to Glendale in January.
The Cardinals and media mouthpieces will focus on progress. But this season cannot be labeled a success. Not after another December swoon. And if you feel otherwise, congratulations. You deserve a team with a 78-year championship drought, the longest of any North American franchise.
That said…
Sports fandom is also about the rich tapestry of emotions, from pride to disgust, from victory to despair. And something significant changed in me during their ninth loss of the season.
Despite the goal-line interception… despite the nine total points scored… I am officially onboard for another season of Kyler Murray, one of the most polarizing athletes to ever wear our colors.
That’s because Murray was excellent in the second half. He held his nerve and his composure. He made some great throws. He led his team downfield with ease and efficiency on a potential game-winning drive. And he is clearly cultivating something very special with tight end Trey McBride, despite their epic endgame failure.
McBride blamed himself for not getting open sooner, after a pass caromed off his helmet and into the hands of a diving defender. Some fans are blaming Murray for throwing a fastball from five yards away and not recognizing and adjusting to McBride’s unclean break. While the optics were horrible, it could not overshadow what the offense did in the second half at SoFi Stadium.
McBride is now a legitimate NFL star. Marvin Harrison Jr. made six catches and a real difference. The offense actually took flight without James Conner and an array of check-down passes, something that once seemed impossible.
Trey McBride secures his 98th catch of the year and first TD!
📺: #AZvsLAR – on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPluspic.twitter.com/4xvbZwR0yw— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) December 29, 2024
Mostly because Murray left the yips behind and flashed his considerable star power.
Granted, the Cardinals were already eliminated from playoff contention when they took the field on Saturday, and it’s much easier to perform when the stakes are lowered. Murray has yet to prove he can shine in a really big game, the moments that come with real consequences. He’s been in the NFL for six years and still hasn’t won a playoff game. The latter is a screaming indictment of someone.
But even Murray’s harshest critics will agree that credentialed successors and qualified replacements are hard to find, a shallow pool of affordable free agent quarterbacks who would bring much less skill and much less excitement.
There are no better options at the position in 2025. We will be doomed by Murray’s potential or rewarded for our unfailing patience. Join me in welcoming Murray to one last chance and one last dance in the Valley. For better or worse.
Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station