Kyler Murray showed toughness in response to helmet-popping hit, Jonathan Gannon says
Nov 12, 2024, 6:28 AM
“Holy bleep, bleep.”
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon experienced the terror of seeing his quarterback Kyler Murray’s helmet shot off his head after a blindside hit from New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams on Sunday.
That moment of panic for the team and fanbase alike passed quickly, as Murray popped up and led the offense into the end zone three plays later to take a commanding 21-6 lead in a 31-6 victory.
“You don’t like to see your quarterback get hit in the back of the head like that. I was just like, how could his helmet fly off like that?” Gannon explained to Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Monday.
“I did not like that. The response of that drive after he got hit like that was, I mean, unbelievable. So he throws a third down conversion and he throws a touchdown pass, two dime balls. It’s like, ‘Whoa, man.’ Just kind of speaks to his toughness. … We can’t allow that to happen.”
“QUINCY WILLIAMS LEVELING MURRAY.” – Spero Dedes pic.twitter.com/7J3pxq13bd
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 10, 2024
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Williams was left unblocked off the edge, and the 230-pound defender plowed into Murray’s back, forcing a fumble which Murray recovered. Gannon addressed the play with his team on Monday as the Cardinals reconvened ahead of the bye week.
And yet, Murray told reporters postgame he was “kind of glad it happened” and it “felt good.”
“I don’t get hit too often, so again, it was kind of an adrenaline rush,” Murray said. “It is a physical, violent game. It’s part of the game. I appreciate it.”
Murray said he was a bit confused at first since he went from his progression to crumpled on the ground in a heartbeat. The quarterback has been so effective throughout his career when it comes to avoiding those shots.
He successfully refocused, hitting throws to Trey McBride to set up first-and-goal and to Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone.
“I don’t know how the guys took it, but for me, just to continue to fight and continue to try to move the chains and go put the ball in the end zone. That was all my mind was on,” Murray said. “I could care less about the hit, you know?”
https://t.co/D8KvNw536N pic.twitter.com/oJ2CJMETfp
— Kyler Murray (@K1) November 11, 2024
Murray finished the game as one of the top individual performers of the NFL season, completing 22 of 24 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown against the Jets.
By expected points added (EPA) per dropback, Murray led the league in Week 10 at 0.72. The next highest came from Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson at 0.54.
Murray has started to creep into the MVP conversation with the likes of Jackson, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.
“Obviously, he has the ability to light it up every week, but I do feel like the consistency and the command and playing quarterback for us, I think he’s going to continue to get better and better,” Gannon said.
