Kyler Murray Could Play 'Best Game of His Career' vs. Rams, Cardinals HC Says

Ahead of Monday's NFC Wild Card Game against the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury set some lofty expectations on his quarterback Kyler Murray.

"This is his first shot at the playoffs, and I expect him to probably play the best game of his career," Kingsbury said, per ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. "I know he's going to give it everything he's got."

Murray and Kingsbury will be making their first postseason appearance. The coach-quarterback tandem are in their third year together and the Cardinals went 11-6 this season after starting out with seven consecutive wins.

In 14 games, Murray had a career-high completion percentage of 69.2 and threw for 3,787 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also added 423 rushing yards and five scores on the ground. 

Kingsbury said that he made his prediction because he feels like Murray is the type of player who rises to the occasion. The 24-year-old has an extensive winning pedigree that includes three high school football state championships. Murray also led the Oklahoma Sooners to a College Football Playoff semifinals appearance in 2018.

"It's more just knowing the competitor that he is, knowing that he's been waiting for this moment for a long time," Kingsbury said. "It's been a grind, three years of trying to build this thing to get into the playoffs, day in and day out, a lot of ups and downs; I know he's just looking forward to this opportunity and he'll give everything he's got."

The Cardinals and Rams split the regular-season series 1-1 with Los Angeles winning their most recent meeting 30-23 in Week 14. Arizona won 37-20 at SoFi Stadium in Week 4. The Cardinals ended the season with four losses in their last five games while the Rams won five of their last six.