Account
Cardinals' Kyler Murray 2nd-Ever to Throw for Over 300 Yards in 1st 2 Games
September 15, 2019
The Arizona Cardinals are yet to win a game this season, but they can be encouraged by how rookie No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray has performed to begin his NFL career.
Murray is the second player ever to throw for 300 yards in each of his first two games. He racked up 349 yards in Arizona's 23-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday:
"That's a cool deal," Murray said Sunday, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. "But wish we could have won the game."
The other player to have accomplished that feat was Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in 2011 when he threw for 422 yards against Arizona followed by 432 against Green Bay.
Murray and Newton will face off for the first time in Week 3 when Arizona hosts the Panthers.
Through Week 2, the 22-year-old has 657 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
In Week 1 against Detroit, Murray led the Cardinals to 18 fourth-quarter points, throwing two touchdown passes, to force overtime. Each team scored a field goal in the extra period, and the game ended in a 27-27 tie.
Murray's decision to enter the NFL draft rather than pursue a career with MLB's Oakland Athletics, who drafted him ninth overall in 2018, has proved fruitful.
Murray entered the NFL having won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma last season. Prior to transferring to OU in 2016, he spent his freshman year quarterbacking Texas A&M, where he was teammates with current Cardinals receiver Christian Kirk.
"It doesn't surprise me," Kirk said of Murray's success, per Weinfuss. "With what he's able to do, where he's able to put the ball, what he's able to do with his feet, it's what the guy does. And he's a winner. He's always going to give you the best position and put you in the right place to go win a football game."
Murray and rookie head coach Kliff Kingsbury are adjusting to the NFL together, trying to turn around a franchise that hasn't made the postseason since 2015 and finished last season a league-worst 3-13.
The Cardinals would like to see Murray's promising development paired with their first win of 2019 sooner rather than later.