The Arizona Cardinals experienced an up-and-down season with extreme highs and lows, from the big prime-time win against Seattle to the Hail Murray to losing five of their final seven games, including a Week 17 defeat that kept them out of the postseason.
During an insightful interview on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, quarterback Kyler Murray admitted inconsistencies led to the big swings in production.
"It was like, you just didn't know which team you were getting," the Cardinals quarterback said, via the team's official website. "That comes down to us being inconsistent. For me, it starts with the little things, and I have said it before, organizations that win, they do everything right. They do everything the right way. Attention to detail, the small things. I've said, how you do anything is how you do everything.
"We've got to get to the point where we do everything the right way, we don't take any stuff for granted. I think that'll change the narrative or feel around the organization. The Cardinals, we haven't really won a lot as far as an organization."
Murray's swings were emblematic of the Cardinals' ebbs and flows. The QB looked like he could stick in the MVP conversation early in the season when both his arm and legs were dicing up opponents. At times, however, Murray's inaccuracy hurt the passing game, and teams also began to scheme to slow his scrambles. An injury didn't help his cause either.
Murray noted that growing with coach Kliff Kingsbury gives him hope for Year 3.
"That first year I think we both had to get used to the league," Murray said. "It's the highest level, it's the elite of the elite, everyone is good, and it took a second. But I think Year 2, we came out, we made strides, we showed flashes, and now it's about putting it together each and every week."
Murray has the talent to make another leap in his third season. Kingsbury needs to prove his offense can adjust when defenses take away certain aspects. Otherwise, the same ebbs and flows that plagued the Cards in 2020 will carry over to 2021.
