Kyler Murray makes his NFL playoff debut in Monday night’s clash with the Los Angeles Rams. His performance may decide more than just whether the Arizona Cardinals advance.

Munich – The Arizona Cardinals’ 2021 season can actually be split into two halves.

On one side is the team that started the season with eight wins and one loss and for a long time was considered a big favourite for the number one seed in the NFC. On the other side, however, a much more mixed picture emerged for the Cardinals.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s team managed only three wins out of eight games in the second half of the season and Arizona slipped to fifth place in the NFC and now has to play the Los Angeles Rams in a tough away game in the Wild Card Round on Sunday.

The franchise’s quarterback Kyler Murray is emblematic of the season’s vicissitudes. The 24-year-old started like fire and quickly advanced to the early MVP favourite. In the second half of the season, however, he had considerably more problems than before.

Kyler Murray: Between MVP candidate and rookie failures

On paper, Murray’s numbers read more than decent over the season. In 14 games, the playmaker totalled 3787 passing yards and 29 total touchdowns. Thanks to his abilities as a runner, he contributed 423 rushing yards.

The problem: He scored 20 of his 29 touchdowns before the 21-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers in week eight, which marked something of a turning point in Murray and the Cardinals’ previously flawless season. Against a toxic Rams defence, Murray will have to get back to his form from the start of the season as soon as possible.

If the Cardinals are to be successful in the playoffs, Murray will also have to get a grip on his interception problem. Murray threw the ball to the opponent ten times in the regular season. That doesn’t sound bad at first, but it becomes a problem when he commits several turnovers in a game.

In top games such as against the Packers or the Rams in Week 14, two hair-raising throws were intercepted by Murray, which ultimately helped to decide both games against the Cardinals. Ahead of the postseason, this raises the question of how well Murray can handle the pressure ahead.

Kliff Kingsbury: “Will play best game of his career “

The clash with the Rams isn’t just a debut for the quarterback, Head Coach Kingsbury will also be leading his first playoff game from the sidelines after three years with the Cardinals. Because he wanted Murray with the number-one pick in the draft when he took over in 2019, the two share a common journey to the playoffs.
“He’s been waiting for this, as I have been for three years,” Kingsbury told a news conference on Wednesday. “He’s a guy who wants to play for something and he’s aware of what’s at stake,” Murray earned praise from his coach.

The latter did not shy away from putting even more pressure on the young playmaker: “This is his first try in the playoffs. I expect him to have the best game of his career. I know he will give everything he has,” Kingsbury said.

Murray will have to do without his favourite playmaker, DeAndre Hopkins. The Cardinals have been missing the wide receiver for several weeks – one of the reasons why the offensive motor did not run as smoothly as before in the second half of the season.

More than just a playoff game: is Murray playing for his future?

While Murray is expected to be with the Cardinals for a few more years, it’s not assured that the soon-to-be 30-year-old Hopkins will still be playing in Arizona during that time frame as well. So for the young playmaker, the game is the best opportunity to show that his ability as a quarterback is not dependent on a particular receiver.

So while it seems out of the question that the Cardinals would part ways with him if he fails to perform, it’s a good gauge for those in charge of how much he could be worth to the team in the future. As with all 2019 first-round picks, Murray will be eligible to negotiate his contract extension after his 4th or 5th year in the NFL starting next season.

Given the current trend in the NFL and the ever-increasing cap space, a record-breaking contract beckons if he can confirm his performance from the start of the season. The yardstick should be Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, who has now led his team to the postseason for the third year in a row.

The Bills rewarded him last offseason with a six-year contract worth a total of 258 million US dollars. So if Murray can already ensure playoff success this season, he could cement his claim to a similar contract – and possibly even surpass Allen’s salary.

But monster contract in mind or not, there’s a lot of pressure on Murray’s shoulders ahead of the clash against the Rams, not least because of his coach’s praise – making the first playoff game a very special one.