Analyzing Kyler Murray’s 5 INTs in last 3 weeks

A look at what happened with each of Murray’s five picks in the last three games.

The Arizona Cardinals are mired in a three-game losing streak since their bye week and four-game winning streak. It has caused them to fall from first place in the NFC West to third place and leaves them with virtually no shot at winning the division.

One reason for the losses has been an uptick in turnovers by quarterback Kyler Murray. He has thrown five interceptions in the last three games after only three in the first 10 games of the season.

But interceptions are not all equal. Some are the result of bad decisions. Some are the result of a bad throw. Others are because of a tipped ball or mistake by a teammate and some are because a defender makes a great play.

Below, we look at each of Murray’s five interceptions in the last three weeks to see what sort of interception they were.

Week 12 pick-six by Seahawks CB Coby Bryant

This was a back-breaking play for the Cardinals in their 16-6 loss to Seattle in Week 12.

It was fourth-and-1, a fake handoff to James Conner with Murray keeping the ball and running right. The problem was that cornerback Devon Witherspoon make an amazing play, changing directions immediately after seeing Conner didn’t get the ball and cutting off Murray so he would not have been able to make the line to gain.

Murray had to make a play. He had Michael Wilson available to throw to, so he threw it, but it was offline and too strong, sailing over Wilson’s head and into Bryant’s arms. He returned it 69 yards for a touchdown.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon was not upset about the interception.

“They happen those plays,” he said the day after the game. “That’s in a ‘gotta-have-it’ (situation), so he’s okay to put the ball at risk. We coach ‘gotta-have-it’s’ a little bit differently just because a ‘gotta-have-it’ is just that. But yeah, I’m sure he wants the throw back a little bit, but credit to them.”

Verdict: It wasn’t a bad decision. He had to try and make a play. It was a bad throw and a worse result. If Bryant is tackled right after the pick, it is a little better than a turnover on downs. You can hate the result, but the decision was fine and what he should have done in that situation. 

Week 13 interception vs. Vikings to Byron Murphy

Murray was under pressure and appeared to try and get Michael Wilson the ball. It was overthrown and Muprhy picked it off at the sideline, making a good play.

After the game, Murray said he was trying to throw the ball away.

That makes sense. He was under pressure but still in the pocket, so to throw it away, it had to be somewhere looking like he was trying to throw it to Wilson.

Verdict: Bad throw and he took responsibility for it. It wasn’t an unnecessary risk. He had to both look like he was trying to throw the ball to Wilson and still get it out of bounds. He did not. 

Week 13 interception vs. Vikings by Shaq Griffin

This was the final offensive play of  the game by the Cardinals. It was fourth-and-10 with 40 seconds left in the game when they were losing.

Murray didn’t have a choice but throw the ball. It was fourth down, they had to go for it and nobody was open. All Murray could do was throw the ball and hope Marvin Harrison Jr. could make a play.

Verdict: It was a desperation throw. He didn’t have anyone open to throw to. It was their last play. It could have been a better throw, but it wasn’t a bad interception. It was either going to get picked off or fall incomplete — same result. 

Week 14 interception against Seahawks by Ernest Jones

On a second-and-19 in the first quarter, Murray attempted a throw to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jones picked it off.

Jones initially was turned toward the middle of the field, giving Murray a window to throw the ball.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon credited Jones on the play.

“That’s where the ball should have went, and he kind of read his eyes and rocked back out of it,” he said postgame. “He was playing the strong side and came back to the weak. That was good play, so give credit to them.”

In essence, Jones baited Murray to make the throw and it worked.

Verdict: Great play by Jones. 

Week 14 interception vs. Seahawks by Coby Bryant

On second-and-nine, Murray has Zay Jones open. When Murray throws the ball, Bryant isn’t in position to make a play. He ran from many yards away to undercut the route and make the interception.

“I actually think they busted the coverage, and he saw him late wide open, and he just has to put a better ball on him,” Gannon said on Monday. “Flatten him.”

It was the right throw for the moment (although it wouldn’t have counted anyway because there was a holding call on the play that the Seahawks declined). But Murray should have zipped it in there to avoid the turnover.

Verdict: Not a bad decision, but made the wrong throw technique. Floating the ball allowed Bryant to recover. A harder, flatter throw would have been a completion that would have been negated with the penalty. A great play by Bryant.

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