The Bills are fresh off a challenge against Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and now in Week 10, the team is preparing to face another dual-threat dynamo in second-year pro Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.
Both Wilson and Murray do get the job done with their arm and legs, but no one uses the latter quite like the Cardinals QB. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said via video conference on Wednesday that his team is going to have be a little extra unique this week to handle this opposing quarterback.
“He’s a special athlete and quarterback, so we’ll get creative,” McDermott said. “I’d say this one is the most mobile we will have faced at this point… They are an explosive offense and we’ve got to be on our game defensively.”
According to Next Gen Stats, Murray’s evaded pressure at a rate just over 28 percent in each of his first two seasons. In total, Murray has 543 rushing yards this season as well.
But in terms of passing, Murray does that great, too. He enters the matchup with a QBR of 77 and a 68.1 completion percentage. Murray’s 11th in the NFL in touchdown throws (16) and 12th in total passing yards (2,130).
And if the numbers weren’t enough, Murray’s not lacking on confidence, either… And Murray feels that way for good reason. Halfway through the 2020 season, he’s on pace to have the first 4,000-yard passing, 1,000-yard rushing season in NFL history.
“Whenever I’m on the field, I feel like I’m the best player on the field,” Murray said Wednesday via video conference. “I always have the ball in my hands. It’s my job to lead the offense down the field and put touchdowns up.”
Under McDermott, the Bills have had a degree of success defending these types of quarterbacks, though. Buffalo provided the rest of the NFL with a blueprint for containing Lamar Jackson last season against the Ravens along with the prior mentioned Seahawks outing last week.
Nonetheless, the Bills will have their work cut out for them with Murray.
“The speed and quickness element is off the charts” McDermott said. “When you watch it on film, when you watch it on TV, you can see the difference and we’re talking elite athletes that are around him.”
In containing Murray, Buffalo’s secondary will also have their hands full with weapons outside such as receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk and Andy Isabella.
But again, the Seahawks were similar. DK Metcalf is the second-best receiver in terms of yards in the league and the Bills did enough to win last week vs. the likes of him and Tyler Lockett. The Bills did give up 34 total points, but there was one big thing that went right: Turnovers. Buffalo safety Jordan Poyer hinted this week on his video conference that more of the same will be needed against the Cards.
“You’ve got to be able to contain the quarterback and not let him out of the pocket. Then when the opportunity presents itself, he’ll try to make some throws on the run, we’ve got to make plays on the football,” Poyer said.
If the Bills can employ a defensive scheme tailored to the Cardinals that contains Murray’s big-play running ability as they did with Jackson and others, Buffalo may have the edge in the matchup on Sunday.
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