Cardinals’ Kyler Murray having rookie season flashbacks: ‘It’s tough out there right now’

Kyler Murray is in his fourth NFL season but amid a struggling offense, the Arizona Cardinals quarterback is getting flashbacks of his rookie year. 

The Cardinals dropped to 2-4 after a 19-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Murray completed 23 of 37 passes for 222 yards with an interception, while rushing for 100 yards, but Arizona’s sole touchdown of the game was a special teams fumble recovery in the end zone in the third quarter. 

“Rookie year, probably. That’s the last time s— felt this hard,” Murray told reporters in the locker room. “It’s tough out there right now. Tough. That’s what it feels like. A lot of it, like I said, is self-inflicted — put it on ourselves. Got to be better.” 

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Murray was sacked six times for the first time since 2019 and just the third time ever in his NFL career. 

The Cardinals had more offensive yards than the Seahawks on Sunday (315 to 2986) but two turnovers and poor execution in the red zone highlighted Arizona’s ongoing troubles this season. 

“We moved the ball well today, I felt. We just get down into the red zone or past the 50 — false start here, negative play here — we just can’t finish,” Murray said. “Can’t finish, that’s the moral of the story right now, just not finishing drives. Not putting the ball in the end zone. Can’t win like that.” 

The Cardinals were without top running backs James Conner and Darrel Williams and most notably wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins who returns this week after serving a six-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. 

Arizona also acquired Carolina Panthers wideout Robbie Anderson on Monday following his confrontations with coaches during Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.