Arizona Cardinals’ Zaven Collins addresses state of team
At 2-5, the Arizona Cardinals are trying to turn things around and get a much-needed win coming off their Week 8 bye in the 2025 season.
On Oct. 27, Monday Night Football between the Washington Commanders and Kansas City Chiefs drew 17.6 million viewers, more than the simultaneous World Series game. A week earlier, the Buccaneers and Lions drew 18.8 million.
These numbers are relevant because of what they represent for the Arizona Cardinals this week. The Cardinals are not typically a national draw. They exist outside of the spotlight on SportsCenter and First Take. Their struggles remain a topic of conversation only locally.
This week will be different. The Cardinals will go to AT&T Stadium and play in front of the country on Monday Night Football, against a Dallas Cowboys team that remains a unique national draw.
It’s different than Thursday Night Football, a relatively recent invention still tucked behind a paywall on Amazon Prime. It’s certainly different than their appearance on Monday Night Football last year, which was an ESPN+ exclusive broadcast as part of a doubleheader. It’s a spotlight that the players themselves recognize.
“You know it’s Monday Night Football, now,” Calais Campbell said. “It’s primetime. There’s more cameras, more lights, more people around on the sideline. You feel it.”
For the Cardinals, that spotlight comes at a key point, not just in the season but in the direction of the franchise.
At quarterback, the picture remains extremely muddled. Entering the week, it seemed like Kyler Murray would make his return following two games out with a foot injury. But through two practices, Murray has exclusively worked with the backups during sessions open to reporters, while Jacoby Brissett has thrown with the starters. Plus, Murray’s weekly news conference was postponed, further hinting at question marks surrounding his status.
The Cardinals, as they often are, have been coy regarding Murray’s status.
When asked whether the team was preparing for Murray to start, head coach Jonathan Gannon said only, “Yeah.” At another point, he was asked what the mile markers are for Murray and replied, “Get him fully healthy, play.”
There is, though, one area in which Gannon has remained steadfast: When Murray is healthy, he remains the Cardinals’ starting quarterback.
“Nothing’s changed,” Gannon said three times in a two-day span recently.
That is why this national spotlight arrives at such a fascinating time.
Through eight games this season, the Cowboys have allowed 258.6 passing yards per game on a jarring 7.3 yards per pass play, the worst mark in the NFL. Last week, they allowed Bo Nix to have his best game of the season. Two weeks earlier, Bryce Young torched them for three touchdowns. Even Russell Wilson passed for 450 yards against them — and he was benched the following week.
And now, the Cowboys are without Trevon Diggs and Malik Hooker, two of the better players in their secondary.
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“It’s the National Football League, they’re gonna be prepared to play,” said offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, which is the type of thing coordinators say when there are few other compliments to offer up.
Meanwhile, Brissett has excelled in Murray’s absence. His 599 passing yards are more than Murray has thrown in a two-game span since his torn ACL. One of those games was against the Packers, who are allowing the fewest yards per pass play in the NFL this season.
So, imagine if Murray returns and struggles against this Cowboys defense.
Suddenly, the Cardinals’ quarterback controversy would become a topic of national conversation, the type of debate that leads talk shows across the country on Tuesday morning.
Plus, Troy Aikman, ESPN’s color commentator for Monday Night Football, has taken an unfiltered approach to calling games this season, letting loose on everyone from referees to Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. It’s not hard to imagine his reaction if Murray struggles against the Cowboys.
On the flip side, imagine if Murray misses out and Brissett dominates. It wouldn’t be hard to do against Dallas, but that doesn’t mean the noise won’t grow louder — especially if the Cardinals win to move to 3-5, keeping themselves on the fringes of the wild card race.
Of course, all this debate could just as soon dissipate in the scenario that Murray returns, plays well and leads the Cardinals to a win.
That’s what the Cardinals are hoping for. A nice, smooth win to kickstart a turnaround. Gannon knows what that looks like — he was an assistant with the 2018 Colts, who started 1-5 and won a playoff game. Three years later, he helped lead the Eagles to a playoff berth from 2-5. Those were lessons he passed along to his players this week.
But if that reality doesn’t come to fruition, Monday Night Football in Dallas may prove to be a key turning point in the seven-year story of Kyler Murray.