Cardinals keep playoff hopes alive; QB controversy at forefront
Jacoby Brissett stunned the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, but coach Jonathon Gannon remains insistent that Kyler Murray is the starting QB.
Back before Kyler Murray was placed on injured reserve, when Jonathan Gannon announced Jacoby Brissett as his starting quarterback, he explained the need for transparency at the position.
“The clarity that it provides, game-planning for our team, I think that’s important,” Gannon said. “Go from there.”
That was on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the start of what has been a whirlwind of a week for this organization.
For the first time in seven years, Murray is not the franchise quarterback. In the medium term, his status — when he does eventually return from injury — is uncertain. In the long term, he appears increasingly unlikely to be the Cardinals quarterback of the future.
And in the short term, this is Brissett’s job. When Brissett himself was asked about that clarity, he delivered the cliché answer.
“It doesn’t really change much for me,” Brissett said.
His teammates have offered a different tone. They’ve repeatedly acknowledged that clarity helps. For the first time in a month, there is no swirling drama surrounding who will start each week.
Just as importantly, players have been able to prepare for a different style of quarterback. One player said it’s about “visualization.” Running a route for Brissett, a pocket passer, may look different than it does for Murray, who is liable to scramble at any moment.
Marvin Harrison Jr. even acknowledged the benefit of clarity during his weekly session with reporters.
“It just kinda clears it up for everybody,” Harrison said. “Like alright, this is what we’ve got here going forward.”
The benefit of turning to Brissett, though, is about more than clarity.
In the locker room, no player has directly said that they prefer Brissett to Murray. There would be no benefit to generating that sort of firestorm. Plus, Murray is respected by his teammates. In both public interviews and private conversations, Cardinals players have repeatedly praised his work ethic and his desire to win, long before any quarterback controversy emerged.
But throughout this week, Cardinals players have highlighted the same elements of Brissett’s game that have earned him respect from outside observers, starting with his composure under duress.
“If you see him (taking hits), you gotta go across the middle and you gotta be able to hold on to the ball, do the same thing for him,” Harrison said. “So I think definitely, feeling him and his courage, being able to push the ball down the field helps all of us and helps make those explosive plays.”
Brissett’s ability to stand in under pressure has unlocked two key elements for the offense.
For one, the Cardinals have been able to dig themselves out of holes by converting on third and long. Perhaps more importantly, they’ve been able to involve all elements of their passing game.
With Murray at quarterback, Michael Wilson and Zay Jones — the Cardinals’ secondary downfield receiving options — averaged a combined 17.8 yards per game. With Brissett, they’ve averaged a combined 97.0 yards per game.
“It’s just him being comfortable making second- and third-level throws,” Wilson told The Republic. “… It’s no secret that our passing game runs through Marv and Trey (McBride). So they’re the first and second read on probably 80% of the concepts we have. And I think Jacoby does a good job of going through his progressions. A lot of times, I’m on third level routes.”
Brissett also is, because of his height, able to line up under center far more often than Murray did. That has enabled the Cardinals to lean heavily on play action. Since Brissett took over, Arizona leads the league in play-action pass attempts, up from 17th with Murray at quarterback.
It’s nothing new for Brissett, who played in a similar offense in 2022 with Cleveland, where Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was the quarterbacks coach.
“The system’s very familiar to him,” Wilson said. “Which is why I think he’s able to operate it and run it and why Drew’s been able to call it in the way that works for Jacoby. And which, honestly, is the strength of our offense, which is run-action, dropback, play-action pass.”
It’s not just Brissett’s work after the whistle blows that has stood out to his teammates. Appearing live on ESPN’s SportsCenter after last week’s win, McBride highlighted Brissett’s communication.
“He keeps us poised in the huddle,” McBride said. “He really gives us confidence.”
Since Brissett was named as the starter, that has been a consistent point of praise in the locker room, from Harrison to Jones to Wilson.
Harrison pointed to a double move in the fourth quarter against Dallas, when the two discussed the best way to run that route based on how the Cowboys were playing their coverages. When the route was eventually called, they didn’t connect because the protection broke down, but Harrison did get open downfield as they anticipated.
“His communication and understanding of the offensive system has done a tremendous job for just everybody,” Harrison said.
For Wilson, it’s more about Brissett’s communication during the week. Brissett typically stays on the field after practice, working on specific routes with his top receivers. And on Fridays and Saturdays, Brissett will send Wilson video cut-ups, discussing how he sees certain routes working against different coverages.
“I think that shows me that he has a lot of trust in me and also I have a lot of trust in him,” Wilson said.
Wilson saw that come to fruition on the first play of the second half against Dallas, when Brissett ripped a pass in between two linebackers to Wilson on a dig route, knowing that his receiver would arrive at the perfect time. It led to the Cardinals’ longest completion of the season.
“You have to have a rapport and trust for a lot of quarterbacks to throw that ball,” Wilson said.
Wilson wants to be clear here. When the Cardinals praise Brissett’s communication, they’re only speaking about Brissett. There is no ulterior motive.
“When we’re saying that, we’re not saying that Kyler doesn’t,” Wilson said.
Perhaps the most important detail from last week’s win, though, was one that would have been imperceptible from the outside. According to Wilson, Cardinals wide receivers did not have a single missed assignment in the game. No blocking mistakes, no incorrect routes. That was the first time all season that’s been the case.
“That all starts with Jacoby calling the play concisely,” Wilson said. “So that way everyone’s on the same page.”