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The Arizona Cardinals ended a three-game skid with a dominant 30-17 win against the New England Patriots Sunday. Cardinals’ quarterback Kyler Murray rebounded from a rough outing against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14 to get Arizona to 7-7 on the season. Still in the playoff picture, the Cardinals head to Carolina to take on the Panthers in Week 16. The only problem? It’s going to be a bit chilly.
It seems as if Murray may have become accustomed to the friendly environment of State Farm Stadium. While the weather in Glendale, Arizona is usually warm, the Cardinals’ stadium has a retractable roof that ensures the team is never uncomfortable. But Arizona can’t take its stadium on the road, so how will Murray deal with the weather in Charlotte?
When asked if he was concerned about the temperature for Week 16’s matchup, Murray brushed the question off, saying “I’ve played in cold weather before,” per Cardinals reporter Bo Brack on X. Then, after a moment, the sixth-year veteran asked, “How cold is it supposed to be?” A reporter replied, “35 degrees.” As the weather report sunk in, Murray cracked a smile and responded with an expletive.
How is this possible? Murray is 27 and he’s played football all his life. How can an afternoon game that dips into the 30s be concerning to him? Yes, Murray is from Texas. Sure, he plays his home games in Arizona. And naturally, his division is confined to moderate climates. But he played his college ball at the University of Oklahoma. It gets cold in Oklahoma. He’s been in the NFL for six years and he’s started 79 games. Surely he’s stumbled across some weather in all that time, no?
Can Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray play in the cold?
Since entering the league in 2019, Murray has played in five games on the road, outdoors in cold-weather cities in the month of December – and one late-November game against the Patriots. So, six potentially cold-weather games. In those games he’s gone 4-2 and thrown eight touchdowns against just two interceptions.
Murray has played well on the road in general throughout his career with a 93.8 rating compared to 91.2 in home games. He’s thrown 31 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in the months of December and January. So hopefully the weather in Carolina won’t completely wreck his game.
Murray has an opportunity to prove he’s the long-term answer at quarterback for the Cardinals with a strong finish in the stretch run. And finally getting Trey McBride into the end zone would be a nice bonus.
