The collection of highlight-reel plays that Arizona Cardinals star quarterback Kyler Murray made with both his arm and legs on Monday were shrouded by two critical mistakes. In spite of 383 yards through the air and a season-high 67 yards on the ground, Murray's pair of game-altering interceptions proved costly in a 30-23 loss to the rival Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium.
If Murray was still in the conversation for MVP honors entering Monday night, his candidacy took a big hit against the Rams. In two of his last three games, he's failed to throw or rush for a single touchdown, and since Week 7 in late October, Cardinals wide receivers have combined to score just three times.
"They're going to have to figure out how to operate consistently on offense within the structure of the scheme," former NFL quarterback Shaun King told the Tiki and Tierney show on Tuesday. "You can't get into the playoffs and all your explosive plays are because Kyler is running around three, four different directions, throws a deep ball, and DeAndre makes a contested catch.
"That's just not sustainable. So, his next step in becoming a consistently elite quarterback is learning how to get the ball, deliver the ball in rhythm from the pocket. They don't do that enough currently to be a threat this year to win it all... Even though Arizona hasn't manifested success in the playoffs, I think that's what Kliff Kingsbury and his staff are going through -- how do we rein Kyler in a little bit, while still winning doing it."
During the first quarter, Murray threw his first interception on a 2nd-and-goal play from the four-yard line, and the blunder led to a 68-yard touchdown drive by Los Angeles. His second pick came two quarters later, and it also resulted in seven points for the opposition. After recovering an onside kick late in the fourth, Arizona had a chance to knot the game at 30-30. But the possession ended with Murray scrambling backwards and falling to the turf under duress.
Arizona (10-3), which now holds a one-game lead in the NFC West and owns the NFC's three-seed, will visit the Detroit Lions (1-11-1) in a Week 15 matchup this coming Sunday. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Cardinals still have an 89-percent chance to win the division, and a 10-percent chance to earn the conference's first-round bye.
The entire NFL conversation between King and Tierney and Tierney can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.