Kyler Murray calls out Cardinals OC for conservative play calling after humiliating loss to Titans

The Arizona Cardinals suffered a surprising 22-21 defeat against a struggling Tennessee Titans in their Week 5 clash on Sunday. Cardinals' Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray didn't mince words on the team's capitulation after the loss.

The Cardinals held a 21-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter and seemed like in cruise control. However, the Titans scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to complete a remarkable turnaround.

Following the game, Murray seemingly called out offensive coordinator Drew Petzing's decision to run the ball three straight times in the fourth quarter. When asked about the decision, Murray said:

“Trust the play call."

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This is the third consecutive defeat for the Cardinals, who are now 2-3 for the season and according to the Arizona quarterback, “this might be No. 1” loss.

“Really don’t know what to think about that,” Murray said. “I don’t even know. I really don’t even know. That’s how to lose a game 101. I don’t know. That was crazy.”

The Cardinals lost on a field goal for the third straight game, becoming the first team in more than 50 years to hold the unceremonious record.

Kyler Murray refused to blame teammate after costly error in Cardinals loss

While Kyler Murray called out the OC for his decision, the Cardinals also suffered because of individual mistakes. Arizona had a chance to essentially seal the game with running back Emari Demercado surging for a 72-yard touchdown. However, Demercado dropped the ball before crossing the goal line.

The Cardinals running back took accountability for the mistake that eventually sparked a comeback from the winless Titans.

"I just made a mistake," Demercado said. "There's really no excuse. Just let the ball go. Obviously emotional, big play, but I just got to be smarter."

Although it proved to be a costly error, Murray refused to blame his Cardinals teammate.

"I know his character. I know his IQ of the game. And never in a million years would I think that Emari would do that," Murray said. "But obviously we all make mistakes. He's going to take that on the chin. He understands that."

After three consecutive losses, Sunday's being the worst of the stretch, the Cardinals are in a free fall and need to bounce back in their clash against the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Cardinals Nation! You can check out the latest Arizona Cardinals Schedule and dive into the latest Cardinals Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash