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In the last couple of seasons, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury have improved with each passing season. But in the last couple of seasons, their early success has given to mid-season mediocrity. Some blame the quarterback's size, while others blame the head coach for a variety of reasons.
One NFL analyst blames Kyler Murray, but doesn't think it is a physical issue. On the Colin Cowherd podcast, Chad Millman blamed the quarterback's affinity for the "Call of Duty" franchise. In his mind, the game's annual release date coinciding with the start of the quarterback's struggles is not a mere coincidence. Here's how he put it:
"I'm not a buyer on the Cardinals to be honest. Kliff Kingsbury has just, too often, too consistently in his career, fallen apart in the second half of the year. And I wish I could say that it's not going to happen this year, but it tends to always happen. Plus, they're gonna be without DeAndre Hopkins in the early part of the year."
He went on to say that he had no faith in Murray and that a Call of Duty relaease could keep the quarterback from the film room:
"You don't know how healthy and good they're going to be. Kyler Murray, while he's amazing, the new version of Call of Duty comes out, and all of a sudden he's doing that, instead of watching more film, and then all of a sudden, you see his stats drop. So I'm not a buyer on the Cardinals."
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Call of Duty release dates during Kyler Murray's career
Millman's point about Call of Duty release dates roughly lines up, but how close do the releases coincide with the Cardinals' losing streaks? Here's a look at when the Cardinals started losing and when each Call of Duty release was during the quarterback's career thus far, according to Giant Bomb.
In Kyler Murray's rookie year, Call of Duty Modern Warfare was released on October 25, 2019. The team was 3-3-1 and riding a three-game win streak. The team lost their next six games and went 2-7 to end the season.
In 2020, the team was 3-2 before Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was released on October 13. After the 13th, the team went 5-6. In 2021, Call of Duty Vanguard was released on November 5. The team was 7-1 at the time.
During the team's final game before November 5, Kyler Murray suffered an ankle sprain that forced him to miss three games. When he returned, the team continued to lose, going 2-4 to wrap up the season.
Before Call of Duty releases, the quarterback is 13-6-1 in his career. After Call of Duty releases, Murray is 9-17.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Herd with Colin Cowherd and H/T Sportskeeda.
