Murray is far from the player overwhelmed in the first half of his first game, struggling mightily against Detroit at home before playing Superman and bringing the Cardinals back to a surprising tie. He controlled the opener the next two years as well, winning in San Francisco and Tennessee.
Even last year, Murray came out fast, leading the Cardinals to a big lead in Buffalo before the Cardinals allowed a Bills rally.
The Cardinals' defense is much better. The running game has been superb the last two years. Tight end Trey McBride is a star and the hope is wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will become one.
Yet the Cardinals need their quarterback. Consistently.
"I told the whole team, if he plays his game, we're going to be a tough out," coach Jonathan Gannon said on Arizona Sports. "That's not putting more pressure on him. That's just, 'Go out and do what you do.'"
What that looks like remains to be seen. The quarterback wasn't committing to running more, necessarily, saying it'll depend on how the games play out – although he emphasized he feels "very healthy." He reiterated his relationship with Harrison is in a great place.
He shrugged away the idea of statistics the offense could attain, other than to say he wants the Cardinals to have the best offense in the league. That doesn't mean he doesn't privately have goals – "We all do, we all still do. That's just what it is," he said – but the wins must come.
Murray noted his post-practice conversation with Peyton Manning after the joint practice in Denver, with the current and former QBs sharing knowledge.
That again reiterated to Murray [the “boring” part of the game](https://www.azcardinals.com/news/why-kyler-murray-understands-boring-is-secret-to-consistency) he has learned to cherish, a natural maturation in the league. Checkdown throws, throwing the ball away, taking a sack rather than making a dangerous throw. Murray feels he has a better feel for such things now.
Asked if the Cardinals will be a playoff team, Murray wasn't delving into predictions. "One day at a time," was his brief response.
And while you can sense the confidence he has in a team that is arguably the best he's been on in Arizona, he won't lean into it much.
"I think I know what we can be," Murray said. "That's just me talking. None of that matters. We still have to execute and go do it.
That's experience talking. Experience matters.