TEMPE — Sometimes the easiest decisions are the hardest to make.
After a serious song and dance as to whether or not Kyler Murray or Jacoby Brissett would get the rock on game days in recent weeks, Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon got out in front of the building speculation on Tuesday:
Brissett is the guy for Arizona’s Week 10 game against Seattle, regardless of Kyler Murray’s health status. And from the sounds of it, Brissett’s place in the starting lineup is expected to go beyond this week.
On top of the added reports that Murray could miss up to eight weeks with the lingering foot injury, Gannon told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo that even if the signal caller was healthy, the offense is in a good place with Brissett under center.
Even if Kyler Murray was healthy, Jacoby Brissett would keep the keys to the offense, Jonathan Gannon told @BurnsAndGambo.
“I like where we’re at right now with the offense moving forward.” pic.twitter.com/NFtllJa8CT
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 4, 2025
“It’s a hypothetical to me but I like where we’re at right now with the offense moving forward,” Gannon said, while adding making the decision early in the week gives the team clarity when game-planning.
And that’s 100% the right move given what the veteran journeyman has done in a three-game span.
Whether it be eye test or stats, there’s been a clear upgrade offensively with Brissett running the show as opposed to Murray earlier in the year.
Across his first three starts with the franchise, Brissett has completed 65.8% of his throws for 860 yards and six touchdowns to one interception. He’s also added a rushing score and 49 yards on 14 carries. He’s sporting a 102.5 passer rating, which is good enough for 10th in the league.
As a team, the offense has gone from averaging 288.4 yards per game in Murray’s starts to 356.7 in the three games Brissett started. Sustained over a full season, the Brissett numbers would rank 10th in the NFL. The scoring has jumped from 20.6 points (26th) to 25.7 (12th) under Brissett.
One word to describe Brissett’s three-game stint? Rare.
According to OptaStats, Kurt Warner (1999) is the only other quarterback in NFL history (since QB starts were tracked in 1950) to complete at least 65% of his throws, rack up at least 850 passing yards, register six passing touchdowns and score on the ground in his first three starts with a franchise.
Working under center and utilizing play action that much more — something that wasn’t as prevalent with Murray operating the offense — Brissett has kept defenses on their toes since stepping in against the Colts.
He’s also hanging in and dealing despite taking 33 hits across three games. In doing so, he’s letting his reads progress and allowing more time for his pass catchers to get open.
It’s clearly showing up in the box score, with Marvin Harrison Jr., Trey McBride and Michael Wilson setting either season or career marks under Brissett’s direction.
The Cardinals are also pushing the rock down the field much more than they were in earlier in the year and have looked much more efficient on third down.
Can’t argue with results!