Cardinals' Murray credits 'different energy' for positive season debut

One game was enough for Kyler Murray to feel like the Arizona Cardinals are heading in the right direction.

"A lot of people keep saying, 'Oh, he's a better leader now' this and that. ... But the light's different right now," the quarterback recently said, according to team reporter Darren Urban. "People around me, teammates, everybody, it's just a different energy."

Murray led the Cardinals to a last-second 25-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in his season debut after suffering a torn ACL in December 2022. The former No. 1 pick finished Week 10 with 19 completions on 32 attempts for 249 yards and no passing touchdowns with one interception. He also scored a TD on the ground.

Murray's return wasn't pretty, but the star passer was able to engineer an 11-play, 70-yard drive in the final minutes that ended with a Matt Prater game-winning field goal. He converted a third-and-10 with a scramble and also had a 33-yard completion to tight end Trey McBride during the game-winning drive.

"You're always on edge," Murray said ahead of Week 11 against the Houston Texans. "You're never really comfortable. Great players understand when you are always on edge, whatever zone you're in, you're trying to stay in it however you get in it as long as possible."

Sunday's win snapped a six-game skid for the Cardinals, who are now 2-8. Arizona made big changes during the 2023 offseason, hiring head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort. The NFC West team previously lacked consistency under former coach Kliff Kingsbury and went 28-37-1 from 2019-22.

Murray has earned two Pro Bowl berths and an Offensive Rookie of the Year award since being drafted by Arizona in 2019. The 26-year-old has struggled to stay healthy recently and missed nine games between 2021-22. The Cardinals are 26-31-1 with him under center.