The Cardinals came into Week 10 in first place in the NFC West and they’ll be in the same spot when the week comes to an end.
Kyler Murray ran for two touchdowns, threw for another and set a franchise record by completing 17 straight passes during Sunday’s win over the Jets. The 31-6 blowout is the fourth victory in a row for Arizona and they head into their bye week with a 6-4 record.
Murray led the Cardinals to points on their first five possessions of the game and the Cardinals piled up 406 yards of offense against a Jets defense that had no answers for their passing game. Murray was 22-of-24 for 266 yards over the course of his afternoon — Clayton Tune got some garbage time duty — and spent the day peppering James Conner, Marvin Harrison Jr., and tight end Trey McBride with great success.
The Cardinals will return in Week 12 with the first of two games against the Seahawks in a three-week span. They already have wins over the Rams and 49ers, so sweeping the Seahawks would put them in strong position as they work for their first NFC West crown since 2015.
Murray completed his final 17 passes, so that run will have a chance to continue against Seattle.
Due to Aaron Rodgers’s presence at quarterback, there’s been a lot of focus on the Jets’ offensive shortcomings this season and that’s been deserved. It’s also overshadowed a defense that hasn’t been close to the same level it’s been on in previous seasons and Sunday’s game in Arizona was the worst effort they’ve put on the field so far. The poor tackling, invisible pass rush, and loose coverage made life far too easy on the Cardinals and future Jets opponents figure to employ similar strategies to expose the Jets’ weaknesses.
Rodgers and the offense weren’t much better. After two early field goals, the Jets never scored again and they continue to look like a group that’s on separate pages far too often. There are no more trades or signings or firings that the team can make to address the problems on either side of the ball and it feels like it will be a long couple of months as the 3-7 team plays out the string.
That process will start against the Colts next Sunday. That game was originally scheduled for Sunday night and no one will be lamenting the decision to keep the Jets off as many TVs as possible.
