The Arizona Cardinals picked up a win Sunday in a way they hadn’t all season.
After putting up at least 31 points in each of their first four matchups of 2021, the Cardinals found themselves in a low-scoring affair with the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.
Riding the hot hand of the defense, Arizona’s offense took a bit of a backseat as it mustered 17 points.
And while Arizona put together a fourth-quarter drive that resulted in the deciding touchdown, the frustration over the offensive output was still there postgame.
Holding on to a 10-7 lead with 7:49 left to play, the Cardinals were able to put the game out of reach thanks to a five-play, 52-yard drive that ended with back-to-back big plays from wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who found pay dirt on a nine-yard grab.
The end result was all Arizona could ask for, especially with injuries to key pieces Rodney Hudson and Maxx Williams but for a team that averaged 35 points over the first four weeks of the season, there was clearly some plays left out there.
“Like I said, we’ve just got to be better,” Murray said after the game. “Playing through that is part of the game, but at the end of the day we took one drive, we knew it was going to break through, but you can be frustrated whenever things aren’t going how you planned them to go.”
Murray found the end zone, but turned in season lows in both passing yards (239) and rushing yards (1). On the flip side, the signal caller turned his second consecutive game without a turnover and completed nearly 71% of his throws (22-of-31) in the win.
Murray is now just the third quarterback in NFL history to reach the 1,500-yard mark while completing at least 75% in the first five games of the season, per Elias Sports Bureau.
And even though Sunday marked a low scoring effort for the Cardinals, they’re alone at the top of the NFC West in both points scored (157) and record (5-0).
That’s no consolation for Murray.
“I’m glad we won today, but we could be a lot better,” Murray said. “For me personally, I’m a little frustrated, but we won.”