Kyler Murray Sounds Off After Gutsy Arizona Cardinals Week 1 Win

The Arizona Cardinals were forced to hold on until the very final play.

Sep 7, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Davon Godchaux (92) chases Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) out the pocket during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are 1-0.

It was by no means pretty, at really any time during their 20-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints, though Arizona emerged with a victory - and that's all that matters in the NFL.

"Honestly, Week 1 in the NFL, there's a lot of unknowns. I'm most pleased that we came out 1-0," said head coach Jonathan Gannon.

Much of the attention went to Kyler Murray, who threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers.

It was by no means a sexy game - though he was efficient enough to get the win.

After the game, Murray spoke on a variety of topics:

Kyler Murray Reacts to Win vs Saints

Sep 7, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

(On how he is feeling now) “Physically? I woke up with something, but I wasn’t going to miss the game.
I don’t really know what sickness could make me miss a game, but I plan to always play. That was the
plan, and I felt good enough to go.”

(On how it felt to get the win) “Feels great. You know, that’s the thing it’s the NFL. It’s never easy, never
will be easy no matter who you’re playing. I’m grateful to go out here on the road and get a win.
Obviously offensively, yes, we want to do more. Do I want to do more? Of course. But week one, there
are a lot of things that we can get better at.”

(On how it felt to find some explosive plays) “Yeah, it was good.”

(On how the first half sparked the offense) “Was it the second drive? Second or third? Yeah, I think it
was honestly Drew [Petzing] just called the play, I’m going through my progressions and reads. I had
Marv (Marvin Harrison Jr.) one on one, and he slipped by the safety. I gave him a chance, and he made
a play.”

Sep 7, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) passes against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

(On if there are certain plays where the offseason pays off) “I think so. I know it’s minute and small, like
it looks easy. But, I think that maybe last year we don’t connect on that. I’m just glad we did. He [Marvin Harrison Jr.] played his ass off today. I could feel the confidence; I could feel the progression in his mindset and in his game. I’m very confident in where he’s at, and I hope he feels good about today.”

(On the passes that he completed over the middle) “I guess I was going where I was supposed to with the ball. I had a tipped one on third down. Again, there were a lot of things that I feel like we could do better. We didn’t play our best game today, but we’re leaving with a win.”

(On the team being able to respond in the first half) “Facing adversity. Like I said, it’s the NFL and it’s never going to be easy. How do you respond? I think we did that well today. Obviously being a
perfectionist there are some things that I think we could have done better, that I could have done better. In the grand scheme of things what matters most is that we leave here with a win and that we need to respond when adversity hits. We responded, and I’m proud of the team.”

(On the play that looked like a draw but ended as a pass to Trey McBride) “No, no, no. They actually
had us. They schemed up a really nice blitz off of the edge and that was just improvising, me and Trey.
He did a good job, and I just tried to step up and find him to make a play.”

Sep 7, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) looks for an open receiver during the first quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

(On his reaction to the last few seconds of the game) “I was motionless over there at the end. I had a
lot of confidence in the defense, but I wasn’t really trying to watch per se, but I was watching at the
same time.”

(On what he thinks the offense will look like in the future) “The way I feel about it, it doesn’t really matter who it goes to. I have trust in all of our playmakers to go out there and do the job. Obviously those two [Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride] get most of the attention. With all things equal, it doesn’t really matter who gets it, I got confidence in both of those guys.”

(On one of Trey McBride’s big plays) "The two previous plays before that, that was two incompletion to start the drive. Then, that third down was actually huge. Obviously, to throw the ball short of the
sticks, it speaks to his abilities when the ball is in his hands.”

(On working on scrambling in the offseason) “No, you do not ever want to have to do all that. But, I
think if you are a defensive coordinator, it is just what people told me playing this game for so long.
Defensive coordinators hate when they’re playing a mobile guy, a great guy that can make those types of plays happen. I went in there, and I got to make those plays.”

(On the difference between Marvin Harrison Jr. last year versus this year) “I mean, you can just tell. You just watch him move, his mannerisms and all of it. I have been around him for two years now. You may not see it, but I see it and feel it. He’s more confident in himself, and it is what it is.”
(On the zero blitz on third and four) “What do you mean? You snap the ball and obviously you have
two seconds, if that, not much time.”

(On Will Johnson’s performance) “The bubble? Good play, great play. I love the way that Will (Johnson) played today. Obviously, they snatched one from him. I wanted that one for him too. First game, get a pick, that would have been tough. He played well.”