Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) walks the field before their preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium on Aug. 9, 2025. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What Kyler Murray's Discouraging Mistake Means for Arizona Cardinals

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Alex D'Agostino | Last updated Aug 10, 2025 3:17 PM ET

In Saturday night's preseason-opening win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray made an admittedly ugly mistake.

Murray lobbed an ill-advised pass, intended for Marvin Harrison Jr., straight to Chiefs DB Jaden Hicks, ending a promising red zone drive with an interception.

Fans quickly rushed to social media to fire off their takes. Was this the continuation of a disturbing trend? A fluke? Somewhere in between? Does it mean anything at all?

Regardless, it wasn't what the Cardinals would look for out of their franchise QB.

Arizona Cardinals Kyler Murray: Cause for Concern?

Ultimately, that's a play that can't happen in the regular season. Especially in a playoff hunt.

The understandably concerning aspect of the play for Cardinals fans was just how similarly head-scratching it looked to some of the plays that contributed to Arizona's season-end collapse in 2024.

But the fact is, Murray was also perfect on his other seven throws. He led a good drive, and Arizona's offense was humming.

If that's a read Murray makes in the regular season, that may be cause for legitimate worry. But neither Murray nor head coach Jonathan Gannon appeared to be too concerned.

"I think he just left it a little bit short. I thought that was a really good play by that guy [Jaden Hicks] because he was not covering the guy that he [Murray] was throwing it to. So hats off to him. That was a really good play," Gannon told reporters after the game.

Murray acknowledged his mistake, but was upbeat, and noted how good it felt to get into real-time game action in the preseason.

"Just didn't get enough on it. ... "I'm glad it happened, though, I'm glad it happened. I would hate for that to be [against] New Orleans and it mean something," Murray said.

There's no denying it was a brutal error, but Murray and Gannon know that. A bad rep in the first drive of the preaseason which was otherwise mistake-free is not something worth equating to Murray's ultimate play for the duration of the 2025 regular season.

But the unfortunate side of it is this: that mistake only heightens an already-growing reality for Murray. 2025 is the year. If he can't execute, or mistakes like Saturday's derail the Cardinals' hopes at a playoff berth, there won't be as much room for that as Arizona enters its contention window.

So what does this mistake mean for the Cardinals? Nothing, for now — until it does.