THE STORY: The ending, for what it was going to be, was what the Cardinals wanted.
The season? Not so much, but it’s a building block.
“We didn’t reach our goals,” quarterback Kyler Murray said, after the Cardinals overwhelmed the San Francisco 49ers, 47-24. “But I know we’re heading in the right direction.”
The Cardinals won, beating what was left of the 49ers at State Farm Stadium. Murray played well, as did Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. and Greg Dortch. The defense did well enough to hold old friend Joshua Dobbs under wraps — including two interceptions.
The Cardinals finish 8-9 in Jonathan Gannon’s second season. They already knew they were third in the NFC West this season, ahead of the 49ers (6-11). They knew their postseason chances were done a couple of weeks ago, but as Herm Edwards once meme’d, you play to win the game.
“We didn’t accomplish what we wanted to accomplish this year, and that stings,” Gannon said. “But I’m proud of them. … It was good to see us close out this year at home with a win.”
Murray threw a season-high four touchdown passes without a turnover or sack. That was done despite having rookie Christian Jones starting at right tackle, the fourth different starter at right tackle Murray had this season – “New guys in the lineup, that’s real for a quarterback,” Gannon said. 49ers Pro Bowl defensive end Nick Bosa only played the first half, but he lined up across from Jones most of the time, unable to get home.
Murray ended up completing 25-of-35 passes for 242 yards and a 128.5 passer rating, by far his best game since the bye.
Asked about his season on a personal level, Murray called it “solid,” before pausing.
“It wasn’t what I wanted,” he added.
Two of his TD passes went to Dortch, while McBride (7-65-1) set an NFL record for most catches by a tight end in his first three seasons (221) and Harrison tied Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin for the most TD catches by a rookie in franchise history with eight.
“I mean the records are whatever,” said McBride, whose 111 catches were four short of the franchise mark. “I think it’s just more important for us to get a win. This is a great team and a win going into the offseason, this is what you think about the whole offseason.
“So now, over the next four or five months, all we can think about is this last game. Just to end it on a really good note.”
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