'This might be No. 1'

GLENDALE — You could tell Kyler Murray was still speechless at a time his profession simply does not allow for it.

Following a maddening 22-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans (1-4) on Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals (2-3) quarterback spoke a little over 30 minutes after its conclusion and was struggling to form cohesive thoughts.

If we’re playing the body language game and also trying to decipher what his mental state was, he looked more discombobulated than angry, very much paralyzed in shock.

“Really don’t know what to think about that,” Murray said to the first question he received. “I don’t even know. I really don’t even know. That’s how to lose a game 101. I don’t know. That was crazy.”

Murray went back to “I don’t know” after a healthy pause through shaking his head when asked what his emotions were in the moment.

He was asked later to revisit his feelings, but in terms of if they’ve ever been topped following this loss.

“This might be No. 1.” Murray said, in what was his quickest response of the evening without much thought.

It is understandable.

Running back Emari Demercado letting go of the ball before crossing the goal line for the game-sealing touchdown in the early fourth quarter or safety “Rabbit” Taylor-Demerson fumbling the game-sealing interception midway through the fourth quarter were the two all-time mistakes, either of which could be categorized into the “crucial [boneheaded] mistakes” category that Murray referenced.

But there were far more.

There was Murray’s fumble on a snap that caught him by surprise on a drive that could have resulted in at least a field goal. There were timely miscues elsewhere. And there was the decision to run the ball three straight times up two with 3:06 remaining instead of the Cardinals airing it out to end the game on their own terms. While not as impactful, they also qualified as boneheaded.

On the decision to run three straight times?

“Just trust the play call,” Murray said.

Arizona now drops to 2-3 and both of its wins were narrow against two of the worst teams in football. While Murray and the offense could have have shown any type of pulse in the middle quarters on Sunday, even his largest skeptics would have to get inventive to find ways to have him near the top of the list for who to blame this season’s results on.

Everyone knows the narrative surrounding this season above all others was Murray’s future and if he and the Cardinals would show signs of a healthy match, or if it would prove that after seven years it’s best for both parties to move on. Murray sounds awfully aware of it, saying earlier in the week that he’s not even sure if he will be around to see the newly announced practice facility.

The forecast of that conclusion is starting to clear up, and more so in the direction of Murray being better off somewhere else for his own sake. It’s hard to argue otherwise after a shocking, historic defeat that we will need far more than a half-hour afterward to find the appropriate words for.

When asked what made the loss so bad, Murray ended the presser as he began it — unable to form those thoughts.

“That [expletive], yeah, I don’t know,” he said. “That was bad. That was bad. Bad. All around. It was bad.”

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