Kyler Murray was hurt late in the Arizona Cardinals loss to the Green Bay Packers and that led to him needing to sit out in Week 9 as they took on the San Francisco 49ers. Thankfully for them, they were proactive in the offseason and added one of the better-respected reserve quarterbacks in the game, Colt McCoy.
While he might not be a household name, McCoy constantly finds himself starting the occasional game and he simply gets the job done. That was the case once again on Sunday as he was extremely efficient, completing 22-of-26 attempts for 249 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers.
He did enough to keep the defense honest and that even opened the door for James Conner to rin for 96 yards on 21 rushes with two touchdowns. He also went for 77 yards on five receptions with another touchdown. Both McCoy and Conner were under-the-radar signings in the offseason and both helped them secure a win without their MVP.
Arizona’s defense also had a hand in this 31-17 win as they were all over Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers’ starting quarterback was sacked five times and had an interception. There were also two lost fumbles one by George Kittle and one by Brandon Aiyuk.
At 8-1, they continue to be one of the best teams in the NFC and their win without Murray could come back later as teams fight for the No. 1 spot.