What does Jacoby Brissett's performance mean for Kyler Murray?

INDIANAPOLIS — Jonathan Gannon had no interest in the inevitable questions.

Will Kyler Murray remain the starting quarterback when he returns from his foot injury?“Yeah.”Why?

“He’s the starting quarterback.”

So, that settles that.

Murray — the quarterback selected first overall to resurrect this franchise, then handed a five-year, $230.5 million contract to ensure he retained that responsibility — is the Arizona Cardinals' starting quarterback. It would have been jaw-dropping, national news if Gannon had said anything else.

What Gannon’s answer does not settle is the fate of the quarterback position beyond this season, when the Cardinals may have to decide whether to continue tying their future to Murray, especially if they hold a selection near the top of the NFL draft.

That’s where the intrigue lies after Jacoby Brissett’s standout performance in Arizona’s 31-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts — even if Brissett, a 32-year-old journeyman, is highly unlikely to be in those long-term thoughts.

With Murray missing his first game since returning from a torn ACL in 2023, Brissett completed 27 of 44 passes for 320 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The last time Murray passed for 320 yards and two touchdowns? Oct. 30, 2022, before Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing arrived in town.

Some of that came down to game script, with the Cardinals leaning heavily on the passing game. But in his 30 starts since the injury, Murray has hit Brissett’s 7.3 yards per attempt just 10 times. He’s passed for multiple scores eight times.

That does not, of course, mean that one game makes for a full assessment.

In 2021, Colt McCoy shone in his first opportunity spelling Murray. Two years later, Joshua Dobbs won over hearts in September before sputtering in a five-game losing streak. This season, Jake Browning guided the Cincinnati Bengals to a Week 2 win in place of Joe Burrow, before playing so poorly that Cincinnati traded for a 40-year-old Joe Flacco. Tommy DeVito, Cooper Rush and Taylor Heinicke have all followed similar arcs in recent years. The backup quarterback is always the proverbial most popular athlete in town, until he’s not.

Plus, Brissett was far from perfect in the loss. He threw a red zone interception — although it came as Zay Jones was bumped off his route by contact downfield. On one play, he didn’t see Simi Fehoko breaking deep for a potential touchdown. He later acknowledged frustration with his own pre-snap communication, including not getting the Cardinals set quickly enough on their final offensive play.

All of those areas will sound familiar to anyone who’s watched the Cardinals offense this season. They did not simply disappear with Brissett at quarterback.

But his command of the operation was new.

On the Cardinals' second drive of the game, Brissett converted a third-and-17 by finding Trey McBride on a deep crossing route, even as pressure came free off the right side. It was the Cardinals' longest third-down conversion since 2022. Later in the drive, Brissett threw over a six-man rush, hitting Michael Wilson in stride to get the Cardinals down to the goal line and set up a touchdown.

That’s when Brissett knew he was in a groove.

“I was like, oh yeah, I can see it,” Brissett said.

It was a groove that continued for four quarters. Brissett consistently stood strong in the pocket, unfazed by pressure. Despite rarely scrambling, his average time to throw was 3.16 seconds — a number that would be the third highest in the NFL this season

That composure enabled him to work downfield more than the Cardinals have all season. When throwing more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, Brissett was 7 of 12 for 152 yards, per Pro Football Focus, good for 12.7 yards per attempt. This season, Murray is 19 of 43 for 393 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on those throws. That’s 9.1 yards per attempt.

Brissett attributed his comfort to working in this system three years ago, when Petzing was his quarterbacks coach with the Browns.

“Voicing what I want early in the week, what I don't like,” Brissett said. “And that's just bouncing ideas off on the sideline and just staying in tune with each other. I think that that connection we've had since Cleveland, it showed a little bit today, and we were on the same page.”

For as much as Murray and Petzing praise one another, that level of synchronization has rarely been evident between them.

Even when the Colts pass rush did arrive, Brissett got the ball out. Although he completed just 7 of 20 attempts under pressure, per PFF, he was sacked just once on 22 such snaps. Murray has taken a sack every 4.1 pressures this year.

Of course, the Cardinals players and coaches have only ever offered public plaudits for Murray. This is a team that remains united behind its franchise quarterback. But in the postgame locker room, Brissett’s composure was a common point of praise.

Here’s Michael Wilson, listing off the traits that stood out from Brissett’s performance: “His ability to stay in the pocket, deliver strikes, his vision of the game, throws a catchable ball.”

Even Gannon, who seemed hesitant to lavish too much praise on Brissett, said he was impressed with his “poise and command.”

Seven years into his career, those are the weaknesses that Murray has not figured out how to live with, at least not consistently.

This season, he excelled through three weeks, showing his accuracy and explosive playmaking ability. Few players in the sport can create something out of nothing like Murray can. But in his two most recent starts, he’s shown his uncertainty in the pocket, running into sacks, intentional grounding penalties and incompletions.

Murray’s next chance to put it all together will come soon enough, whether next week against the Green Bay Packers or two weeks later, after the Cardinals' bye. The story of his season is not written yet.

But at some point, the Cardinals will have to decide their future at the sport’s most important position. And if their season continues on its current trajectory — with a 2-4 record and playoff hopes that require some creative thinking to envision — that decision may come this offseason.

If it does, the Cardinals will have to remember how their offense looked on the day when someone else was at the helm.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jacoby Brissett's big day raises Kyler Murray questions for Cardinals