Bruce Springsteen might have been born to run, but Kyler Murray would always rather throw the football first and ask questions later. That’s always been his preference.

When you can do both equally well like the Cardinals’ second-year quarterback, however, it presents a monumental challenge for opposing defensive coordinators. And after showing off his uncanny speed and mobility during last week’s season-opening win at the 49ers, Murray quickly got the full attention of this week’s opponent in the Washington Football Club.

Before twice taking a knee out of the shotgun to end Sunday’s game, Murray had rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries, which would have been the most running yards in a single game by a Cardinals quarterback since 1951.

The only way to stop him this Sunday at State Farm Stadium, according to Washington coach Ron Rivera, is to do everything humanly possible to keep Murray in the pocket. Asked what happens when a defense can’t manage to do that, Rivera laughed.

“You guys saw it Sunday,” Rivera said Wednesday during a video conference call with Arizona reporters. “Shoot, he’s a dynamic player, he really is. He’s got terrific athleticism, gets outside the pocket and extends plays. He’s got great vision and anticipation and he delivers a great football.

“He gives me anxiety.”

There’s no telling how much Murray will decide to tuck it and run this season, whether it’s on designed plays or because he sees an open running lane he can exploit. But the threat is always there, and it gives opposing teams that much more to think about in addition to all the other playmakers Arizona has on offense.

It’s doubtful he’ll run for 91 yards every game, which was his official final total against the 49ers, but it’s safe to say he could go off for that many yards or more on any given week. If he comes close to the pace he’s presently on after one game, he could shatter the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season – 1,206, set last year by the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.

“Oh, it’s a tremendous challenge for (defensive coordinators),” Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds said. “Obviously, we all see Kyler’s playmaking abilities with his legs. The best compliment I can give Kyler about his running abilities is he knows how to not take hits. I think he had 13 carries and I think he got tackled one time on Sunday.

“That’s a great job. If he’s going to keep toting the ball 13 times and only get hit one time, it’s no problem at all. He does a great job protecting himself and protecting the ball and if he can just continue to build off of that, it’s obviously going to create more problems for defenses coming in to game plan on us.”

Murray made several big plays on the run against San Francisco, with his 22-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown scramble being chief among them. He picked up two key blocks from Edmonds and tight end Maxx Williams and the touchdown not only gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game, but it’s been one of the most talked-about highlights of Week 1.

“I’m just playing,” Murray said Wednesday when asked about the TD. “I don’t think I intended to do that. It just happens. I also think opposing teams, they already know I can move so it’s not like they don’t know.”

What Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury has always found so fascinating about Murray is the quarterback’s penchant for avoiding getting hit when he takes off and runs.

“For him, it’s instinctual and it’s been practiced for however many years he’s played football,” Kingsbury said. “He’s been the smallest guy on the field so he’s learned self-preservation at a level that I’ve never seen on a football field.

“His ability to feel things, get down, protect himself is really unique, but it’s been practiced his entire football career and he takes pride in that. He makes sure he gets what he gets, gets down, and he knows how valuable he’s been to his football team over his career and he knows he can’t take any extra hits.”

Asked if that ability is natural instincts or skill, Murray said it’s “probably a little bit of both.”

“As I’ve said before, I don’t think any quarterback likes to get hit. I don’t think anybody running the ball, besides some running backs, like to get hit. But when I’m running, I’m trying to evade people and get as much yardage as I possibly can and also diagnosing if there’s a possibility that I can take it all the way.”

A lot runs through his mind, he said, but it’s reactionary and comes from a sense of visualization as well. He’s also done it so many times in his career, including during practices, that he’s developed a trigger-finger mentality on what to do and when.

“It’s not like I’m just sitting there thinking about all this in my head and it’s making me play slow,” he said.

When he does take off and realizes it’s time to get down, Murray also has years of practice at sliding because of his long-running background playing baseball, where he was a first-round pick of the Oakland A’s before being the No.1 overall pick by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL draft.

Twice on Sunday, Murray drew late-hit penalties on the 49ers following a slide, which added even more positive yardage to each play. Rivera, though, didn’t think either penalty should have been called.

“I disagreed with those penalties. I thought that was very unfair,” Rivera said. “He slid headfirst and that defender was trying to miss him. I get it, we want to protect the quarterback, but my quarterback (Dwayne Haskins Jr.) slid with his feet in front and got hit in the head.”

However he choose to slide this Sunday, Murray will get Washington’s full attention as both a passer and a runner, Rivera said.

“The problem his creates is you come through and you think you’ve got a shot at him and all of a sudden, his athleticism makes you miss and now he’s on the edge extending a play,” the coach said. “If he tucks it and runs, he’s going to get positive yardage. If he extends the play, he’s going to throw the ball downfield and get positive yardage.”

That’s the part of Murray’s game that wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins enjoys the most. He marveled at Murray’s arm strength when he ran out of the pocket to his right, then laser-beamed a throw all the way across the field to hit Hopkins on the left sideline for a big first down.

“Not many quarterbacks can make that throw and not many try to make that throw,” Hopkins said, “so for him to be confident enough in his arm as a second-year quarterback to make that throw, it speaks a lot about his arm ability and something that people don’t speak a lot about him.”

It comes with the territory or in his case, the repertoire, Murray said.

“I pride myself on being able to make all the throws,” he said. “… I don’t go out there looking, ‘Hey, let me make this throw to show off my arm or anything like that.’ But if it’s there, I’ve got to take the chance.”

Most Rushing Yards in a game by a Cardinals QB

Rnk     Player              Yds         Opponent

1       Charley Trippi      145         12/16/51 @ Chicago

3       M.C. Reynolds*    99          11/2/58 vs. Philadelphia

3       Kyler Murray*       93          10/6/19 @ Cincinnati

4       Kyler Murray         91          9/13/20 @ San Francisco

5       Charley Trippi      86          10/5/52 vs. Chicago

6       Charley Trippi      81          11/18/51 @ San Francisco

7       Kyler Murray*       69          9/22/19 vs. Carolina

8       Kyler Murray*       67          11/17/19 @ San Francisco

*Rookie Season

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

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