Kyler Murray accomplished plenty of impressive feats in the 2020 season, including one that the best dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL history had yet to achieve. Murray became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 3,500 yards and run for 800 yards in a season, a historic mark for the Arizona Cardinals quarterback.
Only five quarterbacks in league history have thrown for 3,000 yards and rushed for 800 yards in a season: Randall Cunningham, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, and Murray. The Cardinals quarterback was the first to reach the 3,500-yard mark and accomplish the feat, falling just 29 passing yards short of 4,000 for the season (Murray was injured in Week 17 and had to leave the game or else he likely would have surpassed the 4,000-yard mark).
The Cardinals were the first team to have a 3,000-plus yard passer and an 800-plus yard rusher in a season at quarterback and miss the postseason, as the other four led their teams to a playoff berth. That doesn't diminish what Murray did for the Cardinals last season.
Murray became the first player in NFL history with 7,000-plus passing yards, 45-plus touchdown passes and 15-plus touchdown runs in his first two NFL seasons. He also became the first player in NFL history with 6,000-plus passing yards and 1,100-plus rushing yards in his first 25 career games. Murray set an NFL record for the most games with a passing and rushing touchdown in a season with nine, and became just the second player in league history with 25-plus touchdown passes and 10-plus rushing touchdowns in a season (Cam Newton in 2015 is the other).
In a Week 7 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Murray became the first player in NFL history to throw for 350-plus yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 50-plus yards and a TD in a single game. He also became the first player in Cardinals franchise history with 300-plus passing yards and 50-plus rushing yards in a game. Murray has two seasons with 3,500-plus passing yards and 500-plus rushing yards, trailing only Newton and Russell Wilson (three). Newton and Murray are the only players to accomplish the feat in their first two seasons.
The Cardinals have a franchise quarterback in Murray, who can only get even better as he enters year three in the NFL.
