TEMPE, Ariz. -- These aren't last year's Arizona Cardinals. Or the ones from the year before.
That much was proven to quarterback Kyler Murray during Sunday's 31-19 comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Cardinals overcame a nine-point deficit late in the third quarter after watching the game swing away from them just before halftime when Jacksonville returned kicker Matt Prater's 68-yard field goal attempt 109 yards for a touchdown. Then five plays after getting the kickoff to start the second half, Murray threw an interception. By late in the third quarter the Jaguars led 19-10.
Then Arizona's comeback began. The Cardinals scored 21 unanswered to improve to 3-0 -- their best start since 2015, which was the last time they went to the playoffs.
"I'm glad we fought through adversity today," Murray said. "I'm frustrated, but as a team, I've been here, two, three years now and the last two years, we would have lost that game for sure."
The last two weeks have supported Murray's thesis. Arizona is 5-12-1 with Murray as its starting quarterback when down nine points or more. Two of those wins have come in the past two weeks.
"To see us fight through that and come on the road, obviously, any given Sunday, not looking at anybody's record, you can be beat on any given Sunday by anybody," Murray said. "So, it's good to get a win any way you can. That's what we came out here and did, and that was the goal coming on the road, getting a win and that's what we're leaving with."
Murray credits a different psychological approach this season, thanks in part to new veterans, for the difference between this year's team and the 2020 version. But Murray was also quick to credit younger players for their contributions.
"I think the mental capacity of this team, the maturity of this team," Murray said. "We've been there. A lot of our young guys have stepped up. A lot of young guys played a lot of reps, and me, as well, not getting flustered, coach [Kliff] Kingsbury not getting flustered, us just stick sticking to it, and seeing it through to the end."
Kingsbury said there wasn't any panic, calling the situation at halftime "as big of a moment of adversity as you can face in an NFL football game."
During halftime, players -- from vets such as defensive lineman J.J. Watt to younger players such as safety Budda Baker -- chimed in and no one pointed any fingers, said wide receiver A.J. Green.
"This shows you the leadership that we have on his team," Green said. "No guys ever flinched. We just made the plays whenever we need, whenever our numbers are called."
They couldn't have found a better time to start doing that than with a trip to Los Angeles coming up Sunday to face the 3-0 Rams in a game that could establish early supremacy in the NFC West.
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