Things have gone from bad to worse for NFL starting quarterback Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, who lost his third straight game in heartbreaking fashion at home yesterday via a last-second touchdown and two-point conversion by the Los Angeles Chargers.
For Murray, this is the latest addition to the “connection” between his in-game struggles and the recent release of the most recent Call of Duty product. Murray has lost all three games he’s played in since the release of Modern Warfare 2, not including the two games he missed to injury, and this latest loss to the Chargers is the first since Warzone 2’s release. The Chargers themselves poked fun at it after their victory.
Fans of both the NFL and Call of Duty are well aware of Murray’s affinity for the iconic FPS series, as well as the story surrounding his level of play immediately following new releases. In previous NFL seasons, Murray’s level of play has taken noticeable hits on weekends following new releases, events, and double XP weekends in CoD.
Since MW2’s release, though, Kyler’s quarterback play has actually been better. His QB rating (like K/D for quarterbacks) has been much higher than his season average since MW2 was released, and he’s finished as a top-eight QB in fantasy over his past three games, according to FantasyPros. His MW2 and Warzone 2 stats are unfortunately not publicly available yet.
Sadly for the Cardinals, though, his play hasn’t translated to wins. The team is now 4-8 with a dismal 1-6 record at home and a very small chance at even making the playoffs.
While Murray is surely not the only CoD fan playing in the NFL, his love of the game is easily the most talked about and scrutinized, especially after his team publicly removed a clause from his recently signed contract extension that required him to complete four hours of football study a week. Many viewed this clause’s inclusion as a means to curb the number of hours he spent gaming each week.
Murray and the Cardinals have a bye week for the Dec. 4 weekend, meaning he can log in some extra Warzone 2 hours before he plays the New England Patriots on Monday, Dec. 12.
