FOXBOROUGH – The New England Patriots have another dual-threat quarterback they've got to go up against in Week 14, which led outside linebacker Matthew Judon to sum up the latest challenge for their defense well.

“Every week it seems like we face a running quarterback,” Judon said.

Well, it hasn't been every week for the Patriots, but they've gone up against Lamar Jackson, Justin Fields, and Josh Allen while also going up against Aaron Rodgers and Zach Wilson, who have made plays with their legs from time to time.

The Patriots' defense's newest dual-threat quarterback battle will come on Monday when they face Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. Even though this is just Murray's fourth season in the league and he plays in the opposing conference, this will be the Patriots' second time facing him. The previous matchup came in November 2020 and Murray didn't play too well, throwing for just 170 yards with an interception and rushing for just 31 yards in that game as the Patriots came away with a 20-17 win.

Murray was dealing with a shoulder injury in that game and much of that Patriots defense isn't the same as it was two years ago. Even though Murray's dealt with a hamstring injury that forced him to miss games in recent weeks, the Patriots still know the threat he brings in both facets on offense.

“He's a good quarterback,” Patriots defensive tackle Lawrence Guy Sr. said. “We have to understand he's a good mobile quarterback, but he's looking to throw the ball. It's one of those things where we have to make sure we keep him in the pocket and control his ability to make big plays.”

Keeping Murray in the pocket and limiting the amount he uses his legs seems to be the common goal among each player on the Patriots' defense that's spoken about him ahead of Monday's game.

“Just try to keep him in the pocket and make him throw from a tight pocket,” Judon said. “Make him hit his receivers.”

The Patriots have done better against stopping each of the big dual-threat quarterbacks on the ground as the season has gone on, but they haven't done too well. Jackson rushed for 107 yards on 11 carries in Week 3 and Fields rushed for 82 carries on 14 carries in Week 7. Allen rushed for just 20 yards on eight carries last week, though running backs James Cook and Devin Singletary combined for 115 yards on 4.3 yards per carry.

And as Judon mentioned, even if you stop Murray the runner, you still have to stop Murray the passer – and Murray the passer has a lot to work with. The Cardinals have Hollywood Brown, Rondale Moore and AJ Green at receiver plus James Conner out of the backfield.

But the biggest name of them all is DeAndre Hopkins. The five-time All-Pro actually hasn't played too well against the Patriots over his 10-year career, though. He's caught just 34 passes for 458 yards with zero touchdowns over seven career matchups.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Patriots Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo on the left, Eagles A.J. Brown in the middle, Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni on the right.

Conor Roche ·

Patriots' Eliot Wolf with Eagles' AJ Brown

Conor Roche ·

Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo with NFL Draft logo in middle

Conor Roche ·

Despite that, Patriots safety Devin McCourty knows that Hopkins still presents a major challenge as he has 574 receiving yards and three touchdowns over six games this season.

“This is a good group that, for us, we've got to compete and play well if we want to win,” McCourty said. “Everyone's got to be on this week. No one gets a break if you're not on [Hopkins]. I think everyone needs to come out and play their best ball and it's that time of the year where if we don't do that as a secondary, it's going to be hard to win.”

The Patriots sit at 6-6 entering Monday's game, which begins a pivotal five-game stretch for them in which they either play road games against teams that made the playoffs last season or teams that are currently in the AFC playoff picture.