Monday's anticipated matchup between the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals saw a lot of the buzz evaporate on just the third play of the game.
Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a knee injury when he scrambled for a few yards. It was clear right away that the injury was serious and he remained on the ground for several moments before getting carted off. As Murray reportedly suffered a torn ACL on the play, the Patriots offered their well wishes to the young star quarterback following their 27-13 win.
“It’s tough to see a player like Murray get hurt. I hope he’s OK,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in part of his opening statement.
Patriots star linebacker Matthew Judon is hoping Murray somehow avoided a major injury despite the early reports.
“You never want to see that,” Judon said. “You never want to see that, especially a non-contact. I’m just praying for him. I was walking around the field in pregame, just trying to bless the field and say a prayer. You just never want to see a guy like that go down, especially a talent like that in the NFL. So I just wish him a speedy recovery. I hope everything’s fine and he just kind of tweaked it and he’ll be back on the field sooner rather than later.”
Kyler Murray's injury was the first of many on Monday. The Patriots also lost Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle), DeVante Parker (head), and Jack Jones (knee) to injuries, while the Cardinals lost Murray, defensive end Zach Allen, and corner Marco Wilson to injuries. Cardinals running back James Conner also suffered an injury but returned. Patriots safety Devin McCourty was checked in the blue tent at one point as well.
Kyler Murray is down https://t.co/kNweUR8YHg
— alex (@highIightheaven) December 13, 2022
Sure, some of those injuries were just the nature of football. However, Judon noticed the playing surface at State Farm Stadium was a bit different, too.
“It’s kind of a slick field,” Judon added. “You saw a lot of guys slipping. It’s kind of a hard surface. But we come out here and play what we’ve got to play on, man, and it’s tough when you see guys like that of that caliber, or anybody, go down with an injury.
“That’s tough, and we just wish [Murray] the best and a speedy recovery. The game of football is a real tough, physical sport, and you just don’t want to see people get injured.”
The Patriots will hope they avoided any major injuries with their players as they turn their focus to the Las Vegas Raiders.
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