How the Kyler Murray COD meme could help unlock win for Patriots

The Arizona Cardinals’ 2022 season isn’t off to a great start. And based on recent history, it might only get worse.

Kyler Murray and the Cards haven’t been clicking through six weeks – outside of a miraculous comeback against the Raiders in Week 2 and a drubbing of the lowly Panthers in Week 4. Arizona dropped to 2-4 after its latest loss in Week 6 to the Seahawks, where the offense managed just nine points with no offensive touchdowns.

While a 2-4 start to a season isn’t a death sentence, there might be bigger issues in the Grand Canyon State.

Murray signed a massive contract extension in July, and there was initially a clause that required him to study a certain amount of game film each week. This put Murray’s commitment to football into question, though the clause was later removed after heavy discussion on social media.

Despite making the Pro Bowl twice in his first three seasons, this isn’t the first time that Murray’s work ethic has been questioned. The 25-year-old quarterback is an avid gamer, frequently streaming his gameplay on Twitch – where he has nearly 100,000 followers.

Over the summer, Reddit users put together data showing that Murray’s play is worse when there is a “Double XP” event for Call of Duty. This essentially means that gamers get double the rewards when they play during these special time periods. Here are the numbers from multiple Reddit users:

According to those numbers, Murray’s passer rating (-7.77 difference), passing yards (-6 yards per game), completion percentage (-0.12% difference) and win-loss record (-0.169 win percentage) all get worse during Double XP events.

So, this could all just be a coincidence. Maybe the Cardinals faced some tough defenses after these Double XP events? Maybe Murray just wasn’t feeling good on those days? Either way, the data is the data – and it could impact the Cardinals more in 2022.

New England Patriots

Find the latest New England Patriots news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.

Patriots Talk Podcast Jan 16

Why Keion White is key to Pats defense's improvement in 2025

Patriots Talk Podcast Jan 17

Could a former Patriots stadium employee emerge as OC candidate?

There aren’t any more Call of Duty Double XP events currently scheduled, but the new game – CoD 2022 Modern Warfare 2 – releases on Oct. 28. The Cardinals face the Vikings in Week 8 on Oct. 30, which could give Minnesota an unexpected advantage against the star quarterback.

Future Double XP event dates for the new game haven’t been announced, but the Patriots will visit the Cardinals in Week 14 (Dec. 12).

In three starts this season, Murray has 784 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and one interception with a 82.6 passer rating.