GLENDALE, Ariz. — Bill Belichick opened his postgame news conference Monday night with a message of support for injured opponent Kyler Murray.
Murray, the Cardinals’ multitalented starting quarterback, suffered a non-contact knee injury on the third play of Arizona’s 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots at State Farm Stadium. The two-time Pro Bowler was carted to the locker room and later ruled out for the remainder of the game, with reports indicating he likely suffered a torn ACL.
“It’s tough to see a player like Murray get hurt,” Belichick said during his opening statement. “I hope he’s OK.”
Patriots outside linebacker Matthew Judon was feet away from Murray when he suffered the injury, which came on a QB scramble.
“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.”
Veteran backup Colt McCoy replaced Murray and played the rest of the game for Arizona, going 27-for-40 for 246 yards and no touchdowns with one interception. The Patriots sacked McCoy six times, with Judon supplying 1 1/2 of those.
Both teams were besieged by injuries early in Monday night’s game. In addition to Murray’s, the Patriots also lost wide receiver DeVante Parker (head), running back Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) and cornerback Jack Jones (knee) before the end of the first quarter, further taxing three already-depleted position groups. Jones said after the game that he suffered a bone bruise and “should be good” after “a couple days.”
“It’s kind of a slick field,” Judon said. “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 (Murray’s) caliber — or anybody — go down with an injury. That’s tough, and we just wish him 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, who improved to 7-6 with the win and reclaimed the final AFC playoff spot, will visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. The 4-9 Cardinals will be in Denver to face the Broncos — likely without their star QB.
