Had it not been for the first serious injury in Monday night's Patriots-Cardinals game, Skip Bayless believes the outcome at State Farm Stadium would have been different.
Arizona and its franchise quarterback were dealt a brutal blow early in the first quarter when Kyler Murray went down with a non-contact knee injury. An official diagnosis of Murray's ailment hadn't been delivered as of early Monday morning, but all signs point to a torn ACL. The speedy signal-caller was replaced by 13th-year pro Colt McCoy, who couldn't lead the Cardinals to a potential season-saving win in primetime.
Shortly after the Patriots' 27-13 win, Bayless provided a take that was seemingly issued without a doubt.
"Kyler would've beaten New England," the "Undisputed" co-host tweeted.
It should be noted that some bias probably was attached to Bayless' stance. The FOX Sports 1 pundit is a diehard Oklahoma Sooners fan and Murray, the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner, was a standout in Norman. But given the way the Week 14 finale played out, we're not sure Bayless should be so confident.
The Patriots were able to put pressure on the quarterback from wire to wire and sacked McCoy six times. Even Murray, a magician in the pocket who has a remarkable ability to evade oncoming defenders, probably would have been given trouble by New England's ferocious defense. Furthermore, nothing about Murray's prior two performances -- duds against the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks -- indicated the fourth-year pro was about to light the Patriots up.
Would Murray have made this game closer? Probably. But the sense of urgency was there for the Patriots on Monday night, and even one of the game's most dynamic quarterbacks might not have been able to prevent New England from reclaiming a playoff spot.
