Quarterback Kyler Murray speaks frankly about overall play of Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was asked this week if he believes the team has gotten better every week. He doesn't completely feel it has.

While noting that the Nov. 26 game against the Los Angeles Rams was the only one in which the Cardinals were "beat up," the other two losses saw the Cardinals keeping the game close before coming up short.

"As a team, I thought we clearly aren’t necessarily taking the steps to where we want to be because we didn't win those games. There's things that we’ve done good in those games. There's little things. People played good games individually, but as a unit, playing complementary football, I don’t think we played good enough," Murray said.

"I can’t really tell you that we've just have gotten extremely better, but I know what the guys are made of. I know what the locker room's made of, the culture is right. We’re going to continue to play hard. I think the results aren’t what we want them to be, but I think we’ll get there."

Murray said he can see what the Cardinals' offense can be.

"That’s something that goes back to figuring it out each and every week. What I like, what Drew’s done in the past, what the guys are good at," Murray said, referring to offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Again, this is only my fifth week so I’m just trying to mold it all together, figure it out, finish the season off strong and then go into the offseason and really dial in and come out swinging."

The many losses for the Cardinals have had an effect on Murray, he admitted.

"I don’t enjoy losing. This season has been difficult, not only for me, but I’m sure for everybody. Nobody envisioned, or I would say, I didn’t envision being 3-11. Yeah, it’s tough losing," Murray said. "You don’t play this game to lose. You play this game to go to the big one. You play the game to win it. That’s my goal, and it’s always going to be my goal."

Three Cardinals to miss Bears game

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said Friday that wide receiver Hollywood Brown (heel) will not play this Sunday at Chicago. Brown has battled injuries all season but has started all 14 previous games.

Defensive back Garrett Williams (knee) will miss his first game since he was on the non-football injury list earlier this season. The rookie has played in eight games with five starts.

Cornerback Bobby Price, a special teams contributor who last week was designated for a return from injured reserve, will also not play Sunday.

Don’t forget Paris

The Cardinals seemed to have hit the jackpot on the majority of their draft picks this year, especially up front with starting right tackle Paris Johnson Jr., the team’s first-round pick out of Ohio State. According to Gannon, the rookie continues to make strides.

“Yeah, I think just his technique is,” he said. “I call it accelerated vision, but in the games he’s not speed up. It’s slowing down for him. He’s starting to see different looks a little bit quicker and getting his technique a little bit quicker. He’s blocked some really, really good players.

“He’s started every game for us, hasn’t missed any time. He’s doing a really good job.”

Murray agrees.

“I’m not out there worried about one guy,” he said, “but Paris, I believe, he’s going to be a really good player. I’ve got the utmost confidence in Paris. I know how much he loves the game, I know how much he prepares. He’s always been really good at football, so I expect that to continue.”

Becoming a 'complete player'

Since Murray’s return from a torn ACL in Week 10 against Atlanta, the Cardinals’ Trey McBride leads all NFL tight ends in receptions (38) and receiving yards (425). During this past Sunday’s game against the 49ers, he set the franchise single-season record for catches by a tight end (66) and also joined Hall of Famer Jackie Smith as the only tight ends in club history with 700 or more receiving yards in one season.

But where is the second-year, second-round pick at when it comes to his blocking ability? It wasn’t that great his rookie season and it started off rough again during the first month of this season. But now?

“Excellent,” Gannon declared this week, adding “Did you see the long run by James (Conner)? Yeah, that was excellent. That’s the consistency of what we’re looking for with Trey. That’s something he’s been working hard on. … He’s a complete player. He really is.

“I think in his mind he would tell you that to take the next step of being a completely dominant player at that spot, he wants that to be a little more consistent. He does an excellent job in there with that. He improves every week. He’s hard on himself. He’s probably his biggest critic on that, but he’s definitely an asset for us to be able to run, pass and impact different plays like he can.”

Scouting report: What's at stake in Arizona Cardinals vs. Chicago Bears?

About those fumbles

Arizona fumbled the football five times in its loss to San Francisco, most of which occurred on handoff exchanges. Although the Cardinals didn’t lose a single one of them, the sloppiness infuriated Gannon. With potential bad weather awaiting them Sunday in Chicago against the Bears, ball security has been a priority this week in practice.

“I would say I don’t know if I can put much more emphasis on ball security,” Gannon said. “Knowing this (Bears) team, when they win the takeaway battle, I think they’re 4-0. … Certain teams can overcome it, but that’s a winning stat for a reason. … Those are big plays, momentum plays in a game that can be a turning point.

“We coach all that stuff. If a ball is on the ground, I’m not happy. … Practice is huge with that. … You practice how you play, so we’re constantly on those details and we’ve done a pretty good job of it. But it can always be better in my mind.”

Conner within reach of 1,000 yards

Although he missed four games because of a knee injury, the Cardinals’ James Conner can become the first running back since 2016 and just the third since 2007 to rush for at least 1,000 yards. He has a team-leading 717 yards on 143 carries with three games left to play.

“If he doesn’t get hurt, he’s up there in rushing yards, and I think he might be leading (the NFL), who knows?” Murray said this week, adding Conner’s aggressive running style might be bruising, but he doesn’t think it’s getting him “beat up.”

“I think he’s doing most of the punishing,” Murray said. “He runs hard, and he can catch out of the backfield. I don’t think there’s a limit to what James can do and he’s one of those guys when he touches the field, you know what you’re getting out of him. And you can count on him. He means a bunch to this team for sure.”

David Johnson was Arizona’s last 1,000-yard rusher, gaining 1,239 yards in 2016. Prior to that, the team’s last 1,000-yard rushers were Beanie Wells in 2011 (1,047) and Edgerrin James in 2007 (1,222) and 2006 (1,159).

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Losing wears on Cardinals' Kyler Murray; No Hollywood Brown vs. Bears