Oklahoma football: Another pair of former Sooners in NFL QB face-off
By Chip Rouse
Last weekend it was former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray squaring off against each other on an NFL Sunday.
This week it’s another across the line of scrimmage quarterback matchup involving a pair of former Sooners. Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles, the only remaining undefeated team in the National Football League this season, visit the Arizona Cardinals, quarterbacked by Kyler Murray.
Both Murray and Hurts served as the starting quarterback at Oklahoma just one season (Murray in 2018 and Hurts the following season via the transfer portal from Alabama).
Murry and the Cardinals got by Mayfield and the Carolina Panthers last Sunday 26-16. It was the third time the two former Sooner teammates had faced each other in the NFL. The previous two times, Mayfield was with the Cleveland Browns. Murray has been on the winning side all three games.
Mayfield was 22 of 36 passing for 197 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Murray, meanwhile, was 23 of 32 for 207 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Philadelphia comes into the game with Murray and the Cardinals sporting a perfect 4-0 record. Hurts ranks fifth among NFL quarterbacks, completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 1,120 yards along with four touchdowns and two interceptions through four games. As OU fans know, the former Sooner is also dangerous with his legs. He has gained 205 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Sunday will be the second time Hurts and Murray have gone against each other in the NFL. Arizona defeated the Eagles 33-26 in Arizona in Hurts’ first NFL season in 2020. Murray threw for 403 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 29 more yards on the ground, including a touchdown.
Hurts did was Hurts usually does in that 2020 game. He collected 338 yards through the air and three touchdowns along with 63 rushing yards, including a seven-yard run for another TD.