Moore: Kyler Murray got outdueled for most of the game in OT win over Raiders

LAS VEGAS — Kyler Murray got a season-saving win over the Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium despite being outdueled by Derek Carr for most of the game.

Murray finished with more pass attempts (49 to 38), completions (31 to 24) and yards (277 to 252) than Carr, but it took some late-game heroics to overcome a terribly inconsistent performance that saw Arizona’s $230 million signal caller spending more time fleeing defenders in his face than scanning them downfield.

Arizona’s 29-23 win at Las Vegas saved the Cardinals from the potential doom of a bad start.

The Cardinals (1-1) will face the Rams and Panthers over the next two weeks. Those two teams have beaten the Arizona nine times in the last three years. A loss to the Raiders would have set the Cardinals up for an 0-4 start, and does anyone see a division title or playoff run in the future of a team that starts off that poorly? Especially after the same club finished last season with a 1-5 skid?

The Cardinals can’t win with Murray playing this inconsistently.

Murray, one of the league’s most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks, couldn’t get it going in the first half with his arm (6-for-9 passing for 53 yards and an interception) or his legs (0 rushing yards).

The second half was better, but only after it got so bad that midway through the third quarter, that he and running back Darrel Williams had to run an option — and old-school, honest-to-goodness, I-haven’t-seen-one-of-those-in-years option!

If that wasn’t enough, the Cardinals operated out of a wishbone a few plays later.

Call it creative, unpredictable or innovative, but it would be better to call it for what it was: desperate.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury’s play calling, combined with the players’ execution doomed drives before they got going, and gave the Raiders — and their crowd — all the momentum they needed to make Allegiant Stadium a Black Hole from which the Arizona defense almost couldn’t escape.

Carr, meantime, was able to move his offense up and down the field, seemingly at will.

The $122 million Raiders quarterback engineered five drives of seven plays or longer and had his team up 20-0 before Arizona got on the board.

To be fair, Carr had good protection and his top receiving threat in Davante Adams.

It was rare that Murray was able to set his feet in the pocket or step into his throws. The mechanics problems involved with throwing on the run were apparent when Murray threw an interception on a third-and-9 in the second quarter that was overturned by defensive holding … a few plays later on a third-and-3, Murray threw a pick, for real. Again, he was scrambling and tried to fit a pass into an impossibly tight window.

It’s clear that Murray needs DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore; their replacements, Greg Dortch and Hollywood Brown, haven’t been able to carry the load. (Hopkins will be suspended for four more weeks. Moore is nursing a sore hamstring.)

Brown made a nice one-handed grab for a 25-yard gain midway through the fourth quarter that set up a 1-yard Williams touchdown and a wild 2-point conversion from Murray that involved him running back and forth across the field like the Road Runner in a Looney Tune – he may well have run 100 yards to score from the 2.

But all of that was almost too little too late.

Murray and the Arizona offense need to be more consistent throughout the game.

It’s hard enough to win in the NFL without falling behind. (The Cardinals trailed 14-0 to Kansas City in Week 1. They were down 20-0 on Sunday.)

The season was in jeopardy after three quarters.

Kyler Murray can’t afford to get outdueled anymore. He has to start games strong and finish them the same way. He can’t expect to keep pulling off late game heroics to cover up inconsistent play.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Moore: OT win covers up reality that Derek Carr outplayed Kyler Murray