Moore: Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson are in focus even if they don't play

Neither Kyler Murray nor Lamar Jackson were expected to take the field Sunday night when the Cardinals played host to the Ravens at State Farm Stadium, but that did nothing to blur the focus on their extreme talents.

Arizona and Baltimore are facing the same task this preseason: find the best players to complement their dual-threat quarterbacks and the right potential replacements in case these guys miss time.

If that sounds tough, consider that these teams will face an even more difficult task in the regular season: winning big with the best player on the field.

It’s not a new problem; NFL history is riddled with GOATs who couldn’t eat the Lombardi Trophy alone.

It takes team ...

Pocket passers? Dan Fouts and Phillip Rivers combined for more than 100,000 passing yards for San Diego. It would take the Cardinals top-five all-time leaders to beat those two.

Running backs? Barry Sanders, Adrian Peterson, Eric Dickerson, David Johnson (for that one year) and Bo Jackson all made plays that remain unimaginable even after you’ve seen the highlights a thousand times.

Tight ends? Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates and Kellen Winslow did everything except rename the position.

Receivers? Calvin Johnson was harder to lock down than a door with no keyhole. Steve Largent … Lance Alworth … Cris Carter …

Not one of these aforementioned all-time greats ever even played in the Super Bowl.

It goes to show that even the most amazing players have to be supported by the right scheme and a total team to win it all — even if they’re dual-threat quarterbacks.

Just consider Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham, the two best duallys who never revved their way to the final Sunday.

Vick beat Brett Favre at Lambeau Field. Things got a little ruff for him after that. He reinvented himself as a pocket passer in Philadelphia, but he wasn’t as dynamic as he had been in Atlanta.

Cunningham, as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, was more electrifying than a stun gun. In 1990, for example, he threw for more than 3,400 yards and rushed for more than 940 more on an absurd 8 yards per carry. Still, the Eagles never really got close to winning it all during his 10 seasons in green.

Cunningham retired, then came back as a pocket passer with the Vikings, going 13-1 as a starter in 1998. He ran for only 132 yards that season as he threw for 34 touchdowns with more than 14 yards per completion, by far the highest total of his career as a full-time starter. He threw for a touchdown on 8 percent of his total pass attempts, which nearly doubled his career number and led the league, according to Pro Football Reference. But a missed field goal in the NFC championship game that season ended his best chance at a title.

But before you go thinking that this proves that dual-threat quarterbacks can’t win it all, consider Steve Young.

... and it takes scheme

He could scramble like a side of eggs early in his career and was so effective that he pushed Joe Montana for playing time in San Francisco. Young won two Super Bowls as Montana’s backup, before winning a title of his own after the 1994 season.

That championship year, Young completed 70 percent of his passes for nearly 4,000 yards, but his running game was limited to only 293 yards.

And here it might seem like Cunningham and Young’s success in the pocket would suggest that Murray and Jackson should stop running, but that’s a bad read on the situation.

Instead, consider this as recognition of how important it is to build around guys who can do things that others can’t.

In Minnesota, Cunningham had Hall of Famers with him in Cris Carter and Randy Moss (who wasn’t listed earlier because he played for the title after the 2007 season with New England).

In San Francisco, Young had Jerry Rice with him on offense and Deion Sanders on defense. (Plus, that ’94 49ers squad had more Pro Bowlers than the Professional Bowlers Association.)

Also, in Young’s case, he and his offensive coaches figured out that when to run was more important than whether to run.

Young finished seven of his 58 rushing attempts in the end zone. He also had 28 rushing first downs.

Murray and Jackson should keep running.

They just need to figure out when and how much. (Maybe they need to run even more?)

They’ve got a few weeks left to put it together.

Regardless of whether either guy takes a snap in preseason, their talents will be in focus.

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: Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson pose similar challenges for their teams