Among the list of unbeaten teams through two weeks of NFL action lie the Arizona Cardinals. After beating the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, the Cardinals earned another victory in Week 2, at home over the Washington Football Team. Kyler Murray turned in another strong performance, and along the way showed football fans how YAC is a quarterback stat.
When you think of the common things to look for in terms of quarterback development, the often-repeated phrase “the game is slowing down for him” comes to mind. But what does that look like? One thing to identify is when the quarterback is making anticipation throws. When the QB is reading the field, trusting his eyes, and getting the ball out on time and well before a receiver’s break, the game has slowed down for them.
This is exactly what Murray does on this completion to DeAndre Hopkins:
Kyler Murray. Lots of fun stuff from his game. Here's just a glimpse of what he did.
*"Slowing the game down"
*Anticipation
*YAC is a quarterback stat too pic.twitter.com/wtJ7OVQsxl— Mark Schofield (@MarkSchofield) September 21, 2020
But as the video points out, anticipation leads to yardage after the catch in most situations. It does here, because Hopkins has time to make the reception, prepare for contact, and spin away when the cornerback closes the cushion.
YAC is a quarterback stat.
