In his breakthrough game in New Orleans, Kyler Murray balanced the two things that are going to make him dangerous: Stacking completions and taking opportunities to extend plays with his legs.

If he keeps playing like this, watch out.

Story: https://t.co/aQhfm1ySHg

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 12, 2026

Kyler Murray makes Vikings history and offers a glimpse of Super Bowl potential

If Murray continues to play like he did in New Orleans, the Vikings can be legitimate contenders.

In his third full game of the 2026 season, Kyler Murray put together easily his best performance in a Vikings uniform so far. If he can continue to play like he did on Sunday in New Orleans, the Vikings could be legitimate Super Bowl contenders, given the strength of their defense and special teams.

After going 13 for his last 14 in last week’s win over the Dolphins, Murray completed his first 12 passes against the Saints and finished 24 of 30 (80 percent). He threw for 229 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 51 more yards. In the process, he made a bit of Vikings history, becoming the franchise’s first quarterback with 200 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, and a completion percentage of at least 80 in a single game.

.@K1 became the first Vikings QB in team history to throw for 200+ yards with an 80% completion percentage while rushing for 50+ yards.

— Vikings Communications @VikingsPR Oct 11, 2026

𝕏 X / Twitter — Vikings Communications @VikingsPR

.@K1 became the first Vikings QB in team history to throw for 200+ yards with an 80% completion percentage while rushing for 50+ yards.

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It’s the third time in Murray’s career that he’s reached those three statistical benchmarks. That ties him with Lamar Jackson for the most such games in NFL history (it’s only happened a total of 25 times).

“Kyler Murray played really good football,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “Spitting completions all day, using his legs, we saw some of that athleticism. Moving the chains, keeping us on the field, making plays.”

Murray was knocked out of the Vikings’ season opener with a concussion on just his 11th snap. He returned in Week 3 against the Buccaneers and really struggled, posting the third-worst passer rating of his eight-year career (among games with at least ten pass attempts). There was obvious concern among fans about his fit in O’Connell’s offense.

But patience is usually a good idea, especially when it comes to a talented quarterback and a smart offensive mind making things work. Clear progress was made in the fourth quarter of the Miami game. This week was even better. Murray’s passer rating has gone from 66.5 against Tampa Bay to 90.7 against Miami and 109.6 against New Orleans.

“I think he’s gaining more comfort and more confidence, getting full weeks of practice into a game,” O’Connell said. “(I) see him continuing to progress and get better.

“He just stayed the course. Tremendous poise all day long, decision-making, using his athleticism. I think this performance, like the second half from last week, is a lot for us to build on.”

What was so encouraging about this performance from Murray is the way he balanced the two things that can make him extremely dangerous. The first option on every dropback in O’Connell’s offense is to play within rhythm, get the ball out, and record a completion. Murray did a lot of that, connecting with ten different players at least once. Dating back to the final two Dolphins drives, he’s completed 37 of his last 44 passes (84 percent).

“I like to enter a flow state of completions,” Murray said. “There’s a deep meaning to throwing completions. That allows you and the offense to get into a flow and feel good about things, if it goes for one yard or ten yards. It’s a mental thing.”

Lotta green dots for the Vikings' QB1, who understands the power of stacking completions. And this doesn't even show his 50 rushing yards. pic.twitter.com/UKs6mgKkIo

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 11, 2026

Prior to a few kneeldowns to end the game, Murray had seven rushes for 54 yards. None were designed runs. They were all scrambles. He hadn’t scrambled seven times in a game since his second NFL season in 2020. Murray converted nine third downs with either his arm or his legs in this game.

Here's Kyler Murray converting nine third downs against the Saints with his arm and his legs.

Good football player. pic.twitter.com/1e0zLkSs51

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 12, 2026

“It’s great to see Kyler running the offense, but also we’re seeing his own spin on it,” O’Connell said. “His ability to use his legs, convert some third downs, helps the bigger picture of what we want to do.

“It’s a mixture of putting the ball in play, completion-based system, allow guys to run after the catch. Sometimes you gotta check it down and take a gain of four or five just to keep the ball moving. And then Kyler Murray’s always gonna be able to make a play. They send an all-out pressure, he ran around it and got a first down on a third-and-long. That’s a play that, you can count on one hand the amount of guys in the league that make.”

The play O’Connell is talking about was a 3rd and 10 from the Saints’ 37 early in the third quarter (it’s the first clip in the cut-up embedded above). On that play, Murray reached 20.82 miles per hour, according to Next Gen Stats. That’s the fastest ball carrier speed reached by a quarterback this season and by any player in Week 5. Three plays later, he hit Justin Jefferson for the Vikings’ first touchdown in nine quarters.

If Murray can continue to find the right balance between playing on time from the pocket and extending plays with his legs, the Vikings’ offense is going to be awfully dangerous. Here’s a good example of Murray keeping his head downfield and not bailing out of the pocket when he doesn’t need to.

The Vikings' O-line gave Kyler Murray almost seven seconds to throw on this 32-yarder to Jeshaun Jones.

Look at LG Joe Huber helping out his left tackle. pic.twitter.com/DsdgxfZU8y

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 12, 2026

“There was a couple plays today that I was able to make, extending plays,” Murray said. “I love to do it when it’s there, but it’s not like something I’m going out there searching for. Trying to play within the rhythm of the offense. And if it happens, it happens. But today, turning back the clock a little bit, it was good. It was fun.”

The 5-0 Vikings now have a bye week that will allow them to get healthier on offense, as well as review what they’ve done well so far and where they can continue to improve. Murray figures to keep getting more comfortable within O’Connell’s offense — and the next step of growth could be mixing in more deep shots to hunt explosive plays.

“I feel like the sky’s the limit for us, offensively, as long as we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot and keep KO on track,” Murray said.