Time Has Run Out on Arizona Cardinals' Season of Destiny

It’s impressive to watch a team that always finds a way to win — despite injury after injury.

That’s exactly what the Arizona Cardinals have done this season, and they appear to be a team of destiny. On Thursday Night Football, they battled the St. Louis Rams in a defensive battle, hanging on to win 12-6 and improved to a league-leading 11-3 record. But alas, whether they truly are a team of destiny or not, there’s a point where they simply cannot overcome one more challenge.

That may be the point at which the Cardinals find themselves after losing their second starting quarterback this season.

Carson Palmer was having a career year when he went down with a season-ending knee injury in a Week 10 game against the Rams. In a cruel deja vu, backup-turned-starter Drew Stanton went down against the same team. The extent of his injury is unknown, but he was unable to put any weight on his right leg after hurting his knee and was taken to the locker room. Shortly after, he was ruled out for the game and is expected to have an MRI taken on the knee to reveal the extent of the injury.

Enter third-year quarterback Ryan Lindley, who has yet to throw a touchdown pass in a regular season game in his career. Lindley did start four games in 2012, his rookie season, but managed to complete only 52 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and seven interceptions. He hasn’t played in a regular season game since Week 16 of the 2012 season, and his 4-for-10 completions for 30 yards then won’t inspire confidence now.

The bottom line is that Arizona will probably make the playoffs; it’s even possible that they make the playoffs without winning another game. Realistically, however, their destiny has changed to that of a team that is meant to lose in the first round of the playoffs.

That’s quite the change from just a few short weeks ago, but no way is Lindley ready to lead this team beyond the first round.

Paul Kakert is an NFL and Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @edpvideo, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on