Yes, the title of this post is tongue-in-cheek. It’s also true.
Tim Tebow isn’t the only quarterback with a low completion percentage winning games in insane, impossible to explain ways.
John Skelton has started three games for the Cardinals, and played the majority of Sunday’s upset win over the 49ers. (He came into the game early with the Cardinals trailing.)
Arizona is 4-1 in Skelton’s games. They are 2-5 when Kevin Kolb handles the quarterback duties.
Skelton’s play has been erratic. He can look great one quarter and simply not up to NFL standards the next. His performance Sunday against San Francisco was his best outing.
Consider that Skelton got very little help from his running game. His offensive line might be the worst in football.
Skelton did get a ton of help from his defense, who kept the Cardinals alive with its red zone play. But Skelton’s aggressiveness was the key.
The second year player from Fordham threw for 282 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions on only 28 attempts. He’s now averaging over seven yards-per-attempt on the year. That’s higher than players like Tebow, Joe Flacco, and Andy Dalton.
The kid is not afraid to go after defenses. The great 49ers humiliated Skelton a few weeks back, but Skelton led a big comeback against them Sunday. If anything, he’s too aggressive.
So what does it all mean?
1. Measuring a quarterback by wins is overrated. It always has been. So much goes into a win, with luck a much bigger factor than anyone wants to admit.
Skelton has benefited from an improved Cardinals defense, special teams scores, and facing the Rams twice. He’s also had a knack for just enough big plays.
2. Skelton is a good NFL backup at the very worst. There has been no appreciable difference between him and Kolb this year. We’d argue Skelton has more upside.
That’s probably not a good thing for the Cardinals.