No one can be completely sure what happens to the NFC-leading Cardinals after losing another quarterback in victory Thursday night at St. Louis, but be sure of this: if they are going down, they are going down in a blaze of blitzes and deep passes, and they are going to inflict serious pain and stress and bruising on their foes before they leave.
Make no mistake: 11-3 Arizona will be a home underdog to 9-4 Seattle next Sunday, especially if the knee injury suffered by quarterback Drew Stanton is serious. Stanton will undergo an MRI, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said after Arizona’s 12-6 win.
If Stanton is out for an extended stretch, the Cardinals will turn to third-year pro Ryan Lindley or rookie Logan Thomas against the Seahawks, who can earn the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona with a win next week. Lindley — who relieved Stanton Thursday night — looks the favorite to get the call, considering Arians seems hesitant to go with Thomas, a fourth-round pick from Virginia Tech.
“He will be a good player some day but he’s not ready for this yet,” Arians said of Thomas after Thursday night’s game, according to Darren Urban of AzCardinals.com.
Lindley or Thomas — those are the options. That’s it. There are no solutions in free agency. The Cards might add a passer to the practice squad, but only as a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option.
This is the Cardinals’ hand to play.
The good news? They’re not exactly drawing dead.
Their defense — that aggressive, unshakable defense — is something special. The Cardinals’ collective competitive spirit shines through, too. They can take a punch.
There’s also the matter of the good work the Cardinals have done to this point. They will finish no worse than 11-5, and that’s if they lose to Seattle and at San Francisco in the next two weeks. However, the 49ers aren’t exactly playing like contenders, and the Seahawks only recently have gotten back to top form.
Also, several other NFC playoff candidates have head-to-head matchups left to play, beginning with Sunday night’s Cowboys-Eagles tilt. The Dallas-Philadelphia loser will have five losses — and both clubs have already lost to the Cardinals. Then, in Week 17, the Packers (10-3) will host the Lions (9-4). The Cardinals have beaten Detroit, and they have a better NFC record than Green Bay.
Yes, the Cardinals would be compromised further without Stanton, who was filling in for starter Carson Palmer, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in November. But Stanton has been up-and-down, connecting on just 55 percent of his throws.
Whether Lindley or Thomas could perform to Stanton’s level remains to be seen. But the Cardinals wouldn’t be the first club to compete with a third-string quarterback. In fact, a good Texans team did it three years ago, with then-rookie T.J. Yates leading a wild-card win vs. Cincinnati before a three-interception performance in a divisional-round loss at Baltimore.
Is there a ceiling on the Cardinals with Palmer out and Stanton ailing? Probably. But will the Cardinals act like it under Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles? Absolutely not. They will be skilled, swaggering and strong until it’s time to go.
Pity the teams who will be tasked to tell them their time is up. And send aspirin and ACE bandages and prayers. We can’t say for certain if the Cardinals are sunk, but we do know they will dig in.
Good luck getting them out.