Arizona Cardinals: Backup quarterback still unresolved
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals played both Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert in the 24-23 loss to the Chicago Bears
If the Arizona Cardinals were still evaluating the backup quarterback competition on Saturday evening, they may not have gotten any closer to a final decision. Both Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert played but again it was a mixed bag.
Stanton got to see action in the second quarter on Saturday and went 2-6 for 17-yards. He did not look particularly impressive doing so either.
He overthrew his receivers a couple of times. His timing and accuracy was not as sharp as it was the week before against the Oakland Raiders.
As for Gabbert, he showed some decent numbers against the Bears. He went 14-25 for 174-yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Gabbert did lead the Cardinals back to a chance to win the game at the end but after throwing a touchdown to receiver Jeremy Ross with nine seconds remaining, the team decided to go for two to win instead of kicking an extra-point to go to overtime.
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Although absolutely no issues with the Cardinals going for two there given it is preseason, the execution of the play was awful. Gabbert either threw the ball away too early or the receiver wasn’t in the proper spot.
Either way, Gabbert was also playing against a lot of players that won’t be around in September for the Bears. Stanton was playing second-stringers as well.
In the end, the Cardinals couldn’t be much closer to a decision on who will backup Carson Palmer this season. What Saturday night may have done though is tilt the meter in Gabbert’s favor for staying on the roster as a third-quarterback.
Gabbert’s performance was definitely good enough to consider keeping him if they want to go three quarterbacks rather than the traditional two that coach Bruce Arians likes to keep.
The second half of next week’s game at the Atlanta Falcons could ultimately decide how this will go. Don’t be surprised to see rookie Trevor Knight get the bulk of action against the Denver Broncos in the final preseason game in 11 days.