Backup quarterback choice may have doomed Arizona Cardinals

The ill-fated choice to go with Chris Streveler as the backup quarterback may have cost the Arizona Cardinals a playoff spot

Now that the 2020 campaign has officially come to an end for the Arizona Cardinals, the time for some second-guessing has begun. Many questionable decisions were made, including one during Sunday’s 18-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. A particular choice made by head coach Kliff Kingsbury that may have very well cost the Cardinals a spot in the postseason tournament.

Following a first-quarter ankle injury that would ultimately cost quarterback Kyler Murray a large portion of the game, Arizona was forced to turn to an inexperienced backup. Chris Streveler, a Canadian Football League star, had never attempted a pass in the NFL. Would the 25-year old surprise the masses, and come up huge for the Cards in a must-win matchup?

As we all know by now, that didn’t happen. The Cardinals got into the end zone just once (set up by a Jordan Hicks interception) with Streveler at the helm. Did Kingsbury make a mistake by rolling with the 6’1, 316 pounder over third-string veteran Brett Hundley?

Actually, it stands to reason that Arizona would’ve had a better chance of defeating the John Wolford-led Rams with Hundley under center. The former Green Bay Packers draft pick has nine starts on his professional resume, with three victories under his belt. In 18 career appearances, Hundley has completed 59.1% of his passes for 1,902 yards and nine touchdown throws.

While those numbers are far from spectacular, it’s still hard to fathom why Kingsbury felt that Streveler was the better option. After the loss, the Cards on-field leader answered “not at all” when asked if he had any regrets about not going with Hundley as the backup signal-caller. One has to wonder if he really believes that, or is it just a case of Kingsbury not wanting to admit that he may have made a playoff-killing mistake.