The Arizona Cardinals looked to be cruising toward a potential Super Bowl on their own turf as that year's big game was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium. It sure felt like everything was coming up Cardinals, as the team was 7-1 when a Week 10 game against the St. Louis Rams happened.
In that game, Cardinals starting quarterback Carson Palmer went down with a season-ending knee injury and in came Drew Stanton. Despite Stanton being a backup to a really solid starter, he's not even the quarterback we're going to be talking about in this piece about the worst-ever Cardinals quarterback.
No, that would be Ryan Lindley, who had to take over as the starting signal-caller after Stanton also suffered a season-ending injury near the end of the regular season. Lindley was a former sixth-round pick by the team out of San Diego State in the 2012 draft and it was likely that the team never expected him to be a starting option, nor be their starter in a playoff game but that's what happened.
Why Ryan Lindley is the worst Arizona Cardinals QB ever
The Cardinals, despite a 9-1 start to the team, finished their final six games with a 2-4 record, putting them at 11-5 where they ultimately finished second in the NFC West. That led to them having to play a road Wild Card game in Carolina against a Panthers team with a losing record with Lindley as their starting quarterback.
It did not go well.
Lindley completed 16-of-28 passes for a measly 82 yards while tossing one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked four times and the moment was clearly too big for him. In his defense, it was too big for him. Lindley entered the season as the third-string quarterback and typically, those guys don't even sniff the field during the year.
The Cardinals lost to the losing-record Panthers 27-16, which was devastating for the fan base. Fans still wonder 'what if' over a decade later because had Palmer remained healthy, making the Super Bowl felt like a strong possibility for the 2014 Cardinals.
Lindley spent the 2015 season with the Colts and appeared in one game for them but that was it for him as an NFL quarterback. He'll be a name that people remember but it won't be for a good reason, unfortunately. Ryan Lindley will always be remembered as the third-string quarterback who was thrown into action during the playoffs and looked as bewildered as expected.