The Arizona Cardinals are 2-5 and predictably find themselves falling out of the race in the NFC West. Things aren't getting any easier, considering these are Arizona's upcoming matchups: @Dallas, @Seattle, vs. LA Rams, @Kansas City.
The Cardinals will be underdogs in each matchup, with their best chance of winning likely coming this week against a flawed Cowboys defense. But should those red zone struggles continue under Jacoby Brissett, Arizona is going to have a difficult time keeping up in the shootout.
It's hard to see them upsetting the Rams again, while the Seahawks and Chiefs look the part of genuine contenders. Near the end of November, the Cardinals will likely be sitting at 2-9 or 3-8.
That one final game in November on the 29th -- a home matchup against the Washington Commanders -- would be a great time for head coach Mike LaFleur to make the switch from Brissett to third-round rookie Carson Beck.
Will Cardinals start Carson Beck Week 12 vs. Commanders?
The silver lining to Arizona's demanding schedule this season is that it's at least front-loaded, meaning it gives Beck a better chance of success once he finally does get his opportunity.
If LaFleur starts Beck against the Commanders, the remainder of the schedule would be: vs. Philadelphia, vs. Jets, @ New Orleans, vs. Las Vegas, vs. San Francisco. That schedule looks even easier, but only due to unfortunate circumstances pertaining to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is expected to miss the rest of the season after blood clots were discovered in his lungs.
Beck wouldn't be entering the best situation as far as his offensive line and group of wide receivers go. But at least he would be put in a situation where he can genuinely win these games.
That also gives the Cardinals a better opportunity to evaluate Beck in these competitive settings, as opposed to putting him in against the Chiefs where it's a blowout and there's not enough quality drives to even go off of, for instance. This would be a real chance for Beck to show the Cardinals what he's made of.
He showed promise in his lone preseason game, but Arizona needs to see it in meaningful regular-season action before knowing whether he's truly the answer. And if he's not the answer, at least they know heading into a pivotal 2027 NFL Draft, where they should have yet another top-ten pick to consider addressing the position. Not to mention, these games against struggling teams like the Jets could be the Cardinals' very competition when it comes to draft position.
You could make the case that Beck should be starting even sooner than this November 29 matchup against the Commanders. The main concern is that that's not enough of a sample size to judge whether he's the long-term answer before heading into the draft. But LaFleur has held firm on Brissett being the starter up until this point, oftentimes referring to the Cardinals' problems as collective rather than something that falls on the quarterback.
He's not wrong, but LaFleur is also in his first season and knows that this is a rebuilding Cardinals roster that he's hopefully going to grow alongside for years to come. Arizona will eventually prioritize the future by seeing what they have in Beck. It just may not come as quickly as some would like.
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