Cardinals and Dolphins both lost QBs, but only one team is screwed

Carson Palmer may miss the rest of the 2017 season after breaking his arm, and Jay Cutler will likely miss time after he suffered what the Miami Dolphins believe to be broken ribs.

That leaves both the Cardinals and Dolphins turning to backups to try to keep their seasons afloat. But only Miami looks like it can be in good shape with Matt Moore temporarily at the helm.

Arizona will have to rely on Drew Stanton and/or Blaine Gabbert to turn around a 3-4 start to the season. That doesn’t look promising.

Early expectations are that the Dolphins will be without Cutler for two or three weeks if he did suffer broken ribs against the Jets on Sunday. The length of the injury alone makes it much less concerning than the one suffered by Palmer.

But it’s entirely possible Miami is better off with Moore at the helm. At the least, it’s hard to imagine the offense getting any worse.

After the first six weeks of the season, the Dolphins were No. 32 in yards and points per game. The team has mostly been carried by a defense that is allowing fewer than 20 points per game.

Cutler completed 12 of 16 passes against the Jets on Sunday for 138 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Moore essentially matched the performance with 13 completions on 21 attempts for 188 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

It was Moore under center during a 17-point fourth quarter that erased a 28-14 lead for the Jets and gave the Dolphins the win.

Miami’s offensive struggles have plenty to do with the team’s difficulty running the ball, too. The Dolphins average just 3.3 yards per carry and still haven’t scored a rushing touchdown this season.

But the team has an amazing ability to win close games and is still 4-2 after six games.

Moore has been with the Dolphins since 2011 and was called into starting action last year after Ryan Tannehill suffered a knee injury. He went 2-1 as a starter with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s got a good rapport with his teammates:

If it’s Moore leading the Dolphins against the slumping Ravens on Thursday, and a couple of weeks beyond, Miami is probably in decent shape.

It was hard to believe in Arizona with Palmer. It’s a team that looks easy to dismiss without him.

The 33-0 loss to the Rams was the fourth time in seven weeks and the third week in a row that the Cardinals allowed at least 33 points. They struggled to run the ball prior to trading for Adrian Peterson, and while the veteran burst for 134 yards and two touchdowns in Week 6, he was held to just 21 yards a week later.

Many of those problems running the ball have to do with the offensive line. The unit has problems clearing space and allowed Palmer to get sacked 22 times in 2017 before his injury.

So even with a good quarterback, the Cardinals are a team that was going to have an uphill climb to stay around .500.

Stanton and Gabbert aren’t good quarterbacks.

After coming in for Palmer on Sunday, Stanton completed just 5 of 14 pass attempts for 62 yards. His day included a terrible interception thrown directly to Mark Barron.

In 2016, Stanton completed just 19 of 48 passes during his time in relief of Palmer, including an 11-of-28 performance in his only start of the year against the 49ers. He finished the year with two touchdowns and three interceptions and provided zero reason for Cardinals fans to feel comfortable with him as the starter.

Bruce Arians has already named Stanton the starter for a Week 9 game against the 49ers following Arizona’s Week 8 bye. If he plays like he did against the Rams on Sunday, his starting role could be yanked away. But the alternative isn’t much better.

Gabbert provided the illusion in preseason that he could be that replacement in the case that Palmer went down, but his history as an unsuccessful starter with the Jaguars and 49ers suggests otherwise.

Losing a starting quarterback is about as devastating a blow as a team can absorb. Last week, it was the Green Bay Packers that lost two-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, and this Sunday it was the Dolphins and Cardinals that had to recover with backups.

But not all quarterback situations are the same, and some are better equipped to handle the loss of a starter.

The Dolphins will be just fine. The Cardinals are in trouble.