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Ryan Lindley was awful and the Cardinals are in a lot of trouble

Jay Busbee
· Senior writer

Look, we're sure Ryan Lindley is a nice fellow, and his friends and family surely love him. But man oh man, was he awful on Sunday night against Seattle. And Lindley's troubles bode ill for Arizona's suddenly flimsy hopes to get out of the NFC.

Lindley, the Cardinals' third-string quarterback, was pressed into service after injuries to Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton. Facing Seattle's vicious Legion of Boom defense, Lindley came in with low expectations. Sadly, he didn't even meet those, getting pasted 35-6 and throwing a whole new load of concern onto the shoulders of Arizona fans.

There simply was nowhere for Lindley to go, and even when he had chances, he couldn't capitalize on them. He was 18 of 44 for 216 yards, and he took one sack and threw an interception. He wasn't the sole reason Arizona lost; a wave-as-they-go-by secondary didn't help. But Lindley remains the owner of a dubious NFL record: most passes without a career touchdown, now up to 225.

Lindley's rough game paled even more in comparison to the gem crafted by Seattle QB Russell Wilson. Late in the game, NBC ran the following graphic:

Stanton could be back for Week 17; he practiced lightly this week after injuring his knee in Week 15. And to be fair, nobody this side of Tom Brady could have handled the Seahawks defense as it played Sunday. Still, the loss may have cost Arizona the NFC's top seed and a first-round bye. Seattle closes out the regular season against St. Louis, while Arizona finishes against San Francisco. Anything other than a Seattle loss and Arizona win or tie gives Seattle the division and a possible first-round bye.

Arizona has been one of the season's great stories; head coach Bruce Arians is deserving of Coach of the Year, and the team's victories through injury adversity have been impressive in every regard.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.

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