I never thought I’d be interested in a 4-10 Arizona Cardinals team in December, but here we are.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy has been ruled out of the Christmas night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because he’s still in concussion protocol, according to a Dec. 21 announcement from head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
With McCoy being out of action, former Penn State star Trace McSorley was named the starter. Dec. 25 will be McSorley’s first start ever in the National Football League (NFL).
McCoy became starting quarterback for the Cardinals after Kyler Murray went down due to an injury, but he ended up tearing his ACL in a week 14 defeat to the New England Patriots. McCoy then sustained a concussion in a Dec. 18 loss against the Denver Broncos.
When McCoy exited the game, McSorley went 7-0f-15 for 95 yards, which aren’t bad numbers, but the problem came with the two interceptions he threw in the game. Altogether in the 2022 season, in four appearances for Arizona, McSorley has completed 51.7% of his passes, tallying 166 yards and three interceptions.
#Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury said Colt McCoy (concussion) is out this week. Trace McSorley is set to start on Sunday Night Football against the Buccaneers.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 21, 2022
Back in my newspaper days covering Pennsylvania sports (with a main focus on central Pennsylvania), Penn State football was one of the major things we covered. The Nittany Lions are a big deal in that area and people get real religious about PSU, so I definitely have plenty of experience with the football team, having covered them for years.
One of the teams I happened to write about during my time covering Penn State was the 2016 squad led by Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley, who were absolute beasts that year. They went 11-3 (8-1), they won the Big 10 championship and nearly won the Rose Bowl against USC (they lost in a crazy 52-49 thriller I watched in the editorial office, and I remember how intense it was.) That was for sure a classic in Rose Bowl history. (RELATED: J.J. Watt Shuts Down Hater Who Called Him ‘Fake’ With Proof From 25 Years Ago)
So, with this being the case, I’m actually quite interested to watch the Christmas night game to see how Trace McSorley does. Now, I understand he won’t be exactly what he was in college, but I’m just intrigued with my close connection to McSorley (us stepping on the same stomping grounds at one time, and me having the luxury of covering him, particularly in 2016.)
Like I said, I never thought I’d be interested in watching a 4-10 Arizona Cardinals team in December, but here we are.
Plus, it’s Christmas football, and what’s better than that?