Stafford Faces a Rookie's First Start in Arizona
Carson Beck, Arizona's third-stringer three weeks ago, makes his first NFL start against the Rams (5-4) and Myles Garrett. Kickoff is 4:05 p.m. ET at State Farm Stadium.
Arizona's quarterback room emptied in three weeks; what remains is a rookie, a tight end, and the Rams' pass rush.
Three weeks ago, Carson Beck was the Arizona Cardinals' emergency third quarterback. On Sunday he starts against the Los Angeles Rams (5-4) at State Farm Stadium. Kickoff is 4:05 p.m. ET. Arizona is 3-6, and its quarterback room is the season's saddest magic trick: everybody vanished.
The sequence, for the record: the Cardinals cycled from Kyler Murray to Jacoby Brissett to Gardner Minshew. Brissett was traded to Baltimore on November 6. Minshew took over, then injured his elbow against Seattle in Week 9 — a potentially season-ending injury. That leaves Beck, a third-round rookie out of Georgia and Miami, who hasn't taken a regular-season snap in his career.
His welcome committee is the Rams' front. Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald headline a defense that allows 207 passing yards a game, and Sean McVay's teams have made a specialty of first-time starters. Beck's safety valve is tight end Trey McBride, his only proven target — expect the rookie to find him early and often, because the alternative is holding the ball in front of Garrett.
For Matthew Stafford and the Rams, the assignment is professional: win a division road game they're supposed to win, and keep pace in an NFC West where San Francisco is setting the pace at 7-1. For Beck, the assignment is simpler and harder: survive the afternoon with the job still his. His audition for 2027 starts now.
This story updates live once the game kicks off and closes as the game's full summary at the final whistle.
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A little more perspective.
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