GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Carson Palmer and mega contracts go together about as well as the Arizona Cardinals and losing these days.
With 11 minutes, 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Arizona's 31-14 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, Palmer went down with what the team fears is an ACL injury. It is in the same left knee he injured during a 2006 playoff game. Two days ago, Palmer signed a three-year, $50 million extension with $20 million guaranteed.
If this sounds familiar, that's because it is.
Ten days before Palmer, then with the Cincinnati Bengals, tore his ACL and MCL against Pittsburgh on Jan. 8, 2006, he signed a six-year $118 million extension that, at the time, made him the highest paid player in the NFL.
But the similarities stop there. Cincinnati lost that game. And Palmer is now on a team that won without him Sunday to improve to 8-1 for the first time since 1948, and may have to rely on a quarterback making $2 million to keep the magic that's developing in the desert alive.
Backup quarterback Drew Stanton replaced Palmer and, on his first drive, threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to John Brown to give Arizona the lead. Then the defense came to life in the fourth quarter to secure another win.
Arizona has won like this before, and it'll have to win like this again.
If Palmer is out long term, the Cardinals will need to rely on Stanton and their defense to keep their ship steady. At risk is the NFC West championship and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Stanton was 2-1 as a starter when Palmer missed three games earlier this season with an axillary nerve contusion in his right shoulder. Stanton won at the New York Giants and at home against the San Francisco 49ers. He saw, first-hand, how a West battle can be won. His only loss came at Denver when he was knocked out of the game in the third quarter.
Except this go-round, he's not coming off a drought of more than three years without throwing a pass in a regular-season game. He was just four weeks removed from his last action.
“The further you are removed, the harder it is to get back into sync,” Stanton said. “Things happen quickly out there. You have to trust your eyes. That's the biggest thing I learned from my three starts.”
Those games reaffirmed the belief in Stanton that coach Bruce Arians created when he signed the backup in 2013. Then, Arizona only knew Stanton from practice. Sunday, the Cardinals knew he could win in the NFL.
“Even when he just came in the game, it helps that we've won with him in there and we know he's a tough guy and we know he knows the offense great and he's going to step in and do the job and be accountable,” left tackle Jared Veldheer said. “And that part of it is good.”
Stanton led the Cardinals through the opening game of a stretch that'll determine Arizona's postseason. After Sunday, the Cardinals have four NFC West games to go, the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions next weekend and the Kansas City Chiefs, a playoff team last season, in early December. They also play Atlanta after Thanksgiving.
The pressure to keep the league's best record isn't solely on Stanton. He'll be able to rely on a defense that's developed a reputation for treating the fourth quarter like its own turnover picnic. They had three, including two interceptions by Patrick Peterson, on Sunday. The Cardinals' turnover margin is plus-12 -- plus-11 in the fourth quarter -- this season.
And all this may sound familiar, but it won't get old if Stanton keeps winning.
“With both of those guys, we have confidence in all of our quarterbacks,” Brown said. “It's just like Carson never left.”
