The way Matt Leinart sees it, he’s done all he can. Now, it’s simply up to his coach, and Ken Whisenhunt wasn’t giving any clues.
He’ll let this competition between Leinart and Derek Anderson play out a little longer after watching each throw for a touchdown while delivering solid if not spectacular performances for the Arizona Cardinals in a 14-9 preseason victory over the Chicago Bears on Saturday night.
Anderson started after the first-team offense struggled with Leinart, and he responded by completing 7 of 12 passes for 94 yards for Arizona (2-1).
Leinart came in late in the second quarter and was 9 of 10 for 84 yards, with a touchdown pass early in the third that made it 14-0 and sent Chicago (0-3) to another loss.
Anderson led the Cardinals to their first touchdown after Calais Campbell blocked Robbie Gould’s 38-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in the first quarter. He converted three third-down passes on a 72-yard drive, and Stephen Williams turned a slant underneath into a 27-yard touchdown.
Leinart came on after Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler’s second interception with just over two minutes left in the first half near midfield. And he had the Cardinals in position to score after going three-and-out on all three series in a loss to Tennessee on Monday night.
They were on the 15 when Beanie Wells lost a fumble at the 6 after being stripped by Danieal Manning with 52 seconds left, stopping what could have been their first scoring drive of the preseason for Leinart. Leinart finally broke through at the halfway mark of the third when Steve Breaston caught a 13-yard pass, flying over Chris Harris at the goal line to make it 14-0.
Arizona WR Early Doucet was back after missing a game with an abdominal strain and caught a 2-yard pass.
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