Ryan Lindley holds dubious distinction, still looking for first TD pass

The beautiful thing about a win in the NFL, is that for at least a few days all of a team’s persisting problems can be masked by the end result.

Take for instance last Sunday’s 38-10 win by the Arizona Cardinals over the Detroit Lions. The victory snapped a season-high nine-game losing streak, but was largely the product of another tremendous performance by Arizona’s defense (forced four turnovers, two returned for touchdowns).

Making his third career start in the contest, quarterback Ryan Lindley was rather uninspiring, throwing for 104 yards, to go along with one interception and no touchdown passes. Most of the offense was generated by an opportunistic defense, and Beanie Wells seemed to handle the rest of the load (career-high three touchdowns) in the red zone.

In fact, Lindley has yet to throw a touchdown in his first four career appearances, forcing some to wonder if he can even notch the career milestone in 2012.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, no quarterback since 2001 has thrown 91 passes or more in a season without connecting for at least one touchdown.

And as ESPN’s NFC West blogger Mike Sando pointed out Saturday, Lindley currently holds the NFL record for most passes in a season (141) without a touchdown pass.

Lindley isn’t alone though. Former Cardinal Matt Leinart also had a similar run of futility in 2009, failing to throw a touchdown in his first 77 attempts.

The task won’t get any easier for the former sixth-round pick over the final two weeks of the 2012 season. Arizona faces two of the top six pass defenses in the league in Week 16 (Chicago Bears) and Week 17 (San Franciso 49ers).