Leinart got a chance to step out from behind the clipboard Sunday, after Kurt Warner was scratched from the roster because of a concussion suffered last week at the hands of the St. Louis Rams.
Despite the rattled brain, Warner was expected to get the start Sunday but was benched last minute at the request of team doctors.
The Titans have the worst pass defense in the NFL. Given the Cards recent passing game, which has seemed to be unstoppable lately, a healthy Warner -- or a competent Matt Leinart -- should have rolled over the Titans, right? Wrong.
While he didn't play terribly, Leinart didn't do enough to win against a team the Cards should've at least handled.
Against the worst pass defense in the NFL, Leinart completed 21 of 31 passes for 220 yards and didn't throw for a single touchdown.
The Redbirds' two touchdowns came on the ground, with a 99-yard LaRod Stephens-Howling kickoff return and a six-yard Tim Hightower run.
Two touchdowns and two field goals against that worst pass defense on the NFL doesn't exactly help the Cards defense when they have to deal with a rejuvenated Vince Young and an unstoppable Chris Johnson.
Johnson ran for 154 yards against the Cardinals defense and Young threw for a career-high 387 yards.
Despite the deck being stacked against the Cardinals defense, the D managed to hold the Titans to 13 points for the game -- almost.
On the Titans last drive, it was deja vu all over again for Matt Leinart in what was almost a repeat of the 2006 National Championship Game.
The last time Leinart and Young met was when they were in college, and Young led Texas to a last-second victory over Leinart and USC to win the National Championship.
Leinart relived this college nightmare, because Young and the Titans did roughly the same thing yesterday.
On the last possession of the game, Young and the Titans marched 99 yards, ending with a last-second 10-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt to win the game.
The loss ends the Cards' perfect road record this season and was only Leinart's 17th start for the team since he was drafted four years ago.
The Cards host Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings on primetime next Sunday night -- let's hope the only time we see Leinart for that game is on the sidelines holding a clipboard.
