Things were already looking dire for the Cardinals’ offense after they lost star quarterback Kyler Murray to a season-ending ACL injury two weeks ago. Then backup, Colt McCoy (concussion), went down last week, forcing third-string quarterback Trace McSorley into his first career NFL start on Sunday against the Buccaneers. 

That’s bad news for Arizona, which hasn’t scored more than 15 points in two games since Murray’s injury. McSorley was particularly brutal in relief last week, throwing two interceptions on just 15 attempts with a dismal 27.8 passer rating in the first extended action of his pro career. 

Let’s just be frank: McSorley is not a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL. The former sixth-round pick has completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes (18-for-39) in seven career appearances, and he has fewer touchdown passes (one) than sacks taken (two) across three seasons of work. 

I’m particularly nervous about how he’ll handle the relentless pressure from Todd Bowles’ defense, which ranks 10th in blitz rate (28.4 percent) and is tied for sixth in sacks (40). The Buccaneers sacked Joe Burrow twice last week and have recorded multiple sacks in six of their past seven games and 11 of 14 overall. 

If McSorley can’t handle the pressure on Sunday — literally and metaphorically — it’ll be tough for the Arizona offense to move the ball any better than it did with McCoy under center. The Cardinals have scored exactly one touchdown in each of their two games sans Murray, and they’ll be hard-pressed to exceed that in McSorley’s first start. 

The play: Cardinals team total Under 15 points (-110)