After Skelton's strong finish to the 2011 season, coach Ken Whisenhunt declared that Kolb and Skelton would compete for the starting quarterback position. Skelton would eventually win the battle and be named the opening-day starter. However, Skelton was injured near the end of the opening game against the Seattle Seahawks, which saw Kolb come in off the bench and lead a game-winning drive. Kolb would start the next week and pull off a surprising upset over the AFC champion New England Patriots in Foxborough. Kolb played well enough to stay the starting quarterback even after Skelton was healthy, but Kolb himself would become injured in a 19–16 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills. Kolb suffered broken ribs and was expected to miss six to eight weeks, but would eventually be placed on injured reserve. The Cardinals started off a surprising 4–0, but would then lose nine straight games, including an embarrassing 58–0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Skelton would eventually be replaced by rookie Ryan Lindley in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but was re-inserted as starter after Lindley's struggles.