21–6 lead at halftime, a poor performance in the second half led to 27–30 loss. During the game, quarterback Kevin Kolb injured his toe and after the game, it was announced that he was suffering from a serious turf toe and would miss time on the field. Week 9, the second year and second string quarterback John Skelton came off the bench to start against the St. Louis Rams. Due to Kolb's lackluster performances in the games leading up to his injury, many fans and commentators suggested that if Skelton played well enough, the starting job might end up his, and that Kolb would be benched. Skelton gave an average performance, throwing for 222 yards, but it, coupled with an effective defense, gave the Cardinals the win. At the end of regulation, defensive tackle Calaias Campbell blocked the would-be game-winning field goal attempt by the Rams, forcing overtime. After one drive, the Rams were forced to punt. Rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson fielded the punt from the Arizona 1-yard line and returned the punt 99 yards for a game winning score, and also setting the record for longest punt return for a touchdown in NFL history. The Cardinals would win this game, 19–13 in overtime. In Week 10, Kolb was still not ready to return, so John Skelton would start again, with the team traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Historically, the Cardinals had struggled when playing on the east coast, but they made short work of the Eagles, winning 21–17, with Skelton throwing for 315 yards, including 146 yards and 2 touchdowns to Larry Fitzgerald. The two wins with Skelton gave way to the suggestion by fans and commentators that Skelton may end up the permanent starter. But after an abysmal week 11 performance against the San Francisco 49ers that resulted in a 23–7 loss, the discussion stopped and fans eagerly awaited the return of Kolb. Kolb was still not ready to start in week 12 when the team traveled to St. Louis to again face the St. Louis Rams. Skelton gave a mediocre performance, throwing for just 112 yards with 2 interceptions. But running back Chris "Beanie" Wells made up for the weak passing game by running for a career-high 228 yards. It was during this game that cornerback Patrick Peterson returned another punt for a touchdown, for a total of 4 on the season to