Watch Blaine Gabbert run in touchdown for Arizona Cardinals

Blaine Gabbert is hanging on by a thread. His career has not gone to plan and now he's just trying to make it as a backup in the NFL. Right now, that means earning his way with the arizona cardinals. He needs to prove his worth during the preseason, so at least one play on Saturday night will work in his favor. The rest of his performance, however, once again left something to be desired - just like the rest of his career.

Gabbert runs it in

About midway through the third quarter, Gabbert saw his hole. As he dropped back to pass on third-and-3 (with the Cardinals trailing the Chicago Bears 17-7), there was an opening that the quarterback decided to scramble right through for the touchdown.

The score capped off a really strong drive for the beleaguered quarterback, who completed 7-of-8 passes for 66 yards before finishing it off on his end.

Outside of that drive, however, things didn't look so great for Gabbert. He went 7-for-16 on the rest of his throws for 108 yards. He also threw an interception. He tried to heroically lead the Cardinals to a touchdown on the last drive of the game and just a one touchdown deficit standing in his way and he actually managed to seal the deal. But he attempted a two-point conversion (because nobody wants to play overtime during the preseason), which failed; the Bears won the meaningless exhibition game, 24-23.

Gabbert hunts for a job

Arizona is the third stop for the 27-year old quarterback. The Jacksonville Jaguars selected him with the tenth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He never really proved to be worth his selection, though and was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. He received 13 starts over the past two sea ns, but was part of the quarterback exodus from the Bay Area.

In May, Gabbert signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals to compete for a backup spot.

He isn't alone in that competition, however. Gabbert impressed during the Hall of Fame Game at the beginning of the month, but Drew Stanton has been serving as the backup in Arizona for four years. He's not going to let go of the job without a fight.

The backup position in Arizona is extremely important. Carson Palmer is getting up there in age, nearing his retirement and having occasional health problems (although he only missed one game last season). Therefore, the winner of the backup competition can expect to see some legitimate playing time on the football field during the 2017 season.