David Carr is about to go into a still-in-question game at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, a shocking development for the former number one overall draft pick who was ground to a pulp behind a terrible offensive line with the expansion Houston Texans, lost all confidence in himself, was run out of town, and has been an obscure backup elsewhere ever since. And yet here he is, subbing for Alex Smith, a number one overall pick himself, with Smith having an atrocious game in which he more or less dribbled the ball to the Eagles defense as if he were a point guard.

David Carr, whose career was thought to effectively be over by now, now gets his shot at redeeming himself and perhaps even resurrecting his career in front of a national television audience. It’s part of a pattern that’s played out this season, after the once-incarcerated Michael Vick took the reins at quarterback in Philadelphia earlier this season. Vick’s career too was thought to be over, and his reputation as a human being might indeed still be, but he showed that he’s capable of resuming his career at quarterback after many had written him off. And in yet another intertwined second act, Vick’s recent injury has given a second chance to Kevin Kolb, who lost the starting job to Vick after Kolb’s concussion earlier this season.

Kolb was widely expected to get a starting QB job back at some point, whether it be by merit or trade or simply after Vick had retired. But David Carr getting another shot, on national television, as the last best hope of a proud yet winless team to resurrect their season, is nothing short of astonishing.