Arizona running back James Conner led the way on and off the field as the Cardinals blasted their way to a potential season-saving 17-15 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.
“I thought he was lights out,” Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon said of Conner, via ESPN. “There were a lot of times he is getting 4 yards and it should be probably 1 or 2.
“He put the team on his back today and carried us home.”
Conner generated 101 rushing yards on 19 carries and added two catches for 51 yards on Monday night. His 152 scrimmage yards were the seventh-most of his career. Monday marked the sixth game of the 29-year-old’s career that he’s had 100-plus rush yards and 50-plus receiving yards.
Both offenses struggled to find consistency in the low-scoring affair, but when the Cards needed a play, they leaned on their bulldozing back. Conner earned five runs of 10-plus yards, tied for second-most by an RB in a game this season. He also forced 10 missed tackles, second-most in the NFL in Week 7, behind only Falcons’ Bijan Robinson.
Conner’s biggest play came with the Cards trailing, 15-14, with 1:45 left. Conner took a short toss, turned upfield and plowed his way 33 yards into field-goal range to set up the game-winner.
The inspiring performance came after the soft-spoken Conner addressed teammates during a Sunday night meeting ahead of the pivotal game. Conner spoke to his teammates about taking advantage of the opportunity ahead.
“Just telling them to push all their chips in for this week, that we still on a mission, to tell the guys don’t take nothing for granted, and just play good football,” Conner said. “Push all your chips in to this week, give it all you got.
“We got some guys on the team who out for the season, who wish they could be out there and just play hard. So, yeah, just told them to play hard and push all their chips and just get a victory for this week.”
With the defense getting stops to force field goals, Conner churning out yards and Kyler Murray splashing a 44-yard scramble touchdown, the Cards moved to 3-4, second in the NFC West, and potentially saved their season.
It’s been a topsy-turvy start to the season for Gannon’s crew, which has played well for stretches but also put up some stinkers. Finding more consistency will be key the rest of the way.
“I think that’s the main thing is you just got to control your day and just keep stacking good days,” Gannon said. “And our behavior is right, but now we got to keep it going. It’s got to translate because we’re good enough where it can translate. I know that.”
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