Cardinals run game has unimpressed in 2017, but there may be hope

It’s been no surprise that the Arizona Cardinals have struggled mightily with their running attack, or lack thereof.

The absence of David Johnson is glaringly apparent.

Last season, the running game was electric with Johnson at the helm. On 293 attempts, he posted 1,239 yards for 16 touchdowns. He averaged just north of four yards per carry and helped out in the passing game, catching 80 balls for 879 yards and four touchdowns.

With their starter out for an extended amount of time and an offensive line constantly plugging in new bodies due to injuries, the Cardinals have failed to get back to what worked so well for them just a season ago.

This season, running back Chris Johnson leads the team with an abysmal 114 yards on 45 totes through four games. He’s averaging 2.5 yards per carry and 28.5 yards per game. His best day on the ground was 44 yards on 11 carries in the team’s Week 2 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

As a team, the Cardinals have mustered one touchdown and 259 yards on 100 carries. They average 2.6 yards per carry and 51.8 yards per game. They’ve also coughed up the ball twice.

Their best day on the ground came against the Colts, but the team failed to reach the 100-yard mark.

Week 5 was the team’s worst week running the ball with a total of 31 yards. Granted, the team was down early, but less than 50 yards is rough for any game.

Even with a healthy David Johnson, Arians doesn’t think the running game would have been any different.

“A combination of missed blocks and running,” said Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians when asked why the running game wasn’t working. “We had two runs where there was room to run and we got what was there.”

But help — might — be on the way.

The New Orleans Saints officially traded running back Adrian Peterson to the Cardinals for a conditional pick Tuesday morning.

It might not be the 2012 Adrian Peterson, who put up 2,097 yard on 348 carries, but anything will help at this point.

In an already crowded backfield with Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, Peterson hardly saw any action through four games with the Saints. He ran the rock 27 times for 81 yards, averaging 3.0 yards per carry; a number higher than the Cardinals’ average.

Since joining the NFL in 2007, as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, the running back has accumulated 11,828 yards on 2,445 carries for 97 touchdowns.

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