Can Kerwynn Williams jump-start Arizona Cardinals’ running game?

TEMPE, Ariz. — In his first taste of NFL action at running back, Kerwynn Williams rushed for 100 yards, becoming the first Arizona Cardinals player to hit the century mark in a game this season.

Not bad for someone who only two days earlier was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster.

Life has got to be pretty good for the 23-year-old Williams, right?

“It’s pretty much the same,” he said Monday.

Williams burst onto the scene with a 19-carry, 100-yard performance in the Cardinals’ 17-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Yet not even 24 hours later, there he was at his locker — which is grouped with the tight ends, not the other running backs — getting ready for Monday’s practice undisturbed, until bothered by a couple of reporters.

Apparently life hadn’t changed too much from previous weeks, though Williams did acknowledge receiving more text and voice mail messages on this cellphone than usual.

“I talked to a lot of old teammates from college and my parents of course (and) a couple of friends from high school. It’s pretty general,” he said. “It’s always good to see who’s still following you and stuff like that. That was good to know that I had support from people I hadn’t heard from in a while.”

Williams may hear from more people if he continues to run the ball like he did Sunday.

Head coach Bruce Arians said Williams will “get his chances to do it again,” but Stepfan Taylor remains the starter with Marion Grice also in the mix heading into Thursday’s matchup in St. Louis.

The running game will continue to be by committee following a season-ending injury to Andre Ellington and “we’ll see who’s got the hot hand,” according to Arians, who later added about Williams, “I don’t know why, I just had a feeling that he was going to have that type of game just because of the way he’s practiced the last few weeks.”

Williams had appeared in only two other games before Sunday. He played once with Indianapolis last season after the Colts drafted him in the seventh-round out of Utah State, and then earlier this season, he played two snaps on special teams in the Cardinals’ Nov. 9 home win against the Rams.

Williams was released two weeks later and re-signed to the practice squad, where he remained until his most recent promotion.

“He went from the outhouse to the penthouse,” right tackle Bobby Massie joked.

In Arizona’s win over Kansas City, Williams became the first Cardinals player to rush for 100 yards in a game since Ellington totaled 154 yards vs. Atlanta on Oct. 27, 2013.

“I feel like a lot of what I was able to do was because my teammates had confidence in me,” he said. “The offensive line did a great job blocking up front. They opened some good holes on Sunday. A lot of (my success) is due to them.”

Thanks to Williams’ efforts, the Cardinals showed dramatic improvement in running the football, going for a season-high 141 yards, which was just four yards fewer than they had gained in the previous three games combined.

Quarterback Drew Stanton pointed to that success with hopes that the performance might “jump-start and help us be balanced (offensively),” he said. “Everybody wants to run the football in the NFL, but it’s another thing to be able to go out there and do that, because it allows us to open up the passing game that much more.”

The Cardinals’ ground game still requires work.

Even with Sunday’s output, Arizona ranks 30th in rushing yards per game (79.8) and 32nd, dead last, in yards per carry (3.2).

Williams gained a full two yards more per attempt (5.3) in the win as the Cardinals stayed committed to the run, rushing 33 times, their second-highest total of the season.

So, with the bar established, what does Williams do for an encore this week?

“You’ve just got to try to keep improving every week,” he said. “I really could care less about the yards and everything like that. I’m more concerned about getting this win.”

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