Cardinals RB Chase Edmonds shows deceptiveness, power vs. Packers

Twice, Chase Edmonds brought the Arizona Cardinals inside the 3-yard line of scoring a touchdown. Twice, penalties pushed Arizona back five yards.

And both times, Edmonds finished a drive off with a score anyway.

The rookie running back scored his first two NFL touchdowns Sunday in a 20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, fighting cold and wet weather to earn the Cardinals their third win of the year in Week 13.

“It was howling (pregame). Having that snow smack you right in the face reminded me of the good ol’ days at Fordham,” Edmonds said in a Monday visit with Doug & Wolf.

The 5-foot-9, 205-pound back finished the day with 53 yards on five carries, including the two scores. He did it as fellow back David Johnson took the brunt of the load, carrying the ball 20 times for an additional 69 yards.

“I just really try to focus on my pad level, run behind my pads really well,” Edmonds said on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. “Obviously, being a smaller back, I’m already kind of at a disadvantage in terms of weight on weight. I just got to focus on lowering my pads and continuing to drive my feet.

“Sometimes the advantage of being a smaller back down there is that I can find little creases and holes …”

When it came to the goal line, Edmonds proved illusive to seek the goal line out, then powerful if any Packers defenders were in his way.

In the first half, after what looked like an eight-yard touchdown run was reviewed, Edmonds was ruled down at the 1-yard line. A false start penalty then pushed Arizona back to the 6-yard line. Edmonds took the next carry off the right side of center Mason Cole and drug a tackler into the end zone for a score that tied the game, 7-7, with 4:42 left in the second quarter.

With the game tied again, 10-10, in the third quarter, the Cardinals opened a drive with a broken play scramble by quarterback Josh Rosen. He went 33 yards to put Arizona at Green Bay’s 32-yard line.

Edmonds followed that with a 29-yard run thanks to a block by fullback Derrick Coleman and downfield blocking by Cardinal receivers. It put Arizona at the Packers’ 3-yard line. Two plays — including a false start — later, the rookie took a carry outside, beating Green Bay defenders with speed and shouldering into the end zone to finish off his run.

“We saw that throughout the draft process,” head coach Steve Wilks told reporters after the game. “He does run with great balance. Low center of gravity and for a guy that size, he’s pretty powerful.”

Edmonds, who is from Pennsylvania, put together his best performance yet on the road. He did it in front of his mother and sister, who before the year picked circled that game on their calendar, not so much because it was closer to home.

They wanted to see Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who fell to 16-2 in December at Lambeau Field in his career.

“I remember when we were first looking at the schedule in July or August. My mom — they love some Aaron Rodgers,” Edmonds said. “To go see Aaron Rodgers live at Lambeau Field in December is something they won’t forget.”

Maybe they’ll remember Edmonds’ breakout performance, too.

“Don’t even get me started on it,” he said.

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