Cardinals’ Chase Edmonds focused on role, not touchdown tally

The Arizona Cardinals haven’t been shy in their usage of running back Chase Edmonds this season.

Aside from leading the team’s ground game in total yards (397) and yards per game (5.8) on 68 carries, Edmonds has once again proven himself in the receiving game.

Leading the way in receptions at the beginning of the year, the running back has hauled in 27 of his 33 targets for 172 yards. He’s currently third on the team in catches and second in yards after the catch with 184.

But despite the bevvy of touches Edmonds is garnering, one area of his game hasn’t quite come to fruition like many thought it would with the bigger workload this season. Through seven games, Edmonds has yet to find pay dirt, still searching for that elusive first touchdown of 2021.

His counterpart James Conner (6) on the other hand is currently second in rushing touchdowns to only Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (10).

“I hear about that a lot,” Edmonds said Wednesday. “I would like to get one. Obviously, everyone wants to at least get one. But what I try to do is I try to focus on my job, focus on the football game at hand, focus on the plays.

“Don’t really try to force too many plays, let the game come to you. Hopefully they’ll come, but right now, I’m focused on being the best football player I can be. … I would like one, though.”

Kyler Murray on Jones’ down play Sunday: ‘Learn from it’

While there was a lot of good that came out of Week 7’s win over the Houston Texans, there was also a few things that stood out for the wrong reasons, most notably the play of starting right guard Josh Jones.

The guard was beat on numerous occasions, posting a season-low 15.4 pass blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus. Jones allowed a sack and two hurries in the win.

He owned up to his play after the game, apologizing for his performance on Twitter and promising to bounce back on Thursday night.

“At the end of the day, that’s my guy,” quarterback Kyler Murray said Tuesday. “In this league, these are some of the most athletic men on planet Earth that play this game on the D-line. People don’t realize how athletic those guys are, how good they are.

“You’re going to get beat some days — everybody does. It’s good for him to go through those growing pains and just learn from it. That’s really all I could tell him, is learn from it. It’s the NFL, you’re going to get beat.”

A resurgence in Jones play could come in handy in the short week with injuries to other members of the offensive line.

Starting center Rodney Hudson continues to trend in the right direction but remains on the injured reserve, while backup center Max Garcia is questionable for Thursday’s matchup with an Achilles injury.

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