Arizona Cardinals Won’t Miss a Beat without Chris Johnson

Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson fractured his tibia on Sunday, but don’t expect this team to stop rolling because of it.

Early in the 2015 season, former 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson looked like his old self. The Arizona Cardinals had found themselves a running back on the backside of his career just itching to help a team get over the hump.

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Arizona needed a true feature back to supplant the always-injured Andre Ellington, and Johnson needed a playoff-ready team in need of a feature back.

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It was a perfect match.

Johnson, who had been on pace for nearly 1,200 yards this season, fractured the tibia in his left leg during last week’s win over the rival San Francisco 49ers and realistically will miss at least the remainder of the regular season—if not all of the postseason as well. ESPN Cardinals writer Josh Weinfuss put out an opinion piece on the matter, with the premise of the article being now that the Cardinals are without Johnson, they can kiss their hopes of a Super Bowl berth goodbye.

"“With the news Monday that running back Chris Johnson suffered a fractured tibia in Sunday’s win over San Francisco, the Cardinals have lost the engine of their running game. This might be the most damaging injury the Cardinals could have suffered aside from quarterback Carson Palmer.This might have just cost the Cardinals the Super Bowl.”"

Had this injury occurred in October, when Johnson was tearing up defenses, Weinfuss could have said Arizona’s chances at a Super Bowl were gone and it would have made some sense. But given the fact Arizona went 4-0 in November while Johnson struggled to a 2.9 yards-per-carry average, this simply isn’t the case.

The Cardinals are 9-2, and they have scored 30-plus points in seven of their 11 games—an NFL high. In those games, Johnson carried an average of 19.4 times, and 6.4 times per game (33.1 percent) he gained at least five yards. They won all seven games.

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The four games Arizona failed to score 30 points, Johnson averaged 15 carries per game and just 3.8 carries of five-plus yards (25.0 percent).

Clearly, the offense performed better when Johnson ripped off solid runs. It makes sense. In football, the more successful your run game, the more successful your offense is.

But Johnson’s recent struggles have little to do with him and more to do with the offensive line.

Once-large lanes through which Johnson could run are nowhere to be found. Sure, a lane opens up from time to time. But for the most part, Johnson has had to dance at the line to find room to squeeze though for over a month.

It’s a major reason his yards-per-carry average sunk from 5.11 through October to 4.15 through November. Another indicator that it was not just a Chris Johnson issue is this fact: Through October, Arizona was No. 3 in the NFL, averaging 4.78 yards per carry as a team; in November, it was 29^th, averaging a paltry 3.1 yards per carry.

That’s everyone. Chris Johnson, Andre Ellington, David Johnson and Stepfan Taylor—as well as John Brown and Carson Palmer; by themselves, the running backs averaged 3.3 yards per carry in November, a far cry from the group’s 5.3 yards per carry through the first two months of the season.

Weinfuss believes the Cardinals are no longer Super Bowl contenders because Chris Johnson broke his leg. What he fails to understand is that Johnson is not the reason the 9-2 Cardinals hold a three-game lead in the NFC West division with five games to play. What is the reason? You all know the reason. Say it with me:

Carson. Palmer.

November 29, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) celebrates after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

Without Palmer under center this season, Arizona wouldn’t be anywhere near playoff contention, let alone being within two wins of clinching the division.

Though he struggled against the 49ers, Palmer did just enough to lead his team to a 19-13 win.

The game was the second in his career he rushed for a touchdown and did not throw a touchdown pass. The other came in a 2009 loss to the Raiders while with the Bengals.

Palmer does everything he can to win games—seemingly willing his team to victory at times. His motivation is clear. It’s not money and it’s not fame.

Palmer wants a ring.

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The Cardinals will go as far as their star signal caller can take them no matter who plays behind him at running back. Whether it’s Ellington, David Johnson, Taylor or Kerwynn Williams, Arizona will make a deep run in the playoffs because of Palmer, not despite the loss of Chris Johnson.