The Seahawks are a team Conner has had success against. In the season finale last year, Conner rushed for 150 yards and scored a touchdown. In that game he also eclipsed his first career 1,000-yard-plus rushing season.
But Conner was quick to note that “no plays I’ve made before can help me in this game, so I’ve got to come with it.” He’ll have an opportunity to replicate that performance against the 27th ranked run defense in the NFL. The Seahawks are allowing nearly 139 rushing yards per game.
“We know we’ve got to run the ball versus everybody we play,” Conner said. “We definitely look and see what’s going to put us in the best situation and give us the best advantage to run the ball.”
Conner is a large reason why the Cardinals have an elite ground-and-pound scheme, ranking fifth in the league with almost 150 rushing yards per game and second with 5.2 rushing yards per play. But Conner is no bigger reason than the men up front blocking for him.
Chemistry and continuity along the offensive line is significant as the second half of the season begins. With a healthy Williams, the Cardinals are tasked with the decision of placing him back into the lineup or continue to ride the hot hand with Beachum.
“We weigh all the variables and then decide what we think is best for the team for that game,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “But the good thing is that a lot of different guys have played. A lot of different guys have played different spots, and they’ve played with each other quite a bit now. We’re going to make sure the communication is on point, the operation is on point, and we keep playing at a high level.”
In a place like Lumen Field, where the crowd is notoriously known for being loud and causing pre-snap disruption, communication along the offensive line has been a point of emphasis throughout the week. Whether that has any impact on the Cardinals offensive line dilemma is probably at a minimum.
However, Williams is itching to get back.
“I’m excited to go practice now, but games are always another step up,” Williams said. “It’s a lot of fun to play here and I got to feel that for those 22 snaps. I wish it was more like a couple 100, but for those 22, it was fun.”
