The Arizona Cardinals have dealt with injury after injury all season long, and the running back room has been affected about as much as any other position.

The Cardinals lost James Connor for the season in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers, and Trey Benson has only played in four games, and missed the last seven games.

That’s meant increased reliance on Emari Demercado and Bam Knight, who have also dealt with injuries throughout the season. The Cardinals have had running backs in and out all year, and the run game has never been consistently good.

How Do the Cardinals Generate A Run Game?

The Cardinals had 20 carries for 55 yards on Sunday, averaging just 2.75 yards per carry.

That’s not efficient, and it’s hard to win football games like that. However, it’s been a problem all year long. Last week, Arizona had 14 carries for 36 yards.

The Cardinals’ offense ranks No. 20 in the NFL, overall, according to PFSN’s Offense Impact, but Arizona ranks No. 27 in rushing attempts and No. 24 in rushing yards.

The ineffectiveness in that area has been prevalent all season. Over the last five years, the Cardinals’ rushing rankings have fluctuated.

However, after ranking No. 22 in the NFL in 2022, the Cardinals had a Top 10 rushing attack in 2023 and 2024. Arizona ranked No. 3 in 2023 and No. 7 in the NFL in 2024.

Now, the Cardinals are rank in the bottom 10 of the NFL in 2025. Gannon was asked directly about that after Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville.

“Well, you got to make sure you block people and move the line of scrimmage,” Gannon said. “I think that we’re doing a good job with getting on the right people, we got to move the line of scrimmage a little bit better.”

The Cardinals’ head coach went further into the numbers and schemes to explain that with a quarterback who’s not a true dual-threat, it does hurt the run game.

“That takes all 11, the quarterback as well, because he’s got to carry out fakes, things like that, to hold defenders,” Gannon said. “We’re out of the read-run game right now, so you’re not plus-one in the run game.”

“But, with saying that, that’s a good front. They were doing some things too to build a wall, plug in gaps – things like that.”

Gannon credited the Jaguars for doing executing schemes and stunts that made it difficult for the Cardinals to run the ball.

Jacksonville’s defense also ranks No. 1 in the NFL against the run, according to PFSN’s Defense Impact. But Gannon did note that the negative runs have to be eliminated if the Cardinals want to get the run game going.

“I think the negative yardage runs we for sure have to clean up – you got to get it back to the line of scrimmage,” Gannon said. “Then, when we have chances to pop some runs – finishing blocks, staying on people, making sure our angles are right – we’d like to get a little more yardage there.”

The Cardinals have dealt with numerous injuries in the backfield, which hasn’t helped their cause. The offensive line has also been hit with the injury bug. However, the Cardinals need the next man up mentality.

Arizona has to get the run game going, at least a little bit, to offset a passing attack that has taken off.