Cardinals Not Panicking Over Poor Start to Run Game

The Arizona Cardinals haven't been able to do what they do best.

Sep 14, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- Running the football has not only been a staple of the Arizona Cardinals since head coach Jonathan Gannon stepped foot in the desert - it's been their bread and butter for success.

Yet within the first two weeks of the 2025 season, despite the 2-0 start, Arizona has yet to truly get going on the ground, amassing just 228 rushing yards through two games.

That ranks roughly middle of the table in the league to this point, which is by no means awful - though save for a 52-yard rush by Trey Benson against the Saints in Week 1, Arizona's rushing attack has been mostly bottled up by opposing defenses.

The lack of ability to run the ball has played a factor into Arizona's inability to close out games - as the Cardinals have nearly fumbled late leads in both of their opening contests thus far.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon says he isn't worried.

Cardinals Confident in Rushing Attack Moving Forward

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) jukes by Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) at State Farm Stadium on Sept 14, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“(It) needs to be better. I do think that. Just our efficiency of it, and we played some premium players in there too for two weeks—and that’s not an excuse. It needs to be better, and playing penalty-free in the run game too has to be a little bit better because when you have runs that go for two or three yards, it’s like, ah. You wish you would’ve gained a little bit more and been a little more efficient, but when you foul and now it’s second-and-20 instead of second-and-seven, it’s a whole different game," Gannon told reporters.

"I think just what we talked about, that’s a collective effort. Play with a little bit better technique, play with a little bit more awareness, some details, make sure we’re doing the right things and make sure we’re putting them in good spots.”

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The Cardinals lost offensive line coach Klayton Adams to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, a brutal blow considering he was one of Gannon's top assistant coaches. Adams was thought to have been heavily involved in helping coordinate rushing schemes under offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

“I think it’s everybody, I really do. When I say this, this is the truth; it takes all 11. All 11 have to be doing the right things, and there’s some plays where yesterday it didn’t come to fruition, but we are doing a lot of right things too," Gannon said Monday.

"I showed them a play today, the one that (RB) James Conner went to our sideline—I don’t know what he gained. He made the corner miss, and I think it was a first down, but (WR) Zay Jones blocks his guy, which is a really hard block on the backside of the run, and if James cuts that back, that’s the guy that’s going to tackle him. If he happened to cut it back there, he’s not going to get tackled because Zay Jones’ doing a good job, so it’s not all bad.

"It has to be better. It has to be more efficient and a little more productive, but there’s no panic in my game about the run game right now. I’ll say that.”

Especially with a banged up secondary - the Cardinals will need all facets of their team to make the next step, which includes what they typically do best in toting the rock, controlling the clock and wearing teams out over the course of four quarters.