The running backs room for the Cardinals have a saying, thanks to coach Autry Denson: B.Y.O.B.
Yes, it's fun to be a back for this team, but not that fun.
The acronym stands for Be Your Own Blocker, and when James Conner is in the room, it couldn't be more apropos. This is a guy who averages 3.26 yards a carry after contact, and that's after leading the NFL at 3.93 last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
But those are numbers. The visual is what sticks, when the Cardinals bell cow was the reason the team grinded out what turned out to be the game-winning drive last weekend in San Francisco – a drive in which Conner was all about the B.Y.O.B.
"It was one of those moments when I wanted to be the one to get us marching down the field," Conner said.
Against the 49ers, Conner finished with 86 yards on 19 carries, +10 rushing yards over expected and forcing nine missed tackles. Conner totaled 77 of those yards in the second half on 13 carries. Defensive players, late in the game under the broiling sun, got up off the bench and the forgiving shade and misters just to catch a glimpse of Conner doing his work.
Between the last drive and the Cardinals' last TD drive the possession before, the need to use Conner as the anvil was never more apparent.
"For me, I like to throw the ball around so that's a little tough for me," quarterback Kyler Murray said with a smile. "(But) you feel it. I've played with him for multiple years now, I kind of know when it's that time … We knew we had to get him going."
Getting Marvin Harrison Jr. "going" has been a familiar narrative for the team, but it is Conner's ebb and flow that often is the Cardinals' bellwether. Conner ripped off big runs early against the Rams to set the tone that day; he finished doing damage against the 49ers to spark the comeback.
Conner's struggles against the Lions – only 17 yards – kept the Cards in a hole they couldn't escape.
For a coach to turn to a player and lean on him at the game's most crucial time matters.
"I have full trust in James," coach Jonathan Gannon said. "He's an asset that we have that not a lot of people have. He does a lot for us not just on the playing side (but) the psychological, the leadership side and the lead-by-example side.
"He just keeps the main thing the main thing, and he goes about his business, and he works, man. It's comforting."
Conner has an old-school vibe, preferring to have as much work as he can and feeling like he improves as he gets more carries and the defense absorbs more of his blows.
When Conner is out there like Sunday, crashing into bodies as he embraces B.Y.O.B., it can be some kind of party.
"We stuck with it," Conner said. "That was the result."
ROBINSON BACK ON FIELD, MOORE RELEASED
The Cardinals released veteran wide receiver Chris Moore on Wednesday, a possible precursor to activating wide receiver Zay Jones to the roster. The Cardinals have until Monday to activate Jones after getting a one-week exemption from the NFL after Jones' five-game suspension ended.
The Cardinals also officially designated defensive lineman Darius Robinson to return from IR on Wednesday, opening his 21-day practice window. The Cardinals re-signed offensive lineman Austen Pleasants to the practice squad.
