Kenyan Drake is as smart as he is talented.
The Cardinals running back had a monster day against the Browns on Sunday, becoming only the fifth player in franchise history to amass four rushing touchdowns in a game.
But as the Cardinals huddled for a third-and-goal at the 3 in the fourth quarter, Drake knew any chance at a fifth score would have to be by accident, because that play was going to be designed for Larry Fitzgerald.
"You heard the crowd," Drake said with a smile. "You have to give the crowd what they want."
The goal of getting Fitzgerald a touchdown in the final home game of the season fell short, but it was about the only setback in a dominant 38-24 win. Drake had a phenomenal showing, carrying the ball 22 times for 137 yards and the four scores.
He became the first Cardinals player with four touchdowns in a game since Ronald Moore on December 5, 1993 against the Rams, scoring from 5, 1, 1 and 17 yards out.
"It's kind of funny," quarterback Kyler Murray said. "We talked about him going off last night, and he did."
Drake was a surprise addition by the Cardinals at the trade deadline, and has proven why they were willing to surrender a draft pick even with David Johnson and Chase Edmonds on the roster.
Drake has been the main running back since his arrival and is thankful for the opportunity after splitting time with the Dolphins to begin his career.
"It's been really amazing, to say the least," Drake said. "I went from being in a situation where I was in a specific role, and I wasn't getting the carries I felt like I could to help the team win games. I came in three days before (the "Thursday Night Football" game against the 49ers) and was able to go out and play ball."
Drake did not want to take much credit for his performance against Cleveland, although there were times in which he made dazzling moves to evade defenders. The reason for his success, Drake said, was the offensive line paving the way for him.
He tangibly shared the wealth after his third touchdown run, handing the ball to D.J. Humphries in the end zone so the left tackle could spike it.
"When one eats, we all eat," Drake said. "That's what I was telling them on the sidelines. These guys, they work their butt off to do their job. The least I could do is reward them for the job they do, because the person that falls into the end zone after a 1-yard carry gets all the glory. You have to let them know that it's their time to shine, too."
In addition to the fantastic performance, Drake also broke a personal losing streak of 14 straight games, which dated back to the "Miami Miracle" victory over the Patriots last December, when he scored on lateral with no time left on the clock.
Murray said he would "probably go crazy" losing that much, but Drake took it in stride.
"I really wasn't even thinking about it until it got to the point where people talked about it," Drake said. "I just feel like people want to find something to talk about. … It was a wild stat, but now that stat's history."
On Sunday, most of the talk was about Drake's performance. Amid all the conversation concerning David Johnson’s playing time, there's no denying the reason Drake has grabbed hold of the starting job.
"When he came in on that Thursday night after being here for like an hour, and did what he did, I knew he was a true pro," guard Justin Pugh said. "You put the film on, and he's running guys over. He's not going down on first contact, and it gets us juiced up to block for a guy who does that. Everyone feeds off of it and it's just a runaway train at that point."
