Cardinals’ James Conner on the only bright spot vs. Carolina

On By Littum

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner continues to be the most consistent part of the offense early against the Carolina Panthers.

His second straight 1,000-yard seasonwhich he accomplished in the first quarter of Sunday’s game says all you need to know.

With this accomplishment, Conner is now tied with former running back Edgerrin James for the most 1,000-yard seasons in franchise history. Both Conner and James sit three back from Ottis Anderson’s five.

Looking to ignite the offense, the veteran passed 1K behind a 40-yard run that turned the field for Arizona’s offense.

And well he did.

Despite the running back’s big gain, Arizona was forced to settle for a 48-yard field goal by Chad Ryland as the miscues continue to pile up.

Outside of Conner’s early work of six carries for 59 yards and a touchdown, Arizona has looked out of sorts on both sides of the football.

Much like what was put on tape during Arizona’s three-game losing streak, the offense continues to shoot itself in the foot with penalties.

In a little over a quarter of a game, Arizona as a whole has eight penalties. As head coach Jonathan Gannon would say, that’s non-winning behavior.

The connection between quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. also appears with more miscommunication. It also didn’t help that the freshman was flagged for being offsides on the first play from scrimmage.

Michael Carter’s fumble in the second quarter only added insult to injury.

Defensively, Arizona has had few answers for Carolina quarterback Bryce Young and Co., who opened with a 15-yard, 70-yard scoring drive that spanned nearly eight minutes.

Carolina turned around and did it again on the next two drives of the game, with Young running in and throwing for another.

Carolina leads Arizona, 20-10, in the second quarter.

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