In a game that included David Johnson and Saquon Barkley, it was Chase Edmonds who stole the show.
Johnson took the opening snaps, and the first Cardinals carry of the game, but the star running back played just three snaps. Edmonds meanwhile, carried the Cards' offense in the streaking rain, compiling 126 yards on 27 carries with three touchdowns.
"Me and him, we knew there was no way he was playing the running back position in the NFL game the way it was today," Edmonds said, via the team's official website. "I told him, 'I'm going to hold it down and carry the load' and hopefully we'll have him back for New Orleans (next week) because we'll need all hands on deck."
(Fantasy footballers the world around scream: 'If Chase knew, why couldn't he tell us?!?')
Johnson entered with an ankle injury. Given the conditions, Edmonds' play, and the Cards getting an early lead, Arizona didn't want to push their high-priced RB. Coach Kliff Kingsbury said he never planned to play Johnson much, adding the RB would only play in an "emergency-type situation" after the start.
"I want to look out for his career and his future," Edmonds said of Johnson. "He's so selfless. Dave would go out on one leg if he has to. I told him before the game, 'Bro, I know what type of guy you are, I know what type of player you are, just think of the future.'
"In a society and a world where players get criticized for contract talks or whatever the case may be, Dave earned all the money and all the fame he really has. I just didn't want to see all that taken away."
Edmonds galloped out of the gate, gashing the Giants for 84 yards and two rushing TDs on 12 totes in the first quarter alone. The 23-year-old joined Browns RB Nick Chubb (Week 4) as the only players with 120-plus rush yards and three-plus rush TD in a game this season -- first Arizona player to do so since Johnson in Week 15, 2015. Edmonds became the fifth player in NFL history to score three rushing TDs of 20-plus yards in a single game.
A 2018 fourth-round pick, Edmonds last ran for 100-plus yards at Fordham in Nov. 2017. Sunday, he did it against the New York Giants, in a driving rain, on the road, to boost his team to 3-3-1 on the season.
