Cardinals coach Bruce Arians seemed pleased with how running backs Chris Johnson and David Johnson responded after starter Andre Ellington left Sunday's season opener against the Saints with a knee injury.
Chris Johnson became the primary back after Ellington hurt his knee, rushing for 37 yards on 10 carries. David Johnson was more of a factor in the passing game, which included a 55-yard touchdown reception to cap the scoring late in the fourth quarter at 31-19.
“David did a heck of a job of hitting the jets and scoring,” Arians said, per ESPN.com. “It wasn’t designed to score. It was designed to get us a first down.”
If Ellington has to miss time, Arians appears to be comfortable with his current backfield situation.
“I thought Chris looked good,” Arians said. “He’ll get more touches and we will feel very confident if he is our lead dog, and then David has been backing him up.”
Quarterback Carson Palmer echoed Arians' sentiments.
“It doesn’t change a ton,” Palmer said. “They’re similar in a lot of ways, and a little bit different in their receiving ways just because Andre is so used to this offense and Chris hasn’t been in a system like this.”