There will be even more pressure on David Johnson to produce for the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night.
Already on pace for over 2,000 yards from scrimmage after four games, Johnson will have to power a Cardinals offense without Carson Palmer (concussion) under center against the San Francisco 49ers.
It’s hard to imagine Johnson doing more for Arizona than he already has.
Entering Week 5, Johnson has rushed 64 times for 300 yards and caught 14 passes for 210 yards.
According to ESPN Stats and Information, his 510 yards from scrimmage account for 33 percent of Arizona’s offensive production in 2016—the most from any Cardinals player in at least 15 years.
David Johnson leads NFL w/ 510 yds from scrimmage, accounting for 33% of offense (a higher percentage than any Cardinal in last 15 seasons) pic.twitter.com/BvMMXyDQg7
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 5, 2016
While Johnson doesn’t have a 100-yard game rushing or receiving, he does have four straight games with over 100 total yards. The Cardinals running back leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage, and he’s currently on pace to become the seventh player since 2010 to produce a single season with over 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
He’ll now get to face a defense without star linebacker NaVorro Bowman.
Johnson didn’t do much damage to the 49ers last season, when he carried 15 times for 46 yards and five catches for 24 yards. But the circumstances of Thursday night—with Palmer out and backup Chris Johnson on injured reserve—seem to set Johnson up for a huge opportunity.
The Cardinals can’t afford to fall to 1-4 to start 2016, even without Palmer against the 49ers. It’ll likely fall on Johnson’s shoulders to make sure that doesn’t happen.
