Cardinals RB James Conner shows again, this time against the 49ers, why he is the lead cow and lodestar of the team

“I like to throw the ball around, so this is a little difficult for me,” quarterback Kyler Murray said with a smile. “(But) you feel it. I’ve been playing with him for several years now, I kind of know when the time comes… We knew we had to get him going.”

Getting Marvin Harrison Jr. “up to speed” is a familiar narrative for the team, but for the Cardinals, it’s often Conner’s ups and downs that make the difference. Conner made big runs early against the Rams to set the tone on the day; He did damage to the 49ers, sparking the comeback.

Conner’s struggles against the Lions – just 17 yards – kept the Cards in a hole they couldn’t escape.

It is important for a coach to turn to a player and lean on him at the crucial moment of the game.

“I have full confidence in James,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “He’s an asset that we have that not a lot of people have. He does a lot for us, not just on the playing side, but on the psychological side, the leadership side and the example side.”

“He just thinks the main thing is the main thing, and he goes about his business and he works, man. That’s reassuring.”

Conner has an old-school vibe, preferring to get as much work done as possible and feeling like he’ll get better as he gets more offense and the defense absorbs more of his punches.

When Conner is out there like he was on Sunday, bumping into bodies while embracing BYOB, it can be some kind of party.

“We stuck with it,” Conner said. “That was the result.”