Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson continues to chase history as the season comes to a close
Cardinals running back David Johnson entered the record books three times as helped the Cardinals defeat the Seattle Seahawks 34-31 on Christmas Eve. Seattle attempted to halt Johnson’s strong running game, but failed allowing him to run all over the Seattle defense.
David Johnson tied NFL Hall of Famer Barry Sanders with his 15th straight game with 100 yards from scrimmage on the Cardinals final drive. Johnson had two catches, 13 and 33 yards, which helped setup the 43-yard winning field goal by Chandler Catanzaro. David Johnson praised his team during the post-game press conference.
"“It does really mean a lot, especially since all the success is due to the guys up front,” Johnson said of the broken franchise records. “You know Carson (Palmer) believing in me, throwing me the ball. BA (Bruce Arians) putting me in those situations where I could help out the team.”"
Johnson broke the Cardinals franchise record for rushing touchdowns with 18, coming from a 2-yard run in the first quarter. John David Crow scored 17, in 1962. Johnson also tied Crow’s record 14 rushing touchdowns in a season.
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During the fourth quarter, David Johnson broke off a 33-yard run, putting him over 2,000 yards from scrimmage, making him the first Cardinal to reach that mark. Johnson also made a 1-yard run, delivering him 33 career touchdowns in the first 31 games of his career.
Only three players have scored more touchdowns in their first 31 games than David Johnson: Jim Brown, Gale Sayers and Edgerrin James. For most of the game it appeared Johnson would struggle to continue his string of 100 yards from scrimmage, a streak started during Week one.
Many NFL players from around the league believe that Johnson should be the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Johnson has now accumulated 1,233 yards rushing and 841 yards receiving.
David Johnson will now attempt become the third player to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving in the same season, when he faces off against the Los Angeles Rams. He only needs 159 yards receiving to reach that record.