Jeremiyah Love finally got the kind of workload Cardinals fans had been waiting for, and he made it count in Arizona’s 36-30 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
After splitting work through the first two weeks, Love was clearly the focal point in the backfield against San Francisco. He started at running back, played 56 offensive snaps, and handled 26 touches. Tyler Allgeier, by comparison, was on the field for 31 snaps.
Love finished with 109 total yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he carried 21 times for 90 yards, good for 4.3 yards per rush.
That was a step forward from the 3.7 yards per carry he posted in Week 1 and the 3.2 he averaged in Week 2. It was also more than the 20 carries he had combined over the first two games.
The numbers were built on steady production rather than one big burst. Love’s longest run went for just eight yards, but he kept the chains moving against a 49ers defensive line that was depleted.
He also made an impact as a receiver, catching five passes for 19 yards and another touchdown.
Allgeier’s role was much smaller. He had two rushing attempts in his 31 snaps and was targeted four times as a pass catcher, finishing with four receptions for 10 yards.
Head coach Mike LaFleur has said the workload would be shared, and he stuck to that message after the game. “We'll do what we think is necessary each week,” he said postgame.
He added, “We'll see what (his workload) is moving forward.”
If Sunday was the beginning of a heavier dose of Love, it was a productive one.
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Cardinals Slow Start Is Fueling A Frustrating Discipline Debate
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Mike LaFleur has already pointed to the pre-snap issues as a problem the staff has to keep hammering away at, and it is the kind of mistake that tends to frustrate coaches because it is so avoidable. For a team still searching for consistency, the discipline debate matters because it touches everything else, from offensive flow to situational football. The talent may be there to climb out of an early hole, but the Cardinals know they will not get far if the self-inflicted mistakes keep showing up at the worst times. [Read more 🡒]