For Arizona Cardinals rookie Jeremiyah Love, life in the NFL comes down to a simple standard: either you go crazy, or you bust.
“I come from a place where I go crazy every week,” Love had said earlier in the week previewing the 49ers game, per Tyler Drake. “I wanna bust, or I wanna go crazy every single game. It’s been a challenge, but I’m up for the challenge.”
After managing a modest 11 carries for 41 yards in his Week 1 debut against the Chargers, followed by just 9 carries for 29 yards against Seattle in Week 2, Love suddenly found himself strapped with a heavy 21-carry workload in Week 3—surpassing his total touches from his first two career games combined.
The only difference? Love backed Tyler Allgeier in the first two weeks, but started for the Cardinals in Week 3.
Jeremiyah Love Felt Like He Left Plays on the Field
“Left a lot out there, I feel like,” Love said, according to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. “I feel like I could help the team a lot more.”
Even though the Cardinals ultimately fell short against San Francisco in a 36-30 loss, Love finished with 90 yards. It was a massive breakout night on paper, but stepping into the lead backfield role didn’t leave the rookie celebrating. To him, handling the bulk of the load just meant he had more chances to critique where he left meat on the bone.
“The runs that I got, I tried to take advantage of them the best way that I could, but there was a lot that I left out on the field. I could have got a lot more yards, a lot more conversions.”
In the second half alone, Love ran for 41 yards. The Cardinals were already in a 17-6 deficit at halftime, and the 49ers made it tougher for them by going 23-6 in just about 4 minutes into the third quarter. The panic alarms were blaring, and the Cardinals urgently needed to throw the ball more than expected.
Love still outperformed himself and played in 52 snaps, as compared to Allgeier’s 30. And that was just on the backfield. On Sunday, he also had added workload in the passing game, where he also finished with a decent score of five catches on six targets for 19 yards and a touchdown, his career-first rushing TD.
“Whenever I was getting the ball more and more and more, I was getting in the groove, getting a feel for the game, trying to loosen up a little bit because, at first, I’m getting the ball trying to make sure I’m taking care of the ball,” Love said.
Cardinals Coach Mike LaFleur Politely Disagrees
Yet, it didn’t meet the expectations he had set for himself.
“So, statistically, you may look at the statistics and say, ‘Hey, 21 for 90, you did pretty good,'” Love said. “But in my head, got to do better.”
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur, on the other hand, had a completely different reaction to Love’s breakout night.
“I thought he got in a groove right there,” LaFleur said in his post-game conference.
“It’s like I just told him, I said, ‘Hey, you just keep trusting your reads, keep taking the ball.'”These guys got to go and play their game and see it and play fast, and I thought he did that.”
Cardinals’ Jeremiyah Love Just Dropped His Best Game Yet vs. 49ers, And Still Isn’t Satisfied