Conner was a big part of the win, too. He backed up his speech the night before with one of his best games of the season, running for 101 yards and catching two passes for 51 yards. One of his receptions resulted in a bruising 33-yard gain on the final drive that put the Cardinals into field goal range.

A win would push the Cardinals to 3-4 and revive hope. Lose and be 2-5, doubt can creep in. So it was that Gannon approached running back James Conner early in the week said, “We’re 2-4 and I think they need to hear from you, captain.” Consider the ...