Arizona Cardinals' running back depth tested with injuries to Conner, Williams, Ward

The window of opportunity to speak to Arizona Cardinals running back Eno Benjamin after the team's heart-wrenching 20-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday was brief.

But a moment between head coach and player said a lot. Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury went into the players locker room at State Farm Stadium after the game to check on injured running back James Conner, and shake Benjamin's hand in appreciation for carrying the load in the second half for a depleted corps of running backs.

When the game began, the Cardinals had Conner, Benjamin, Darrel Williams and special teams contributor Jonathan Ward active as running backs. When it ended, Benjamin, the former Arizona State standout who has carved out a solid role in the Cardinals' offense was the only one still able to play. And he, too, had to gut it out.

"That was a little tricky. I thought Eno did  great job, man," Kingsbury said. "He was cramping the entire second half, really, and just stayed out there and continued to make plays. Unfortunate that James and Darrel got hurt, but Eno stepped in and I'm really proud of that effort."

Benjamin had eight carries for 25 yards, but 11 of those went for a touchdown that tied the game at 17 in the fourth quarter. He added three catches for 28 yards.

Conner had 55 yards on the ground at halftime, but didn't play in the second half due to a rib injury. In the locker room, he moved slowly and breathed heavily.

Conner had a 17-yard run Sunday that was his longest of the season, and has one touchdown through five games. Kingsbury said that Conner was OK after the game and that the medical staff was being cautious with him.

Williams took a direct snap in punt formation and converted a fourth down play in the second quarter. But a knee injury forced him out of the game, and Ward had a hamstring injury that he couldn't play through.

"Eno stepped up, (Darrel Williams) stepped up. If they were to go down, we would’ve had other guys step up, but they did a hell of a job, I thought," Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said.

The severity of the three running backs' injuries wasn't immediately known after Sunday's game, and their availability for Week is uncertain. Benjamin and rookie Keaontay Ingram are the only non-injured running backs on the 53-man roster, which might force the Cardinals to sign a free agent  to provide insurance and depth for next Sunday's key divisional matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on the road.

Ingram hasn't appeared in a regular season game yet, though he ran well in preseason games.

Benjamin entered Sunday's game second on the team in rushing yards, and has faced the Seahawks twice in his career, once at Seattle's boisterous Lumen Field.

Ertz on Eagles

Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz finished with six catches for 48 yards on the day against the Eagles, the team with which he spent the first eight-plus seasons of his NFL career. With his first catch of the game, he became the second active tight end in the NFL to record a reception against all 32 teams in the league.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it bad," Ertz said about getting a win over his old team. "But at the end of the day when I went out there, I wasn't thinking about playing those guys besides seeing familiar faces. It just felt like a normal football game.

"The only thing that kind of caught me a little surprised, or kind of hit me, was seeing a bunch of the green '86' jerseys in the stands. That was pretty special," he added.

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals' running back depth tested with injuries to three Sunday