Arizona Cardinals' Jeremiyah Love to make his return in Week 8

Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love returned to the practice field as a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday after missing the last two games with a lingering ankle injury.

In five games this season, Love has rushed 67 times for 245 yards and one touchdown, adding 11 receptions for 36 yards and another score.

Love was averaging 16.2 opportunities per game before being sidelined with the ankle injury. 

Jeremiyah Love to make his return 

Love suffered a right high ankle sprain during the preseason on Aug. 13, during his debut against the Las Vegas Raiders. 

"Even though he's been out for two weeks, none of these guys are 100 percent," Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFluer said via Bo Brack, Arizona Cardinals reporter and host of the PHNX Cardinals Podcast. "He's feeling as good as he can feel; we'll go from there." 

In Love's absence, the Cardinals have used a running back-by-committee approach with Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight. The backfield remained a near-even timeshare, with Knight continuing to show higher rushing efficiency while Allgeier matched him in receptions and receiving yards. 

Knight began to make a compelling case for a larger share of Arizona's backfield workload. Against the Rams in Week 6, he turned 15 carries into 80 yards, averaging an efficient 5.3 yards per attempt, while Allgeier managed just 38 yards on 18 carries. 

The trend continued in Week 7, as Knight generated 48 yards on only seven rushes compared to Allgeier's 19 yards on eight attempts, though Allgeier provided added value as a receiver with three catches for 30 yards.

Arizona's rushing attack isn't overwhelming opponents with sheer talent. It's doing it with design, discipline, and deception. The Cardinals rank among the NFL's top 15 rushing offenses in both EPA per play and success rate, consistently using pulling linemen, multiple tight-end sets, and pre-snap motion to force defenders into hesitation and create favorable running lanes.

The Cowboys' Cardinals problem isn't going away

The Cardinals will play the Dallas Cowboys, an NFL franchise they've found a lot of success against recently, winning their last four matchups, and eight of the last nine, according to Ed Werder, Dallas Cowboys insider for WFAA. 

"The Cardinals (4) currently join Dallas' NFC East rivals Philadelphia (7), New York (5) and Washington (5) as the only teams with 4+ road wins at AT&T Stadium," Werder wrote on Oct. 27. "Arizona's 4-game winning streak at AT&T Stadium is its longest winning streak at any road venue."