When Trey Benson took a carry up the middle Saturday night and bounced off a few tacklers for a 19-yard gain, it felt as if he and the Cardinals could breathe a sigh of relief.
“I was like, okay,” Benson said, “I can hang with the big guys.”
Not much in the first month of Benson’s NFL career had gone according to plan. He worked behind Emari Demercado as the third-string running back during training camp practices. With Demercado injured for the preseason opener, Benson got the start, but he didn’t take advantage. His final line was just 21 yards on eight carries — befitting of a day on which he looked both sluggish and indecisive.
This week against the Colts, though, felt like something of a turning point. Most importantly, Benson started, even with Demercado healthy. In the first half, he saw nine carries to Demercado’s one. The latter worked on passing downs, but Benson’s role suggested that he had entrenched himself as the backup to James Conner, who was rested along with the other starters.
Benson also made the most of his work. The Cardinals’ backup offensive line continued to struggle for consistency, but he still finished with 43 yards on eight carries, nearly doubling his yards per carry from the previous week. He also broke off a 20-yard run in the second quarter that was brought back for a holding call.
“I was just more comfortable,” Benson said. “First game, that was my first NFL game ever, so I was probably a little timid, still trying to figure things out. But this second game, I was more comfortable.”
Early in training camp, Benson said that his primary focus was adjusting to the speed of pass protection in the NFL. On Monday, he acknowledged he still has work to do in that area but added, “I think I’m adjusting pretty good.”
He believes his biggest area of growth, though, has come on the mental side.
“Really just not thinking when I have the ball in my hands,” Benson said. “Just going out there and playing. That’s when I play my best, when I’m not thinking at all.”
On Saturday, that stood out to Jonathan Gannon as well.
“An accelerated vision of what the defense is gonna do,” Gannon said. “’Cause that plays into where to put the ball. So you’ve got the run scheme and here’s, on paper, what it looks like. But then the accelerated vision of here’s probably how the defense is gonna react so be ahead of that when it happens. I think he’s doing a good job.”