Los Angeles: Running back David Johnson rushed for three touchdowns as the Arizona Cardinals romped to a 28-3 victory over the New York Jets on Monday.
Johnson scored a spectacular 58-yard touchdown as well as two short-range efforts from two yards each to take his tally to the season for eight.
The win saw the Cardinals move level in a tie for second place with the Los Angeles Rams at 3-3 in the NFC West while the Jets slumped to 1-5 in the AFC East.
Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer returned to the starting line-up after missing his team’s last game at San Francisco because of a concussion.
Palmer went 23 for 34 with one touchdown and no interceptions, but suffered a scare in the fourth quarter when he left with a strained hamstring.
Jets signal caller Ryan Fitzpatrick meanwhile had a miserable outing in his home state making only 16 of 31 attempts for 174 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
The interception — Fitzpatrick’s 11th of the season, the worst record in the league — was to prove costly.
The pick came just as the Jets appeared to be generating momentum with a long drive in the third quarter with the score finely balanced at 21-3.
However Fitzpatrick’s loose pass for Brandon Marshall was intercepted by Arizona safety D.J. Swearinger and the Cardinals went on to score through Palmer’s nine-yard pass to Michael Floyd for a touchdown.
Fitzpatrick was eventually pulled with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter, to be replaced by Geno Smith. Smith finished his cameo with four completions from six attempts for 31 yards and no touchdowns, with one interception.
