The Arizona Cardinals coaching staff wanted to send a message to running back David Johnson, even if it meant hurting the team's chances of converting a critical third down in Sunday's 16-14 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Johnson told reporters Monday that he wasn't on the field for a 3rd-and-2 in the fourth quarter because he didn't pick up a blitz from the Bears defense on the previous play, per Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site:
Darren UrbanRB David Johnson said the reason he wasn’t on the field on the late third-n-2 was because he missed a blitz pickup on second down.