TEMPE, Ariz. -- The motivation behind running back Kenyan Drake's breakout performance for the Arizona Cardinals on Monday came from a familiar yet unlikely source.
After they hadn't talked on the phone all of last week, the first thing Drake's mother said, even before "hello," ahead of the Monday's matchup with the Dallas Cowboys was: "Hey, son, you gonna hit some holes today?"
Drake got the point.
He ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns during a 38-10 blowout of the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, his first 100-yard game of the season.
"It just kind of lit a fire under me," he said. "I was just ready to go out there and play ball.
"It just kind of really hit home when your own mom is not liking what she sees out there, so I really just kind of had to buckle up and go out there and just play ball, get north and south, and make them tackle me going forward. And I feel like we had a lot of success, and hopefully we can just keep that going in the right direction."
Drake said his mom went to his games "now and then" while he was growing up, and the two usually talk on the phone at least weekly. Those conversations include some football talk, but they wouldn't typically get into the nuances of the games.
But she's not afraid to speak her mind, Drake said.
"As long as I'm healthy and happy, she's happy," he said. "So for her to kind of speak up about, I guess, the schematics and what she sees, obviously is glaring. So whatever mom says, I got to go out there and do my best to get that done, so I hope I made her proud."