Everyone who stayed up was treated to an entertaining game between the Chargers and Cardinals on "Monday Night Football." While scoring was at a premium, great plays certainly weren't, as the Cardinals recorded a 17-15 win after scoring the game-winning field goal as time expired.
Los Angeles (3-3) had just taken a 15-14 lead after Cameron Dicker capped off a 77-yard drive with his fifth field goal of the night. The Cardinals quickly got in field goal range, though, after Kyler Murray and James Conner connected for a 33-yard pickup. The big gain set up Chad Ryland's game-winning, 32-yard field goal.
After scoring just seven points through three quarters, Arizona (3-4) scored 10 in the game's final stanza. The first score was a 44-yard touchdown run by Murray, who also accounted for the game's first touchdown when he hit Greg Dortch for a 5-yard score in the second quarter. Murray and Conner combined to rush for 165 yards, and Conner was also Arizona's leading receiver.
In defeat, the Chargers received a herculean effort from quarterback Justin Herbert, who threw for 349 yards that included several clutch plays on third downs. He could not, however, get the Chargers into the end zone, and that was a key factor in the outcome of the game.
Here's a full breakdown of what went down in the desert.
It may be different sports, but Murray and Conner nonetheless evoked memories of early 2000s Kobe and Shaq on Monday night in how they combined to take over the game in crunch time.
Murray's numbers weren't great (he threw for 145 yards on 14 of 26 passing), but he made several big plays that included his eye-popping touchdown run. Conner complemented Murray's magic with 101 yards (his third 100-yard game of the season) on 19 carries. He also caught 2 passes for 51 yards.
Defensively, Arizona was physical all night, especially as a pass rush. While it gave up 395 total yards, the Cardinals' defense only allowed the Chargers to reach the red zone once. Arizona stymied Los Angeles' running game and put consistent pressure on Herbert, sacking him three times.
If there was a negative for Arizona, it was Marvin Harrison Jr.'s lack of involvement, as the rookie first-round pick caught just 3 of 6 targets for 21 yards.
Let's get the obvious out of the way first. The main reason why the Chargers lost was because they didn't score a touchdown and were forced to settle for five field goals.
The Chargers' lack of depth at receiver (which was even worse than usual with Quentin Johnston out with an ankle injury), an underwhelming running game (59 yards on 22 carries) and subpar pass protection were the main reasons why the Chargers never found the end zone despite Herbert's best efforts to get there.
Another big reason for the loss was the Chargers' inability to hold on to the ball on two occasions early in the first quarter. The first instance occurred when Conner stripped Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart of the ball after Tart had intercepted Murray on the game's first drive.
Not too long after that, Jalen Reagor caught a 41-yard pass before he fumbled out of the end zone, resulting in a turnover on downs.
A positive for Los Angeles was the performance of tight end Will Dissly, who led both teams with 8 receptions and 81 yards.
Los Angeles had momentum after linebacker Khalil Mack stuffed Arizona's sneak attempt on fourth down early in the second half. The stop set up the Chargers' go-ahead scoring drive, and things appeared to be looking good for the visitors.
Undeterred, Murray quickly gave the Cardinals the momentum back on Arizona's following drive. He hit Michael Wilson and Harrison for completions of 15 and 10 yards before eluding Mack and Chargers rookie linebacker Junior Colson on his electric touchdown run that gave Arizona a 14-9 lead going into the fourth quarter.
No doubt about this. The night's best play belongs to Conner, who turned a short catch into a big gain that set up Ryland's game-winning field goal.
"Can't say enough about that dude, man. He's a great teammate, great person." -- Murray said of Conner during his postgame interview with ESPN
"To me, it was a must-win game. The way we practiced, we way we approached this week, we had to get this one done. We did." -- Murray on the significance of this game
The Cardinals will travel to Miami to face a 2-4 Dolphins team that has lost four of their last five games but are hoping to have quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back for Sunday. Tagovailoa has not played since sustaining his most recent concussion back in Week 2. Los Angeles will return home to host a reeling Saints team that has lost their last five games following a 2-0 start.
Arizona drills a last-second FG to defeat the Chargers, 17-15. Arizona is now 3-4, while the Chargers are now 3-3.
Big game for James Conner, who ran for 101 yards and caught 2 passes for 51 yards. Herbert was great in defeat, just didn't get enough from his running game.
A 33-yard completion from Murray to Conner has put the Cardinals in position to kick the game-winning FG. Conner has been a stud tonight.
Multiple completions from Herbert to Will Dissley and Ladd McConkey set up Cameron Dicker's fifth field goal to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. Herbert is 27 of 39 for 349 yards after orchestrating a 15-play, 77-yard drive that took 8:12 off the clock.
Herbert 6 of 8 passing on the drive.
L.A. responded with yet another FG that was set up by Herbert's 31-yard completion to TE Stone Smart. The continued lack of a running game was one of the reasons why the Chargers couldn't finish the drive with a TD.
Kyler Murray just showed why he's one of the NFL's most underrated players. He just recorded what looked like the easier 44-yard touchdown run that you'll ever see, and in the process gave the Cardinals a 14-9 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
Murray evaded Khalil Mack, then outran rookie LB Junior Colson to the sideline before finding open grass. It wasn't easy, Murray just made it look easy.
They still haven't gotten a TD, but Herbert and Co. gained enough yards to set up Dicker's third FG of the night, as L.A. has taken a 9-7 lead when the third quarter about to come to a close.
Herbert completed two third-and-longs on the drive, the first one a 25-yard gain to Simi Fehoko that got the Chargers into FG range.
Herbert having a big despite several things going against him, including poor pass protection.
Arizona drove from their 7 to the Chargers' 45 to open the second half, but Clayton Tune was stuff on consecutive plays needing just one yard. Not sure why the Cardinals went away from Conner, who had two 13-yard runs on the drive prior to Tune getting two sneak attempts.
Score: 7-6 Cardinals
First downs: Cardinals 12-10
Third down: Both teams 2-5
Total yards: Chargers 193-159
Red zone: Chargers 0-0, Cardinals 1-1
TOP: Cardinals 16:04
Herbert: 13-18, 172 yards, 1 sack
Murray: 9-16, 74 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Chargers: 25 yards on 10 carries (Dobbins 14 yards on 6 carries)
Cardinals: 85 yards on 15 carries (Conner 46 yards on 10 carries)
Dissley: 6 catches, 59 yards
Trey McBride: 4 catches, 39 yards
Harrison Jr. : 2 catches, 11 yards (3 targets)
Kyler Murray, despite briefly leaving, looked good on the Cardinals' fourth drive and capped it off with a 5-yard TD pass to Greg Dortch, giving Arizona a 7-3 lead.
Murray was 5 for 5 on the drive. James Conner also made his mark on the drive with an 18-yard catch and a 14-yard run.
Kyler Murray had to leave the game for a play after Denzel Perryman hit him around the midsection. Murray not moving as well as he usually does but just completed a quick pass to James Conner that went for 25 yards.
Cameron Dicker drills a 59-yard FG as the Chargers take a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter. Chargers haven't gotten anything going on the ground, but Herbert has been hot so far despite his lack of weapons at receiver.
Is this sustainable? Only if the Chargers' defense continues to have the upper hand.
It just took over 30 minutes to complete the first quarter in Arizona. The story of the first quarter was two punch-outs by the Cardinals that prevented a pick on offense and a TD on defense.
Herbert has started the game by completing his first seven passes, as the Chargers have the ball near midfield to begin the second quarter. Four of those completions have gone to TE Will Dissley.
The Chargers were the wrong side of another fumble on their drive drive. Jalen Reagor got behind the defense and it appeared that he was going to give L.A. an early lead. But he fumbled just short of the goal line, and Arizona gets possession after the ball rolled through the end zone.
A crazy sequence of events just took place on the game's opening drive. Murray threw a check down that was picked off by DT Teair Tart, but James Conner forced a fumble that was scooped up by teammate Michael Wilson. Arizona keeps the ball but lost 31 yards of ground.
L.A. won the toss, but John Harbaugh deferred, so the home team will start the game with possession.
The Cardinals plan to get Marvin Harrison Jr. involved in the offense early for two reasons: that increases Harrison's odds at staying in game as far as targets and production, and it should give him confidence after he left last week's game early after going in the protocol.
Los Angeles is opting to go with their vintage, '70s look featuring gold pants. IMO one of the best jerseys in the NFL.
Arizona is rocking their all-black jerseys on prime time. The Cardinals have yet to win a game with this uniform combo.
Arizona is relatively healthy heading into this game, especially with Marvin Harrison Jr. back after he left last week's game early after entering concussion protocol.
Los Angeles is going to be without several key players today, including one of their best players (Bosa) and top receivers (Johnston). It'll be interesting to see if Josh Palmer's targets will go up tonight with Johnston out.
