NFL

Los Angeles Chargers at Arizona Cardinals

· National Football League
3-3, 2-2 Away
Final
15 - 17
3-4, 2-2 Home

Murray runs for a TD, leads Cardinals to game-winning FG and 17-15 win over Chargers

Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon admitted that's not the way his players are taught to protect the ball.

Then again, Gannon didn't teach Murray how to run like that, either.

“Until he fumbles, I'll let him ride,” Gannon said with a wry grin. “That was a pretty spectacular play.”

Murray ran for the game-changing touchdown early in the fourth quarter and then led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland's 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a 17-15 win over Los Angeles on Monday night.

Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.

Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard catch and run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground and 51 yards receiving. Conner's big gain eventually set up Ryland's short field goal and a Cardinals celebration. Conner delivered a sterling speech to the team on Sunday night and backed up those words on Monday.

“That's just the way the season's been going,” Conner said. “As a captain on this team, that's the job description. Just tried to rally the troops.”

It was a frustrating night for the Chargers' offense, which gained 395 yards but couldn't find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards. It was coach Jim Harbaugh's first loss on Monday night, dropping him to 6-1 for his career.

Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.

The Chargers came into the game with one of the NFL's top defenses and had another good night, but the offense usually couldn't execute when it mattered most. Los Angeles has gone 16 consecutive offensive drives without a touchdown.

“I thought we did a lot of good things, but we've got to score points in the red zone,” Herbert said. “That's the biggest takeaway from tonight's game. We've got an amazing kicker, but we've got to do a better job for our defense and special teams. We've got to score points.”

Murray ran for his spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter for the 14-9 lead. It was Murray's second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco.

“It's a good feeling, just putting the ball in the end zone,” Murray said. “Wish we could have done that more tonight, but a win's a win.”

It was also Murray's 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.

Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Dicker's 28-yarder late in the third quarter gave the Chargers a 9-7 lead. Los Angeles gained possession after stopping Cardinals backup quarterback Clayton Tune on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1. The Cardinals sometimes use Tune in short-yardage situation because he's bigger than Murray.

Arizona scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Murray to Greg Dortch in the second quarter to take a 7-6 into halftime. It was Dortch’s first touchdown catch of the season.

Dicker made two field goals in the first half for the Chargers, including the 59-yarder. That was the longest kick of Dicker's career after he previously made two from 55 yards.

Los Angeles fumbled away a pair of great opportunities early in the first quarter.

On Arizona's opening drive, Murray had a pass deflected by Khalil Mack and intercepted by Teair Tait. The 304-pound defensive lineman started running downfield, but was stripped from behind by Conner before Arizona's Michael Wilson grabbed the fumble.

Then, on the Chargers' first drive, Herbert hit Jalen Reagor for a 42-yard gain, but Arizona's Starling Thomas stripped Reagor and the ball bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

“It was a game of a lot of near misses and close calls,” Harbaugh said. “Both teams played well. Came down to a lot of details, not just one play.”

Injuries Chargers: OLB Joey Bosa (hip) and TE Hayden Hurst (groin) were inactive.

Cardinals: CB Sean Murphy-Bunting (neck) left in the first half. LB Dennis Gardeck (knee) left in the third quarter.

Up next Chargers: Host New Orleans on Sunday.

Cardinals: At Miami on Sunday.

How can I watch Chargers vs. Cardinals?

  • TV Channel: Chargers at Cardinals 2021-22 NFL, week 7 is broadcasted nationally on ESPN+.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
    In Canada, viewers can watch Chargers vs. Cardinals on DAZN.

Matchup Prediction

Cardinals: 51.3%
Chargers: 48.3%
*According to ESPN's Football Power Index

Scoring Summary

LAC FG 2nd Period 11:59 Cameron Dicker 59 Yd Field Goal
ARI TD 2nd Period 5:40 Greg Dortch 5 Yd pass from Kyler Murray (Chad Ryland Kick)
LAC FG 2nd Period 0:00 Cameron Dicker 50 Yd Field Goal
LAC FG 3rd Period 0:40 Cameron Dicker 28 Yd Field Goal
ARI TD 4th Period 14:14 Kyler Murray 44 Yd Run (Chad Ryland Kick)
LAC FG 4th Period 12:09 Cameron Dicker 47 Yd Field Goal
LAC FG 4th Period 1:54 Cameron Dicker 40 Yd Field Goal
ARI FG 4th Period 0:00 Chad Ryland 32 Yd Field Goal

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/lac.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLAC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/ari.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originARI
20 1st Downs 22
14 Passing 1st downs 10
5 Rushing 1st downs 10
1 1st downs from penalties 2
6-14 3rd down efficiency 2-7
1-1 4th down efficiency 0-1
64 Total Plays 55
395 Total Yards 326
6.2 Yards per Play 5.9
8 Total Drives 9
336 Passing 145
27/39 Comp/Att 14/26
8.0 Yards per pass 5.6
0 Interceptions thrown 1
3-13 Sacks-Yards Lost 0-0
59 Rushing 181
22 Rushing Attempts 29
2.7 Yards per rush 6.2
0-1 Red Zone (Made-Att) 1-2
5-57 Penalties 3-15
2 Turnovers 1
2 Fumbles lost 0
0 Interceptions thrown 1
0 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0
34:14 Possession 25:46

Game Information

State Farm Stadium

Location: Glendale, AZ
Attendance: 64,357 · Capacity:

2024 AFC West Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Kansas City 7 0 1.000 0 173 123
Denver 5 3 .625 0 173 120
Los Angeles 4 3 .571 0 132 91
Las Vegas 2 6 .250 0 144 210

2024 NFC West Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Arizona 4 4 .500 0 178 205
San Francisco 4 4 .500 0 210 182
Seattle 4 4 .500 0 190 195
Los Angeles 3 4 .429 0 144 174
Full Standings

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