Grading Cardinals' Season-Saving Win

The Arizona Cardinals kept their season alive by squeaking out a home win, 17-15, against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) takes the field before their game against the Los Angeles Chargers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Oct. 21, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It might have only been Week 7, but the Arizona Cardinals' primetime matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers sure felt like a must-win game for the organization to keep hope alive and keep fans on board.

It wasn't necessarily a pretty route to victory, but the Cardinals were the ones left standing at the end of the night with a W and sitting in second place in the NFC West, just one game back from the Seattle Seahawks.

Offense

Quarterback - B

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) scrambles out of the backfield against the Los Angeles Chargers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Oct. 21, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kyler Murray will have a tough time this season living up to his performance in Week 2 against the LA Rams. That perfect outing has eluded him the past few weeks as he regressed back towards a mean, that while still effective, doesn't have the same shine.

Murray's performance on Monday night had a bit of everything and contained several examples of what makes him a special player, most notably a 44-yard dash to the endzone, and several pedestrian moments, including a tipped pass interception.

He attempted 26 passes, only completing 14, for a rather low 53.8% completion rate that is unlike Murray. An average pass of only 5.6 yards led to just 145 yards through the air.

One thing continues to be very clear, the one element above all others that can make Murray elite are his legs and his six rushes racked up 64 yards and that all important long rushing touchdown to give the Cardinals a chance to win. It shows up again and again, the Cardinals are a better football team when Murray runs.

Offensive Line - B

Nov 26, 2023; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (70) during pregame warmups before playing the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-Arizona Republic / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Cardinals offensive line did one thing particularly well on Monday night. They committed zero penalties, a key metric for an offense that easily stalls out when things don't go exactly to plan.

Paris Johnson, Jr. continued his efforts to show he is the franchise left tackle of the future and Kelvin Beachum turned in another decent performance on the other side of the line.

Hjalte Froholdt is as steady as they come and one of the underrated centers in the league while Evan Brown held down the left guard spot admirably. Right guard saw a bit of rotation with Trystan Colon and Isaiah Adams roughly splitting snaps in an attempt to find a long term solution to the season loss of standout guard Will Hernandez.

Tight End - A

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) celebrates during their 17-15 win over the Los Angeles Chargers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Oct. 21, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Trey McBride was once again Trey McBride.

He did not have a statistically huge game, but McBride is Murray's safety blanket and one of the steadiest options on this team. The ball went his way seven times and he came down with five of them for 51 yards, tied for leading receiver.

Rookie Tip Reiman had an interesting outing. He is still growing as a blocker and even caught one checkdown pass for a 1-yard gain. His most interesting usage however was from the fullback spot, a concept that Petzing should certainly continue to explore.

Running Back - A+++

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner runs the ball during their 17-15 win over the Los Angeles Chargers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Oct. 21, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As mentioned, Murray played a decent game but the real MVP of Monday Night Football for Arizona was running back James Conner.

His stat line of 101 yards on 19 carries would make for an impressive enough game but Conner decided to go even harder, racking up another 51 yards through the air to tie McBride as the leading receiver of the night.

Any time a spark was truly needed, Conner seemed to be there. His efficiency on the ground, 5.3 yards per carry, earned him a 91.1 running grade from PFF and 81.9 overall offensive grade.

As of this point in the season, Conner is the heart and soul of the Cardinals offense.

Wide Receiver - C

Arizona Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) warms up before their game against the Los Angeles Chargers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Oct. 21, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This position group...

It is difficult to fully judge a wide receiver group that is hardly seems part of the offensive game plan for yet another week. The ball only went the way of a receiver 12 times on Monday night leading to only 5 receptions and 41 total yards of offense.

How this continues to happen with a star receiver like Marvin Harrison, Jr. on the squad is a valid question that many continue to ponder.

Harrison, Jr. saw six targets and only came down with three, his game including a bad drop that Cardinals fans are not used to seeing from their wide receivers after being blessed with years of sure-handed players like Larry Fitzgerald and DeAndre Hopkins.

The connection between Harrison, Jr. and Murray will take time to develop, but it needs to happen sooner rather than later if the Cardinals want to save their season and make a push to the playoffs.

Defense

Defensive Line - A-

Nov 26, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Dante Stills (55) reacts against the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Where did this defensive line come from? After a less than inspired performance last week against the Packers, the defensive line showed up in Arizona in a big way.

The Harbaugh-led Chargers are a team trying to build an identity around a strong run game, a run game that flows through J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins ended the night with only 40 yards on 14 attempts. Nothing else seemed to work for the Chargers run game with a team total of just 59 yards on the ground.

It took until the second half, but the Cardinals defensive line eventually started to get to Justin Herbert, taking him to the ground three times with sacks from Naquan Jones, Ben Stille, and Dante Stills. Beyond the sacks Jones and Stills put up an additional QB hit and showed good pressure against a talented Chargers offensive line.

For a position group missing the major free agent signings of the offseason in Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols, they played an exceptional game.

Linebackers - A

Oct 21, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) delivers a stiff arm to Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. (2) during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Mack Wilson, Sr. continued to impress Monday night. He only put three combined sacks into the stat book, but his ability to be around the run and deliver hard, demoralizing hits makes him one of the most fun players to watch on this Cardinals defense.

Kyzir White had another productive game with 10 tackles and a QB hit going on his stat line. His command of the defense is noticeable and Gannon made a great decision to bring him along from Philadelphia to control this side of the ball.

Dennis Gardeck did his part as well, soaring in off the edge to pressure Herbert into a sack in the third quarter.

Linebackers are a position group that has been mostly steady this season, outside of the lack of edge pressure, and look to continue the trend.

Secondary - B+

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Garrett Williams (21) is introduced before their game against the Detroit Lions at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Sep 22, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sean Murphy-Bunting went to the locker room in the first half and did not return with a neck injury. Sadly, rather than hurt the team it might have done the Cardinals a favor by allowing rookie Max Melton to see the field in his second major action of the season.

Melton was picked on, that much is undeniable, but unlike previous young cornerbacks for the Cardinals, looking at you Marco Wilson, No. 16 took his lumps and kept coming back. It wasn't a world-changing performance, in fact PFF gave him a 29.0 defensive grade, but he ended the night as the team's second leading tackler and one game wiser.

Second-year corner Garrett Williams is still on his trajectory to develop into a lockdown slot corner yet is still an under looked player for this squad. Yes, he allowed 4 of 8 balls thrown his way to be caught for 49 yards, but only 9 of those yards came after the catch and he had a massively important pass breakup on a third down to generate a stop. Williams generally puts himself in the right place and will only continue to improve.

Starling Thomas V deserves a shoutout for the forced fumble after a long Jalen Reagor catch that tumbled into the end zone and both prevented a Chargers score and gave the ball back to Arizona.

Not much needs to be said about the safety duo of Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson who are still one of the most solid safety groups in the league. Reliable and dependable.

Special Teams - A+

Oct 21, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals place kicker Chad Ryland (38) celebrates after making the game winning field goal against the Los Angeles Chargers at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Matt Prater-replacement Chad Ryland did it again and a second Cardinals win this season came off his leg in the last minutes of the game.