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Chargers' sealing defensive stand:
Cardinals vs. Chargers score, takeaways: Justin Herbert, Brandon Staley deliver last-minute victory in Arizona
Arizona falls to 4-8 with the late-game defeat
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The Cardinals controlled Sunday's game against the Chargers for a large chunk of the afternoon, dominating on the ground while Kyler Murray made his return from injury with a couple of big throws to DeAndre Hopkins. None of it mattered in the end, however, as Justin Herbert and Brandon Staley delivered in crunch time for Los Angeles. The former threw three touchdowns on a busy day through the air, while Staley successfully dialed up a last-minute two-point conversion to seal the Chargers' 25-24 come-from-behind victory.
L.A. was far from perfect with the ball in its hands in Arizona, turning it over twice -- and nearly a third time -- before coming alive down the stretch. Much of Herbert's production, in fact, came in spite of a short-area strategy deployed by offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, and behind a battered offensive line that saw both Corey Linsley and Trey Pipkins suffer injuries. But Murray's Cardinals had trouble maintaining possession late in the fourth quarter, giving the Chargers a chance at a go-ahead score with less than two minutes to play. Arizona drops to 4-8 with the loss, while L.A. improves to 6-5.
Here are additional takeaways from Sunday's cross-conference clash:
Why the Chargers won
It wasn't because their offensive line and play-calling got corrected, that's for sure. Justin Herbert's mostly stellar performance was nearly wasted because of their inability to push the ball downfield, with Austin Ekeler leading L.A. in catches (11) as Joe Lombardi directed one screen/dump-off/quick strike after another. Surely some of the strategy stemmed from more injuries up front, but either way, Herbert and Ekeler's execution ended up saving the day. The former showed his trademark zip throwing all day, even without any real ground support, and was unfazed on the go-ahead scoring drive. The entire receiving corps showed up, too: besides Ekeler, Josh Palmer, Keenan Allen and an especially spry DeAndre Carter all had at least five catches.
Brandon Staley deserves credit as well, opting to go for two points and the win after their final TD rather than settling for a potential trip to overtime. Defensively, L.A. was suspect yet again, but Michael Davis made a couple of clutch plays, including a near-pick on Kyler Murray's final pass; and Derwin James was a force, logging both a pick and a forced fumble.
Why the Cardinals lost
They had no rhythm with the game on the line. Arizona actually put up a solid fight, dominating on the ground -- James Conner totaled 140 scrimmage yards, with 120 as a runner -- and keeping almost everything in front of them on defense. Kyler Murray, meanwhile, put some pop back into their passing game out of the gate, connecting with DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown for a handful of chain-moving darts. But as per usual in the Kliff Kingsbury offense, things got chaotic in crunch time, with Murray absorbing a sack before a penalty-riddled punt enabled L.A. to punch it in and take the lead for good. Conner's early fumble, plus a noticeably careless drive from Murray as both a thrower and scrambler, gave the Chargers the turnover advantage, too.
Turning point
You might've said the Cardinals' final TD drive, because it marked the last time Kingsbury's offense looked even remotely capable of putting the game away; Arizona had three straight three-and-outs after it took a 24-17 lead, and that doesn't include the two-and-out that ended the contest. But Michael Davis' sack of Murray on second-and-10, with Arizona backed up to its own 10, basically confirmed the Chargers would get the ball back with great field position and a chance to retake the lead.
Play of the game
The winning one. Or at least the one that set up the win. Herbert's play-action dart to Ekeler was perfectly executed, allowing Staley to go for two and give the Chargers the win on the following play:
What's next
The Chargers (6-5) will stay on the road in Week 13, visiting the rival Raiders (4-7), who edged the Seahawks in overtime on Sunday. The Cardinals (4-8) will rest up on their bye before returning in Week 14 for a Monday night matchup with the Patriots (6-5), who fell to the Vikings on Thanksgiving.
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Cardinals get the ball with 11 seconds and one timeout after the Chargers' clutch TD and two-point drive. Kyler Murray's first pass takes five seconds and isn't close to anyone. His second one takes the entire remaining clock and is nearly picked by Michael Davis. And that'll do it! Los Angeles finds a way to pull this one out, 25-24.
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Gerald Everett's go-ahead two-point reception:
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The Chargers get the two-pointer! Herbert hits Gerald Everett on a slant over the middle, and it's too easy. L.A. now in front 25-24 with 15 seconds left in the game. Brandon Staley's bold call pays off. Wow.
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The Chargers' TD, which may or may not lift L.A. to last-second victory:
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Justin Herbert executes a perfect play-action roll-out to hit Austin Ekeler, who extends the ball over the goal line while being tackled out of bounds. And Brandon Staley is going for two, for the win.
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Chargers pull up to the Cardinals' 14, and Justin Herbert dumps one to Austin Ekeler, who takes it 10 yards for a first. Chargers take their final timeout with 18 seconds left in the game, and a first-and-goal, down seven. This is the ballgame here.
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Cardinals doing their best to give the Chargers a jolt of life at the end. Needing a first down or two to milk the clock under two minutes, they instead got sacked inside their own 10, then had a player wrongly out of bounds on the punt, setting up the Chargers inside Arizona territory.
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Brutal for the Chargers: third-and-7 from the Cardinals' 35, and Justin Herbert faces instant pressure from Isaiah Simmons up the middle. Simmons downs him for a loss of 13, and L.A. is forced to punt on fourth-and-20, removed completely from scoring range. Now Arizona will control the ball as the two-minute warning approaches, up seven with a chance to run away with this one.
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Just an incredible catch by DeAndre Hopkins on the Cardinals' latest drive:
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Turns out Zaven Collins did not control the ball on his would-be pick, so Justin Herbert avoids a turnover. Still, the Chargers have to punt it away, and Brandon Staley's defense desperately needs a stop.
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And there goes Justin Herbert's rock-solid day. Pressed to make a play on third-and-13, down seven with under eight minutes to play, the QB fires one well short of Josh Palmer, and Zaven Collins comes up with an easy pick going to the ground. Huge takeaway from an Arizona "D" that came close to stealing the ball earlier, when Palmer was stripped. Officials now reviewing the play to confirm Collins had possession of the ball when he went to the ground on the INT.
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Throwing a three-yard pass to Gerald Everett on third-and-14 is indicative of the Chargers' offensive woes. Justin Herbert hasn't lost anything. And the weapons are there out wide. The problems lie up front and on the sidelines, where the strategy is centered on lateral passes to make up for an injury-riddled O-line. Where there should be explosion, there is just scattershot movement. L.A. is averaging 5.1 yards per play, with 17 points on the board, despite forcing two turnovers and getting a mostly pinpoint day from Herbert.
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James Conner's TD to put Arizona in front in the fourth:
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James Conner, have yourself a day! The veteran running back logs his first TD catch of the year, hauling in a short zip on the move and easily breaking Kenneth Murray's tackle attempt to put Arizona back on top, 24-17. Conner is now up to 122 yards from scrimmage, and he's been nearly flawless since an early-game fumble. Cardinals just dominating on the ground, outrunning the Chargers 172 yards to 30 with just over 13 minutes left in the matchup.
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Arizona's rushing success is notable considering its recent staffing changes:
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Newcomer Corey Clement steps in as the third-down back for the Cardinals and moves the chains with a short catch-and-run off the right side. Kyler Murray has now completed passes to eight different players today. Arizona driving deep into L.A. territory as we enter the fourth quarter.
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The Chargers' longest drive of the day (14 plays) ends in three points. With the ball at the Cardinals' 8-yard line, Justin Herbert can't connect with either Austin Ekeler or Keenan Allen, setting up Cameron Dicker's 26-yard kick. We are back to the starting point: it's a 17-17 contest.
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Justin Herbert throws a perfect laser off his back foot, hitting Keenan Allen in the end zone as the receiver outmuscles Isaiah Simmons for a would-be TD, but Allen can't quite get both feet down in bounds for the score. Herbert finds Josh Palmer on an out route the very next play, however, to keep the chains moving. Herbert has had a pretty stellar game, all things considered; he's been outdone mostly by his own O-line or play-calling, which shouldn't sound like a totally new issue to Chargers fans.
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Kyler Murray with a slight limp going off the field after a pitch to James Conner leaves him on the ground. Then Matt Prater boots a 49-yard field goal try wide left, so the Cardinals' lead remains three. Conner is already up to 98 yards carrying the ball, and Murray has had his way, too, picking up 56 on seven carries. The difference in this game is really the turnovers: Arizona has two, and still leads by three, but could/should probably be up multiple scores. Chargers have held the ball for just 13 minutes.
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Kyler Murray's legs put the Cardinals on top in a tight game with L.A.:
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Kelvin Beachum is involved in some pushing and shoving as the Cardinals try to get points on the board before halftime. In the end, Kyler Murray gets it done with his legs, taking off on a 5-yard scramble that looked more like a 20-yard sprint. Speed kills, and he's got it. Arizona is back on top, 17-14, with halftime around the corner.
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Bad news for the Chargers, who were just starting to have reason to celebrate offensive gains:
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Arizona has no one in DeAndre Carter's vicinity on the Chargers' latest score:
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The big plays continue. This time Justin Herbert moves left after facing pressure in the pocket, basically side-arms one downfield, and DeAndre Carter is waiting all alone, hauling in the pass and then gliding untouched into the end zone for the score. Chargers now lead it 14-10 after their second passing TD. Bittersweet, though, as tackle Trey Pipkins is injured on the play.
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Derwin James picks off Kyler Murray:
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Kyler Murray has generally been on the mark today, but he just had an extremely ugly finish to the Cardinals' latest series. Scrambled around and flung it deep, with no one in sight, on second down. Held the ball loosely with his left hand on a scramble near the sticks on third. Then put one up for DeAndre Hopkins on fourth-and-1, only for it to land right in the hands of the tight-covering Derwin James. That's the second time James has had his hand on a turnover today.
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A look at Justin Herbert's quick-strike TD to Keenan Allen, making this a 10-7 game:
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Keenan Allen into the end zone on the short pass for the TD, and all of a sudden we've got a ballgame! Chargers cut the deficit to three points. What a huge play by Michael Bandy earlier in the series to recover the Josh Palmer fumble and keep the drive alive.
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