Cardinals stun Chargers in west coast boil over

If there was one result that felt like a guarantee this weekend, it would’ve been the Chargers taking care of the the Cardinals in LA. But a youthful Arizona team clearly didn’t read the script, getting strong production from a seemingly much-improved defense, while the partnership between Jacoby Brissett and Trey McBride picked up where it left off.

Many have picked the Chargers to win the AFC West, and while it would be too early to completely ridicule that prediction, there’s immediate warning signs as Jim Harbaugh’s men were outplayed from start to finish by a hungrier team.

The tone was set from the beginning, as Brissett found McBride for a 27-yard connection on the game’s first play, which ended up leading to Jeremiyah Love’s first NFL touchdown, taking no time to leave his imprint on the league.

Los Angeles appeared up for the fight and their own young running back, Omarion Hampton, answered back with a touchdown of his own to level the scores at quarter time.

But it was Hampton’s fumble that lit the Cardinals’ fuse, giving them solid field position to put consistent chunk plays together and give Chad Ryland the chance to knock through a pair of field goals before halftime.

While another Ryland field goal brought Arizona’s lead to 2 scores during the 3rd term, an 8-yard touchdown catch by Ladd McConkey, whose day was later ended with a chest injury, looked to be the turning point, bringing the margin back to just 2 points.

But Arizona’s youngsters only grew under pressure. The defense forced punts on successive drives, with the latter being blocked and recovered at Los Angeles’ 3-yard line, setting up a dagger touchdown from McBride to cap off his excellent performance.

The Chargers weren’t even able to put any points on the board in the final 21 minutes of action, turning the ball over twice and falling to a shocking 26-14 defeat at the hands of the Cardinals.

Arizona won’t win the Super Bowl, but they seem to be confident in new head coach Mike LaFleur as the man for the job long-term, and he already looks to be unlocking the best of the young offense, with Trey McBride looming as every chance to be the league’s leading tight end once again. Very fun and dangerous team with the potential to cause more upsets this year.

Touchdowns
Arizona: Love, McBride
Los Angeles Chargers: Hampton, McConkey

Top Performers
Arizona: Brissett, McBride, Wingard, Johnson, Bourne
Los Angeles Chargers: McConkey, James Jr., Henley

Injuries
Arizona: N/A
Los Angeles Chargers: McConkey (chest), Lambert-Smith (hamstring)

Crowd: 70,540 at SoFi Stadium