After Arizona jumped out to a 10-0 lead, the Chargers scored fourteen unanswered.
But because of a late second quarter touchdown from Kyler Murray, the Arizona Cardinals have a rare lead at the end of the first half.
Q1
The Cardinals’ defense began the game with a J.J. Watt third-down sack. Giving the ball quickly back to the offense, it was looking promising for Arizona.
An 11-yard pass to Hollywood Brown (in his first game back from injury) was followed up by an electric 18-yard rush by James Conner.
However, all momentum was quickly lost after Conner fumbled the very next play.
Thankfully, the Cardinals defense came up big, and for the second drive in a row, Justin Herbert was sacked on third-down.
This time, Arizona capitalized on the defensive stop with a long and methodical drive.
During the drive, Kyler Murray completed passes to Robbie Anderson, James Conner, A.J. Green, and DeAndre Hopkins.
But it was a 33-yard catch and run by Hopkins that got the Cardinals into the end zone.
Hit the B Button on 'em 🎮@DeAndreHopkins x #BirdCityFootball pic.twitter.com/FpaW7Ld0hQ
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 27, 2022
7-0 Cardinals 2:33 Q1
At the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals’ offense accounted for 72 rushing yards, their best on the season.
James Conner ran the ball eight times for 54 yards. Besides an early fumble, Conner led Arizona’s offense on multiple third-down conversions.
Kyler Murray finished perfect through the air as well. Going 6-6 for 71 yards and a touchdown, Murray connected with five different receivers, spreading the ball all over the field.
Q2
The second quarter started with more action from James Conner. Four straight runs resulted in 19 yards.
A 43-yard field goal by Matt Prater extended the Cardinals’ lead to ten points.
10-0 Cardinals 14:03 Q2
After the field goal, the Chargers wasted no time getting back into the game.
Six straight passing plays from the offense carried LA quickly down the field. The 11-play, 60-yard drive was finally capped off with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kennan Allen.
10-7 Cardinals 8:51 Q2
The absence of TE Zach Ertz loomed over the Cardinals’ heads on a crucial third-down attempt.
On a designed quarterback run, rookie tight end Trey McBride missed a block. This error resulted in Kyler Murray being short of the first down.
To make matters worse, Kliff Kingsbury kept the offense on the field. On a fourth-and-inches attempt, Arizona went for the long ball, which was intercepted.
Kyler Murray goes deep to Hopkins on 4th down and gets picked off by Derwin James! #Chargers pic.twitter.com/BwX1LxMqgg
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) November 27, 2022
As a result, the Chargers took over with the football in excellent field position, in which they capitalized on.
Four players later, Los Angeles took their first lead of the game. It was a 33-yard pass to DeAndre Carter on a blown coverage by the Cardinals’ defense.
14-10 Chargers 4:28 Q2
Arizona ended the first half on a high note. A long drive consisting of multiple third-down conversions allowed the Cardinals to put points on the board to finish the second quarter.
Kyler Murray did it himself with a pair of runs, the final one going for 5 yards into the end zone.
It was a 14-play drive that sent the Cardinals into the half with a lead.
17-14 Cardinals 0:12 Q2
First half stat lines
- Kyler Murray: 11/17 116 yards 1 td; 6 rushes 38 yards 1 td
- James Conner: 12 rushes, 67 yards
- Justin Herbert: 14/19 144 yards 2 tds
- Austin Ekeler: 2 rushes, 5 yards
- Marquise Brown: 4 receptions, 27 yards
The Arizona Cardinals will receive the ball to begin the second half
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