The Arizona Cardinals have gotten off to a very up-and-down start in their 2024 campaign and will now look to bounce back from a 34-13 blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Arizona sits at 2-4 after its loss to Green Bay and the injuries are now piling up with three starting defensive linemen (Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols and BJ Ojulari) and two starting offensive linemen (Jonah Williams and Will Hernandez) out for either the whole season or an extended period of time. With all of these injuries to their lines on both sides of the ball, the Cardinals will try to recoup and play through it.
The Cardinals still had played very disciplined football entering Week 6 against the Packers, averaging the fewest penalties in the NFL at 3.8, but had an uncharacteristic 13 penalties costing them 100 yards in Green Bay. Kyler Murray had his second-most passing yards of the season with 214, going 22-for-32 on his pass attempts and a touchdown. Arizona did not have a player with more than 26 rushing yards (Trey Benson), accumulating only 89 rushing yards as a team compared to 179 for Green Bay. In total, the Packers had 437 yards of total offense on 70 plays. The Cardinals, meanwhile, mustered 303 yards of offense on 70 plays and lost the time of possession 36:35 to 23:25.
The injuries on the defensive line have really hurt Arizona, as it ranks dead last in pass rush win rate in the league and has allowed the third-most rushing yards per game in the NFL at 153. The Chargers are a run-heavy team this season, so the Cardinals will have their work cut out for them in stopping J.K. Dobbins and L.A.’s rushing attack.
“We need to do more collectively to win more games, so that’s (where) all our energy and focus right now is what do we control (and) how that impacts beating the Chargers on Monday night,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. “That’s where our headspace is at.”
Here are some of Arizona’s team stats and rankings through six weeks per teamrankings.com:
Los Angeles (3-2) is coming off a 23-16 win over the Denver Broncos, which snapped a two-game losing skid and ended Denver’s three-game win streak. Justin Herbert had his only game of the season with over 200 passing yards in the win, going 21-for-34 for 237 yards and a touchdown. Dobbins, who is fifth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (87.6), had his third game of the year with over 90 rushing yards, carrying 25 times for 96 yards and a score.
In the last 10 years, these two teams have only played each other twice with L.A. winning the most recent matchup 25-24 on Nov. 27, 2022 behind 274 passing yards and three touchdowns from Herbert. The Chargers went for two to win the game in the final minute and converted. Overall, Los Angeles is 11-4 all time against the Cardinals and has won five of the last six head-to-head matchups.
Both teams have long lists of injuries heading into the game. The Cardinals will have to wait at least one more week for the debut first-round defensive lineman Darius Robinson, as he is still listed as out with his calf injury despite returning to practice from injured reserve after Week 5. Linebacker Owen Pappoe (hip) is also out. Running back Trey Benson (illness), defensive lineman Roy Lopez (ankle), linebacker Kyzir White (knee), cornerback Sean Murphy Bunting (neck), cornerback Garrett Williams (groin) and offensive lineman Christian Jones (ankle – IR) are all questionable. Marvin Harrison Jr., who suffered a concussion in Week 6, cleared concussion protocol and is off the report and good to go.
The Chargers listed three impact players as doubtful in outside linebacker Joey Bosa (hip), tight end Hayden Hurst (groin) and wide receiver Quentin Johnston (ankle). Defensive back Deane Leonard (hamstring) is out, while wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. (groin), wide receiver Simi Fehoko (shoulder/groin), cornerback Kristian Fulton (hamstring), wide receiver Ladd McConkey (hip), cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor (fibula) and wide receiver Derius Davis (hamstring) are questionable.
Local Game Information
Start Time: 6:00 p.m. MST
Location: State Farm Stadium
TV Channel: ESPN+, locally on FOX 10
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Spanish on Fuego 106.7 FM, nationally on Westwood One
Spread: Chargers -1
Over/Under: 44.5
Prediction: Brendan Mau (@Brendan_Mau/ X) – Suns and Cardinals Reporter (3-3 on predictions)
Chargers win 23-20
This is a golden opportunity for Arizona after a touch schedule to start the year, but as we have seen all season, I think the Chargers’ rushing attack will be too much for the Cardinals to handle. This will allow Los Angeles to burn clock and continue its dominant defensive presence it has shown all season. The Cardinals cannot make the same mental mistakes they made last week in a game like this or it will cost them big time. I predict this game to still be close, since the Chargers haven’t shown much dominance offensively this season, but in the end, the time of possession ends up hurting the Cardinals the most.
Monday Night Football Preview: Injury Updates for Chargers and Cardinals
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
