Starling Thomas V was near the 25-yard line when he looked behind and saw Chargers wide receiver Jalen Reagor wide open, just yards away from a touchdown.
The former high school track star sprinted to catch up with the Chargers wide receiver, who was en route to turning a 40-plus-yard bomb into a touchdown.
"It was really just a never-give-up-on-the-play type of deal," Thomas said. "Man, look, regardless of anything, I'm going to just fight to the end and he's not about to score."
The cornerback punched out the football with Reagor's foot millimeters from the sideline. It went into the end zone for a turnover. (Teammate Jalen Thompson ended up with the ball, but it was scored having ended up out of bounds in the end zone, in either case a turnover and touchback.)
It kept the Chargers out of the end zone. It was early in the first quarter, but Thomas said it set the tone for the remainder of the night. "It's next play mentality and we're not stopping at anything," he said.
Reagor's attempt was the closest the Chargers would end up getting to the end zone all night as the Cardinals won, 17-15 at State Farm Stadium in what turned out to be an excellent -- and crucial -- defensive performance.
Heading into "Monday Night Football," the topic of the week was about how physical the Chargers offense can be. The Cardinals defense limited Jim Harbaugh's run game to 59 rushing yards.
"We've all been hearing that all week, so (stopping the run) was the main emphasis," defensive lineman Naquan Jones said. "It just proves that we could do it. I feel like going into every week, we get doubted so much. But we just showed on Monday night that we could do it, especially against the team that is one of the top running teams in the league."
It was the first time since Oct. 24, 2021, that the Cardinals kept a team out of the end zone. The Cardinals beat the Texans 31-5 in that game, also at State Farm Stadium.
"It says a lot about this defense," linebacker Kyzir White said. "It just lets us know that we could do it."
Primetime games serve as an opportunity for some of the lesser known players to introduce themselves to the national media landscape. The Cardinals defense did that, beating the Chargers in the physicality and resiliency department.
Jones had a sack, as did Ben Stille and Dante Stills. Jones and Stille were recently brought back to the team after not making the 53-man roster in the preseason and being signed to other teams.
"You have to earn the right to rush, so being able to make a team one-dimensional, especially a team like that, it's a testament to all of us," Jones said. "We all lean on each other, it's not just an individual effort. I lean on Roy (Lopez), I lean on (Khyiris Tonga), I lean on Dante (Stills), I lean on L.J. (Collier), I lean on Ben (Stille). It's not just a one-man effort."
Thomas recognizes the microscope the Cardinals defense has been put under, especially after losses to Green Bay and Washington where the Cardinals pass rush, run defense, and cornerback play struggled.
But when the microscope shifted to a spotlight, the Cardinals defense stepped up.
"This is going to give the team a whole lot of confidence and we're just excited to continue to grow as a team and as a unit," Thomas said. "I can feel that we're getting closer together day by day and game by game. I think the sky's the limit for us."
