THE STORY: James Conner stood in front of his teammates Sunday night, giving an impassioned speech about the Cardinals all needing to push their chips in for the Monday night game against the Chargers.
He's a captain, the running back noted. "That's the job description."
Conner, however, has always been more of a lead-by-example guy. And the veteran's all-in performance was a main reason the Cardinals left State Farm Stadium with a 17-15 victory on the game's final play. Chad Ryland kicked the 32-yard field goal for the deciding points, but it was Conner's 33-yard catch-and-run that set up the dramatic end.
"There is nothing he can't do," quarterback Kyler Murray said of his teammate.
Conner had 101 yards rushing. He had 51 yards receiving. He even had a forced fumble, punching the ball out from Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart after Tart got a deflected interception of Murray on the game's first possession. Wide receiver Michael Wilson jumped on the ball, and the Cardinals (3-4) avoided disaster.
That was the play coach Jonathan Gannon made sure to point out – emphatically – when he thought it would be "unnoticed."
"Conner," Gannon said, "was lights out."
So too was the defense, which allowed Justin Herbert to pass for a season-high 349 yards – the former Pro Bowler's passing has been mitigated in Jim Harbaugh's deliberate, run-first offense – but threw a touchdown goose egg on a day when just one TD might've made it a bad ending for the Cardinals.
Cornerback Starling Thomas V made the biggest play in that regard, punching from behind the ball from Chargers receiver Jalen Reagor on a 41-yard bomb inside the Arizona 5, the ball coming loose and officially going through the end zone for a turnover and touchback.
It was another of those "unnoticed" plays Gannon spoke of, although it was definitely noticed.
"This means everything," linebacker Kyzir White said. "We played bend-but-not-break defense tonight."
For a short while it looked like that wouldn't be enough. The Cardinals downed a punt at the Los Angeles 1 with 10:06 left in the game, Arizona nursing a 14-12 lead. The Chargers (3-3) marched 77 yards on 15 plays, grinding the clock all the way down to 1:54 when Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the game.
Murray, with Conner on his side, took over.
"I thought Kyler did a good job of operating today," Gannon said.
Murray's stats were what they were – 14-of-26 for 145 yards, a TD pass to Greg Dortch and the interception – but he engineered the game-winning drive. There was a little help too. On second-and-10 at the Arizona 30, Marvin Harrison Jr. dropped what would've been a first-down pass along the sideline. But after he lost the ball and was in the air defenseless, Chargers defensive back Cam Hart came in and collided with Harrison helmet-to-helmet, earning a 15-yard flag.
On the next play, Murray checked the ball down to Conner, who weaved back-and-forth for his 33-yard gain to the Chargers 22 and added 11 rushing yards on the next two plays – running over and through defenders -- to make Ryland's try easier.
"I try to bring the physicality every time I step on the field," said Conner, who forced 11 missed tackles. "Sunday night, Sunday morning, Monday night, Thursday, I'm going to be physical."
TURNING POINT: There were a handful of plays that could've been it, but with the roller-coaster way the game unfolded, Conner's 33-yard catch flipped the field to turn the Cardinals' desperation on the final drive into a near-certainty of a win.
THE STANDOUTS: Conner was excellent. So too was the entire defensive line, with sacks from Naquan Jones, Ben Stille and Dante Stills in addition to holding the Chargers to 59 rushing yards – far below what the Chargers had been averaging and far below what the Cardinals defense had been allowing.
KYLER GOES ZOOM ONCE AGAIN: Murray was set to be the hero at one point, screaming down the left side on a 44-yard scramble for a touchdown in which he outsprinted Chargers linebacker Junior Colson to the left sideline and then raced to the end zone. It was similar to his TD run in San Francisco – Murray let up on the gas at the 20-yard line, knowing he wouldn't be caught.
"Yeah, I knew (I'd score)," Murray said. "If I beat him, I knew I should be good."
WHAT A WIN MEANS: While 17 points isn't going to be enough to win most games, it did top the 13.2 points a game the Chargers had previously been allowing. Now the Cardinals are back in the NFC West race, a game behind the Seahawks, and travel to Miami – where the Dolphins will have quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back – for a chance to reach .500.
The Cardinals needed a win. But to a man, the idea of the process came back out as they move forward.
"It's great to feel like this," Murray said. "But we can't be results-driven."
CARDINALS LOSE GARDECK, SMB: Linebacker Dennis Gardeck left the game with a knee injury and did not return to the field (he was watching much of the second half on the sideline, but in street clothes), while cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, who left last week's game in Green Bay with a neck injury, did again against the Chargers early in the game. He did not return.
