Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season ends with the Los Angeles Chargers traveling to State Farm Stadium to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. The Cardinals have lost three of their last four games, and it's been a mixed bag overall for Arizona's offense. The middle-of-the-pack Redbird offense ranks 17th in points scored and 15th in yards. The Cardinals haven't cracked the 15-point mark in those losses, a likely very frustrating note for Kyler Murray, who has thrown eight touchdown passes this season.
Getting their offense on track will be a tall task against the staunch Chargers defense. Los Angeles boasts the best scoring defense in football, having allowed just 66 points through five games this season. That's the M.O. of Jim Harbaugh, whose teams have traditionally played excellent defense and ran the ball with great success.
That could also prove to be a nightmare matchup for the Cardinals defense. Arizona has had issues with stopping the run in 2024, rankings near the bottom of the NFL in rushing yards allowed and rushing TDs.
Game Information
The Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals will play at 9 p.m. ET Monday, Oct. 21, 2024.
How To Watch
The Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals will air on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. The app is available in the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Fans can also download NFL+ in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
Game Day Inactives
The Cardinals and Chargers both announced their inactives for tonight's game at State Farm Stadium. The biggest name on the list? The Chargers' Joey Bosa.
Pre-Game
The Cardinals are wearing their black uniforms for tonight's game against the Chargers, and they are encouraging fans to wear black as well. The Chargers are going with their white jersey with yellow pants.
Game Preview
The game is on Monday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. MST, 9 p.m. ET. The game is not on national television, but can be seen in the local markets for the two teams. For the Cardinals, that’s on FOX 10 in Phoenix. For the Chargers, it's FOX 11 Plus in Los Angeles. The game is an ESPN+ exclusive for those not in the local markets of the Cardinals and Chargers, so it can only be seen out of market on ESPN's streaming service.
Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Dan Orlovsky (analyst) and Louis Riddick (analyst) are scheduled to be the announcers for the Chargers at Cardinals Week 7 NFL game.
Game Odds
The Chargers are now a 3-point favorite over the Cardinals in NFL Week 7 odds for the game, courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Los Angeles is -120 on the moneyline, while Arizona is +100. The over/under (point total) is set at 44 points. The Chargers had been a 3-point favorite in the Monday Night Football game when odds opened last week.
Game Predictions
Post-Game
Chad Ryland hit a 32-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 17-15 win over the Chargers on Monday Night Football at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
James Conner ran the ball 19 times for 101 yards in the win and had two catches for 51 yards, including a key 33-yard catch on the final possession to put Arizona in field goal position. Arizona ran the ball for 181 yards on 29 carries. It only had 145 yards passing, with Kyler Murray going 14-for-26, struggling to connect with Marvin Harrison Jr. and other receivers. But the Cardinals' defense kept the Chargers out of the end zone the entire game with timely stops.
All 15 of Los Angeles' points came on field goals from Cameron Dicker, who went 5-for-5 on his attempts. The Chargers only rushed for 59 yards on 22 carries. Justin Herbert was 27-for-39 for 349 yards passing in the game. The Chargers had the ball for 34:14 in the game, compared to 25:46 for the Cardinals. Los Angeles outgained Arizona 395-326.
Arizona improved to 3-4 with the win. The Cardinals play at the Miami Dolphins in NFL Week 9. The Chargers fell to 3-3. They host the New Orleans Saints next week.
What's Next
The Cardinals will have a quick turnaround before their Week 8 matchup against the Dolphins. The Chargers will have a little more time to prepare before they take on the Saints.
USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the Cardinals vs. Chargers Week 7 matchup below.
Game Recap
The Arizona Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football with a 32-yard field goal from Chad Ryland as time expired at State Farm Stadium.
The Cardinals were forced to punt after their drive stalled, but they were able to pin the Chargers at their own 1-yard line with a 44-yard punt from Blake Gillikin. Kyler Murray threw three straight incompletions on the drive. He is now 13-for-24 passing for 112 yards in this game.
Can Arizona's defense now stop the Chargers? There's 10:06 left in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals still haven't allowed the Chargers to get into the end zone in this game.
Los Angeles had to settle for another field goal, this one a 47-yarder from Cameron Dicker, to pull within 14-12. The Chargers got a big chunk of yards on their drive with a 36-yard pass from Justin Herbert to a wide-open Stone Smartt, but Arizona's defense stepped up to force another field goal. Los Angeles has basically abandoned the run. It has 16 carries for 50 yards in this game. Herbert is now 21-for-31 passing for 281 yards.
Score: Cardinals 14, Chargers 12 (12:09 left in fourth quarter)
The Cardinals' passing game is struggling, no doubt about it. But who needs a passing game when you have Kyler Murray's speed. The Cardinals quarterback just ran untouched for a 44-yard touchdown to give the Cardinals a 14-9 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter against the Chargers. Arizona's drive? Four plays, 70 yards, 1:26. Murray has now rushed four times for 67 yards. It was the longest run the Chargers have allowed this season.
Score: Cardinals 14, Chargers 9 (14:14 left in fourth quarter)
Cameron Dicker has provided all of the Chargers' points tonight. He just hit his third field goal of the game, a 28-yarder, to give Los Angeles a 9-7 lead near the end of the third quarter at State Farm Stadium. The Chargers' drive went for 45 yards over 10 plays. It took 5:26 off the clock.
The Chargers had a key 25-yard gain on a pass from Justin Herbert to Simi Fehoko on 3rd & 8 at their own 47 to keep the drive alive. They also picked up a first down on a 3rd & 7 at the Arizona 25 with a 14-yard pass from Herbert to J.K. Dobbins. Arizona was able to stop their third third-down attempt of the drive, forcing an incomplete pass.
Score: Chargers 9, Cardinals 7 (:40 left in third quarter)
The Cardinals brought Clayton Tune in for another short yardage situation for the Cardinals and it did not work. Tune was stopped for no gain on 3rd & 1 and 4th & 1 at the Chargers 45, giving the Chargers the ball. Arizona's drive went eight plays and 48 yards. You can bet there will be a lot of second-guessing of those play calls.
Another penalty hurt the Chargers on the drive ... and helped the Cardinals. The Chargers were called for pass interference on a throw from Kyler Murray to Michael Wilson which resulted in a 22-yard penalty for Los Angeles and gave new life to Arizona's drive, but the Cardinals couldn't take advantage. There is 6:06 left in the third quarter.
The Chargers had a 1st & 10 at their own 49 on the drive, but a holding call took away all their momentum and Los Angeles had to punt after an incomplete pass from Justin Herbert, a sack, and a 10-yard pass from Herbert to J.K. Dobbins.
Arizona has been getting timely stops in this game. The team is loading up the box on the Chargers, trying to stop the run and forcing the Chargers to pass. Los Angeles has 13 carries and 21 pass attempts in the game.
We've reached the half of the Cardinals vs Chargers game at State Farm Stadium and the Cardinals hold a 7-6 lead after Cameron Dicker hit a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter. The Chargers gained 57 yards on nine plays on the drive. Justin Herbert is now 13-for-18 for 172 yards, but the Cardinals' defense is stepping up when it needs too. Los Angeles only has 25 yards rushing on 10 carries. The Chargers hold a 193-159 advantage in total yards in this game, but Arizona holds the advantage on the scoreboard. Kyler Murray was 9-for-16 for 74 yards in the first half. James Conner had 10 carries for 46 yards.
Score: Cardinals 7, Chargers 6 (halftime)
The Cardinals tried some trickery on the drive, but lost six yards on a direct snap to James Conner, putting them in a tough 3rd & 16. Emari Dermercado ran for 14 yards to make it 4th & 2, but Arizona elected to punt instead of going for it at the 50-yard line. There's 1:46 left in the first half.
The Cardinals' defense just forced a 3-and-out from the Chargers, a big stop for Arizona. The Cardinals are doing a great job with their run defense. Los Angeles only has 18 yards on nine carries in this game.
The Cardinals' Sean Murphy-Bunting is questionable to return with a neck injury.
Arizona got the good drive that it needed and has its first lead of the Monday Night Football game. Kyler Murray connected with Greg Dortch on a 5-yard touchdown pass to give the Cardinals a 7-3 lead on the Chargers.
It was an impressive drive for the Cardinals, one that spanned 10-plays, 79 yards and 6:19. James Conner had an 19-yard catch and a 14-yard run on the drive, although he did fumble it on one run (which Arizona's Trey McBride recovered). Conner has nine carries for 52 yards in this game. Murray is now 7-for-13 for 59 yards.
Score: Cardinals 7, Chargers 3 (5:30 left in second quarter)
Kyler Murray took a hard hit in the game vs Chargers and briefly exited the game for one play. On that play, backup QB Clayton Tune ran the ball on a 3rd & 1 for one yard to pick up a first down.
We have our first score of the game. Cameron Dicker just hit a career-long 59-yard field goal for the Chargers to give Los Angeles a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter. Dicker is now a remarkable 63-of-67 on field goal attempts in his career. Not bad.
The Chargers' drive took 7:01 off the clock. They gained 49 yards on 13 plays. The Cardinals could really use a good drive to answer right here. Arizona has been outgained in this game, 129-69.
Score: Chargers 3, Cardinals 0 (11:59 left in second quarter)
We've reached the end of the first quarter of the Cardinals vs Chargers Monday Night Football game in Glendale and the game is still 0-0. The first quarter was an interesting one, highlighted by three turnovers on just two plays. The Chargers hold a 117-69 edge in total yards. Justin Herbert is 6-for-6 for 101 yards. The Chargers have six carries for 16 yards.
Score: Cardinals 0, Chargers 0 (end of first quarter)
The next possession in this game did not include a turnover. Arizona was forced to punt after gaining 34 yards on seven plays. A good sign for the Cardinals? They already have 51 yards rushing in this game against a stout Chargers' run defense. A bad sign? Kyler Murray is just 2-for-8 for 18 yards (he hasn't been helped by drops by his receivers). Trey McBride has one catch for 11 yards and Marvin Harrison Jr. has one catch for seven yards. It would be nice if the Cardinals could get Harrison Jr., who is back from injury, going in this game. There's four minutes left in the first quarter.
We've had another wild play in the Chargers vs Cardinals game. The Chargers' Justin Herbert connected on a long pass to a wide-open Jalen Reagor for 42 yards, but as Reagor was reaching for the end zone, Starling Thomas V forced Reagor to fumble the ball, which went right into Jalen Thompson's hands in the end zone, giving Arizona possession. There's 7:27 left in the first quarter and we've now had three turnovers. There's only been 16 plays in the game.
Kyler Murray had a pass deflected by Khalil Mark on Arizona's first drive of the game, which fell into the hands of the Chargers' Teair Tart. But, Arizona's James Conner stripped the ball from Tart and Michael Wilson recovered it for the Cardinals, who ending up going from the Chargers 41 to the Cardinals 28 on the play. But Arizona retained possession of the ball on the play. The Cardinals ended up having to punt after the play. Arizona ran nine plays for 35 yards on the two possessions.
The Cardinals and Chargers both announced their inactives for tonight's game at State Farm Stadium. The biggest name on the list? The Chargers' Joey Bosa.
The Cardinals are wearing their black uniforms for tonight's game against the Chargers, and they are encouraging fans to wear black as well. The Chargers are going with their white jersey with yellow pants.
The Cardinals' third string QB reportedly has a new home. Desmond Ridder has been signed off Arizona's practice squad by the Las Vegas Raiders, who need help for Gardner Minshew with Aidan O'Connell going to injured reserve. The Cardinals now only currently have Clayton Tune backing up Kyler Murray.
What to Watch For
The Chargers have already had their bye, so they have 11 games remaining in their 2024 season, including Monday night’s matchup against the Chargers. Four of those contests will be against AFC West teams. The Cardinals have 10 games left on their schedule including Monday night’s matchup against the Chargers. Four of those contests will be against NFC West teams.
The Chargers enter their Week 7 matchup against the Cardinals as one of three teams in the AFC West with a winning record. Here's a look at how the division standings stack up entering “Monday Night Football”:
The Cardinals need a win in Week 7 to avoid falling to last place in the NFC West. Below is a look at the division’s pecking order ahead of “Monday Night Football.”
Bosa is dealing with a hip injury and didn’t participate in practice ahead of Week 7. The Chargers listed him as “doubtful” for the game, making him unlikely to see the field.
Johnston did not practice at all ahead of Week 7 as he deals with an ankle injury. Like Bosa, Johnston is listed as “doubtful” for the contest and isn’t expected to play.
Harrison landed on the injury report after exiting the Cardinals’ Week 6 game against the Green Bay Packers with a concussion. The rookie first-rounder cleared concussion protocol ahead of his Week 7 game, which will allow him to suit up against the Chargers.
Monday looks like a beautiful day in Phoenix, with a high of 87 degrees and a low of 63. There is no chance of precipitation and a 5 mph wind will blow during the day. Of course, none of this will matter for the Cardinals and Chargers. They’ll play inside of Arizona’s domed stadium in a climate-controlled environment.
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