Cardinals’ tough schedule continues with Monday Night Football against improving Chargers

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals aren’t going to start talking about must-win games in mid-October.

Even so, the prospect of a third straight lost season makes Monday night’s matchup against the improving Los Angeles Chargers particularly important.

The Cardinals (2-4) have shown promise during coach Jonathan Gannon’s second season, but still haven’t won back-to-back games since 2021. Arizona’s back at square one in that pursuit, coming off a 34-13 loss to Green Bay one week after beating the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.

"We have to remain positive, because we know what we have in here," Murray said. "It’s not like we’re at rock bottom. No one’s given up on what we can accomplish. I’ve got full faith and confidence in all the guys in the locker room."

The Cardinals have had a tough schedule and that continues on Monday with the Chargers (3-2), who have one of the NFL’s best defenses.

Gannon said the Cardinals need to focus mostly on themselves.

"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," Gannon said. "That’s where our headspace is at."

The Chargers are coming off a 23-16 win over the Broncos that was a step in the right direction for their offense. Now they’ll get to go against a Cardinals defense that’s been one of the worst in the league.

Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert wasn’t taking anything for granted.

"They do a lot of great things," Herbert said. "They’re going to play a bunch of different coverage, and they find a way to to make them all work. When you turn on the tape you see a great disguise plan and a whole lot of coverages that they’re pretty sound."

Defensive line blues

The Cardinals are banged up on the defensive line with veteran starters Justin Jones (triceps) and Bilal Nichols (stinger) out for the season. It’s one reason Arizona has struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

The injuries have put more pressure on others like Roy Lopez and Dante Stills. A sixth-round pick last year out of West Virginia, Stills has grown into a solid player.

"We just keep looking for consistency from him," Gannon said. "When he does it right, he’s really, really good and that’s all of our guys. He’ll have a good week and play well."

Offensive momentum

Now that Herbert’s high ankle sprain is behind him and the offensive line is somewhat healthy, the Chargers are beginning to show signs of reaching their potential on offense.

Herbert threw for a season high 237 yards last week at Denver, but the offense remained balanced (38 passes, 37 runs). Herbert completed passes to nine players, and he could have another new target this week. DJ Chark has started practicing after being on injured reserve since the start of the season.

The Chargers have the league’s third-highest run rate at 52.4% and will be facing the NFL’s fourth-worst run defense. J.K. Dobbins is second in the AFC with 438 rushing yards and had a career-high 25 carries last week.

Monday night Harbs

Jim Harbaugh was 6-0 as a coach on "Monday Night Football" during his four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

After briefly leaving the sideline last week due to an irregular heartbeat, Harbaugh said on Wednesday that his stress test back normal and that his heart is back in rhythm.

Before last Sunday at Denver, the last time Harbaugh had felt an irregular heartbeat on the sideline was during a Monday night game in 2012 when the 49ers took on the Chicago Bears.

Conner on the big stage

Cardinals running back James Conner has been productive on Monday nights, scoring six touchdowns in six games. That includes three games with the Cardinals in which he’s had 293 total yards and four touchdowns.

The 29-year-old Conner leads the Cardinals with 403 yards rushing this season.

Keep an eye on ...

Murray’s scrambling. He is third among quarterbacks in scramble yards (150) on 16 runs.

The Chargers have already faced prolific scramblers in Justin Fields (Pittsburgh), Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City) and Bo Nix (Denver). Nix had six scrambles for 61 yards last week, with many coming in the fourth quarter after the Chargers built a 23-0 lead.

"You have to treat those type of quarterbacks like running backs. You go tackle them," Harbaugh said. "Kyler is good or better than a lot of running backs. It is something we can get better at, especially when there are free runners."