FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Arizona Scores 28 in Final 16 Minutes
Glendale, Arizona, April 2nd, 2021: Down 20-6 late in the third quarter, the Cardinals behind Patrick Mahomes roared back to score three touchdowns on Mahomes arm, and another on a defensive score to win, 34-30. Both teams are now 8-5 but are heading in opposite directions. The Cardinals have won five of their last six, with only a narrow 27-23 loss to the 12-1 Rams in that span, while the Chargers have lost two of their last three, including a one-point upset loss to the 2-11 Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago.
If the playoffs started today, however, both teams would miss the playoffs, as Chicago, also at 8-5, holds the sixth and final seed in the NFC. The Cardinals are the seventh seed, and the Chargers are now the eighth, dropping out of the sixth spot.
The Cardinals' comeback started late in the third quarter with the Chargers holding the aforementioned 20-6 lead. Taking over at their own 47 after a Chargers punt netted only 32 yards, the Cardinals scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to wide receiver Corey Davis, one play after a Rashaan Evans sack of Mahomes cost the Cardinals five yards. That score cut the Chargers' lead in half with 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
But the Chargers came right back to score a touchdown of their own to extend their lead to 27-13 with just 11:59 to go in the game. David Montgomery was the star of that march, rushing three times for 28 yards and catching two passes for another 16, including his 12-yard scamper on a screen pass for the score. Daniel Jones also completed his two other passes on the possession, hitting Courtland Sutton for 14 and Keelan Cole for 16.
In those final 12 minutes, however, the Cardinals came on in a rush and scored three more touchdowns while holding the Chargers to just a field goal.
First, they went 75 yards in eight plays in response to the Chargers touchdown to again cut the Chargers lead to seven, at 27-20. Mahomes touchdown pass of 12 yards to Marquise Goodwin ended the drive, but it was an 18-yard completion to Corey Davis, along with a pass interference call against Charger safety Tracy Walker for 13 yards that sparked the drive. Mahomes was six of six for 62 yards on the possession.
On the Chargers' next possession, disaster struck as the Chargers faced a third and three from their own 32. Daniel Jones got the Chargers into the right play call, but held the ball too long, getting strip-sacked by linebacker Anthony Barr, who scooped up the loose ball and lateralled to cornerback Justin Coleman, who raced 34 yards for the touchdown to tie the game at 27-27.
If the turnover affected Jones, he didn't show it, as he came back on his very next play to hit Courtland Sutton for 43 yards to the Cardinals' 32-yard line. Jones converted a third and four with a five-yard gain on a bootleg but was stuffed on a third and two dive from the Cardinals' 13-yard line for the loss of a yard. That brought in Stephen Hauschka for the 32-yard field goal -- his third of the contest -- to give the Chargers a 30-27 lead with just 2:45 left in the contest.
That was time to spare as the Cardinals quickly moved into field goal range on the strength of a Travis Homer run of ten yards and Mahomes completions of 15 to Jones on a screen and 34 to Gallup on a long pass down to the Chargers seven-yard line. After an incomplete intended for Homer, Mahomes connected with Goodwin for the go-ahead (and eventual) winning score from seven yards out on a short crossing pass with 1:36 left.
The Chargers picked up two first downs on their final possession, but with 23 seconds to go Jones was picked off by safety Marquise Christian on a long pass intended for Sutton to effectively seal the win for the Cardinals.
The Chargers built that 20-6 lead through an effective defense that came up big in the red zone in the first half and an offense that took advantage of their opportunities and kept the Cardinals off-balance through most of the first three quarters.
The Cardinals took the opening kickoff and on the first play, running back James Conner turned it over to the Chargers after a 13-yard run. Safety Vonn Bell blew up Conner and knocked the ball loose from his grasp, and linebacker Ryan Anderson recovered it at the Cardinal 38. It took only four plays, all completions by Jones, to score the first touchdown of the contest, with the score coming on Jones' ten-yard pass to Keelan Cole.
It took only ten plays for the Cardinals to put up their first points, a Jake Elliott field goal from 33 yards out - almost the same yard line Elliott missed from in week one to hand the Chargers the gift-wrapped win. The Cardinals drive petered out after they had a first and ten at the Chargers 17 with two runs that gained only two yards and the first of two drops by Callaway.
The Cardinals got as close as the Chargers four-yard line on their next possession, but with a first and goal from there, failed to advance the ball and had to settle for Elliott's second field goal, this one from 22 yards out to cut the Charger lead to 7-6 with one second left in the first quarter.
The second quarter was all Chargers as they moved the ball effectively after a failed fourth and four from the Cardinals 35. Taking over after an Arizona punt at their own 28, Daniel Jones hit Courtland Sutton for a 49 yard gain on the first play of their next possession, to move the ball to the Cardinal 23. A five-yard offside call against the Cards moved it to the 18 and then runs by Montgomery for three, and three consecutive runs by Penny picked up the first down and moved it to the eight-yard line. From there, Daniel Jones took it in himself with the Cardinals expecting a run up the middle, Jones swept right end for the score to make it 14-6 with 4:18 left in the half.
On the Cardinals next possession, Mahomes had a big 21-yard scramble to move the ball into Charger territory, but facing a third and 15 from his own 49 a few plays later, tried to force the ball into a tight window and veteran Jimmy Smith picked it off and returned it 39 yards to the Cardinal 24 with 2:19 left in the first half.
The Chargers picked up one first down but couldn't get closer than the Arizona six-yard line and had to settle for the Stephen Hauschka field goal from 24 yards out to make it 17-6 at the half.
Starting the second half with the ball at their own 28, the Chargers ran nearly eight minutes off the clock on their initial possession but had to settle for a second Hauschka field goal, this time from 27 yards out, to make it 20-6. On the drive, David Montgomery ran six times for 36 yards.
After an exchange of punts, the Cardinals finally got their offense in gear and rallied back to overtake the Chargers in the fourth quarter.
GAME NOTES: Montgomery carried the rushing load for the Chargers once more in the absence of Josh Jacobs, and for the second game in a row rushed for 112 yards, this time on 23 carries (4.9). He added four receptions for another 30 yards (7.5). Daniel Jones added 28 on eight rushes.
Keelan Cole, acquired from the Buffalo Bills in a trade deadline deal this year, had his best game in a Charger uniform, catching six passes for 73 yards (12.2) and one touchdown. He last exceeded both those totals for Buffalo three seasons ago, when he caught nine for 150 in week 11 against the Bengals in a 21-24 loss. Those with a long memory may recall the Chargers lost an all-out bidding war for Cole's services that broke out between Carolina, Buffalo, and San Diego back in September of 2018. Head coach Hank Sienzant said of Cole after the game, "We think Keelan is just scratching the surface here. He was buried in Buffalo as the seldom-used fourth or fifth wide-out. But we feel he can definitely be a major contributor for us now and in the future. We're really looking forward to seeing what he can do once he has a full off-season regimen with us under his belt."
But Courtland Sutton was again the receiving star for the Chargers, catching six for 134 yards (22.3). In a major change-up, Sutton did NOT score for the Chargers, the first time he was held without a touchdown in the past eight weeks, and only the third time all year.
Daniel Jones had two turnovers in the fourth quarter, with his sack-fumble and subsequent Cardinal score allowing Arizona to tie the game, and his interception in the final seconds sealing the Cardinal win. But he was very good otherwise, completing 19 of 27 overall for 258 yards and two touchdowns. His final passer rating was 109.8, just a hair below Patrick Mahomes' 110.6, who put up 20 of 31 for 267 yards and three touchdowns, with one pick - only his second interception of the season. Mahomes was victimized by six -- SIX -- dropped passes by his receiving corps, with Antonio Callaway dropping two, and four others adding one drop apiece.
Mahomes added 42 yards on five runs (8.4) and wound up leading the Cardinals in rushing. Second to Mahomes for the Cardinals was Aaron Jones, who gained 39 yards on nine carries.
Until Jones' final pass of the game, he had a better passer rating than Mahomes, completing 19 of 26 for 258 and two touchdowns with no picks, for a 130.0 passer grade. Until Mahomes' last pass, which was a touchdown to Goodwin, Mahomes was 19 of 30 for 260 yards and two touchdowns, with one pick for a 99.3 passer rating. "For want of a nail, a war was lost" is pretty much the best way to sum this up - one play can spell the difference between a win and a loss, and it certainly did here. On Mahomes' final pass, his passer rating went from 99.3 to 110.6, while on Jones' final pass, his passer rating went from 130.0 to 109.8.
Three players caught five passes each for the Cardinals, with all of them compiling between 81 and 62 yards. Rookie Michael Gallup had 81 yards, Corey Davis 76 yards and one score, and Marquise Goodwin 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Bobby Okereke was the leading tackler for the Chargers with eight, adding one stuff. Levi Wallace had seven tackles, one pass defensed, and a forced fumble. Justin Coleman had eleven tackles to lead the Cardinals and also had that back-breaking touchdown after a lateral from Barr to score the tying touchdown. Carlton Davis had ten tackles and two passes defensed.
TEAMS IN OPPOSITION: The statistics for the game were pretty evenly matched. The Chargers had 23 first downs to the Cardinals 22 and 417 yards from scrimmage to 399 for Arizona. Both teams had two turnovers and were around 50% on third down conversions (San Diego was 6 of 13, Arizona 5 of 10). The Chargers scored ten points off the two Cardinal turnovers, the Cardinals got seven from the two San Diego ones. One big edge was held by the Chargers in a 34-26 time of possession split, but that is an over-rated stat.
SEASON TO DATE: Daniel Jones is eighth among passing qualifiers with a 109.2 passer rating. His 29 touchdown passes are fifth right now, his 9.6 touchdown percentage leads the league, and his 14.3 average yards per pass attempt is third among qualifiers.
David Montgomery is ninth in the league in rushing with 897 yards and is on pace for 1104 yards on the ground at this point. Josh Jacobs is fourth in the league in rushing with 1040 yards despite not carrying the ball for the past two weeks.
Courtland Sutton is second in receiving yards with 1285, first in average among qualifiers with 22.5, and first in touchdowns with 14.
NEXT MAN UP: The Chargers lost their best defender in Marshon Lattimore in the second quarter, and how much that contributed to the Cardinals' comeback we'll never know. But we know it didn't help the Chargers any. He'll miss the next week or two, but should suit up against the Rams in the final game of the season. Linebacker Bruce Irvin could miss the rest of the season after going down with a hyperextended elbow injury in the third quarter.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Cardinals move on to face the suddenly fearsome Raiders in Oakland, who've won two of their last three and had the 12-1 Colts on the ropes before falling, 24-17 two weeks ago. The Chargers host the 9-3 Seattle Seahawks, who due to trades and free agency, have six former Chargers on their team (running backs T.J.Walton and Mark Walton, offensive tackle Brandon Shell, defensive tackle Al Woods, and defensive backs Kareem Jackson and Joseph Addae). Shell, Jackson, and Addae will most likely start against the Chargers. Woods is a rotational piece, while Yeldon and Walton will miss the game with injuries.
Posted on 04 Apr 2021 by Hank-Chargers
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