We got our first glance of the Kyler Murray/Kliff Kingbury pairing on Thursday night as the Cardinals brushed past the Chargers, 17-13.
PFF's ReFocused series features immediate takeaways from the two analysts who graded the game live. The two offer a detailed breakdown of the game's most notable performances before the grades and advanced stats are reviewed and finalized by Senior Analysts.
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Final Score
Arizona Cardinals 17, Los Angeles Chargers 13
Los Angeles Chargers
Austin Ekeler was the star of the Chargers' offense, leading the team in rushing and second in receiving. He bounced back from an early fumble on a really nice play by Jordan Hicks and demonstrated explosiveness with the ball in his hands.
Rookie linebacker Drue Tranquill made his mark on the defensive side of the ball. He was able to make some nice stops, and he logged an impressive interception, backing up what we saw from him in college.
Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray‘s debut only lasted one drive, but he was able to show why he went first overall in this year's draft. He was able to get the ball out quick with great accuracy. His only incompletion was on a scramble from the pocket, and it only fell incomplete because his receiver stepped out of bounds.
On the interior defensive line, Terrell McClain had a good game for the Cardinals' defense that needs quality players at his position. He showed some nice burst off the line and shot past Chargers offensive linemen with ease at times.
Los Angeles Chargers
Sam Tevi had a game to forget at right tackle for the Chargers. He allowed multiple pressures off the edge, which is worrying for a team that has struggled to stabilize the position for the last couple of seasons.
Reggie Howard didn't have much of an impact during the game. He didn't make a single tackle and also had a missed tackle. His only bright spot was batted pass that still managed to be completed for a first down.
Arizona Cardinals
Offensive tackle Rees Odhiambo had a poor night on the offensive line. He gave up a sack and was beaten multiple times throughout the game.
Dennis Gardeck needs to make plays in order to make the Cardinals 53-man roster, and he fell short of doing that in this one. He was caught out of position several times on big plays by the Chargers offense. The good news for him is that he has three more games to try to make an impact.
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