GLENDALE, Ariz. — Cameron Dicker did all he could Monday night at State Farm Stadium.
In the end, it took more than five field goals for the Chargers to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, but that’s all they could manage and they dropped a 17-15 decision. Dicker kicked field goals of 59, 50, 47, 28 and 40 yards, but the Chargers couldn’t hang on to a 15-14 lead in the closing minutes.
Quarterback Justin Herbert drove the Chargers from their own 1-yard line to the Cardinals’ 22 before Dicker was summoned to put them ahead 15-14 with 1:54 remaining in a back-and-forth game that featured plenty of opportunities for either team to pull out a hard-earned victory.
Aided by a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty against rookie cornerback Cam Hart, the Cardinals drove for a winning, 32-yard field goal from Chad Ryland as time expired. Hart was penalized for a hit along the sidelines on an incomplete third-down pass.
Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray had exploited the Chargers’ overzealous pass rush, turning a simple scramble play into a 44-yard sprint to the end zone, propelling the Cardinals back into the lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Murray easily outran first Khalil Mack and then Junior Colson.
Once he jetted past Colson, there was only green grass ahead.
Considering the Chargers’ second-half scoring troubles, it seemed Arizona’s 14-9 lead might be safe. After all, the Chargers hadn’t scored a second-half touchdown since scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter of their season-opening, 22-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders back on Sept. 8.
The Chargers were outscored 16-3 in the second half of their 23-16 victory last week over the Denver Broncos. To be fair, they built a 23-0 lead going into the fourth quarter against the Broncos and their offense downshifted into more of a ball-control mode for the final period.
The first half Monday promised so much for the Chargers, but it delivered only a pair of long-distance field goals from Dicker, and they trailed 7-6 at halftime. Dicker set a career-best and also tied a franchise record with a 59-yard field goal, and he also hit from 50 yards on the final play of the half.
Otherwise, the opening minutes were a case of the what-ifs for the Chargers.
As in, what if Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart hadn’t fumbled after intercepting a pass from Murray that ticked off the hands of Chargers outside linebacker Mack and ricocheted to him? The Chargers would have had the ball deep in Arizona territory early in the first quarter.
As in, what if Chargers wide receiver Jalen Reagor hadn’t fumbled the ball into the end zone after a 42-yard pass play from Justin Herbert? The Chargers would have had the ball at the Cardinals’ 2-yard line with a chance to take a first-quarter lead, but instead came up empty on a promising drive.
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As in, what if the Chargers had been able to tackle Arizona running back James Conner and prevent him from reeling off big gain after big gain during the Cardinals’ only productive possession of the half? Instead, the Chargers took a 7-3 lead on Murray’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Greg Dortch.
The Chargers were only effective in a two-minute drill to end the half because of the strength of Dicker’s leg. He booted a 50-yard field goal to bring the Chargers within 7-6 as time expired. Dicker improved his long-distance accuracy to 4 for 5 from beyond 50 yards this season.
Dicker’s previous career high was 55 yards, set last season.
His previous best this season was 53 yards.
The Chargers took a 9-7 lead into the fourth quarter thanks to Dicker’s 28-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining in the third. Again, the Chargers had a promising drive suddenly go haywire with a false start charged to rookie lineman Joe Alt and a sack after the pocket collapsed on Herbert.
More to come on this story.