Arizona Cardinals pull off the biggest upset of NFL Week 1 and take down the Chargers in Los Angeles
The Arizona Cardinals opened the new NFL season with a result that immediately changed the tone of the conversation surrounding a team many had considered a candidate for another difficult year before the competition began. On Sunday, September 13, 2026, Arizona defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 26:14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, doing so as the biggest underdog of Week 1 according to the market spread, which stood at around nine and a half points before the game. According to the official NFL Game Center, the Cardinals led after every quarter and finished the contest with 26 points, while the Chargers remained at 14. The victory gave Mike LaFleur an ideal start to his first tenure as a head coach, while Arizona looked more organized, patient and efficient than the favored home team. After a 2025 season that ended with a 3-14 record, such a performance represented considerably more than an ordinary Week 1 victory.
According to the Associated Press report, LaFleur became the first Cardinals coach to win his debut since Don Coryell in 1973. Adding further symbolism was the fact that the game was played at SoFi Stadium, where LaFleur had spent the previous three seasons working as the Los Angeles Rams' offensive coordinator before Arizona appointed him head coach in February 2026. AP states that LaFleur brought 16 new assistant coaches to Arizona, while the roster added 18 new players compared with the previous season. Such a scale of change often means that a team needs time to develop cohesion, but the opposite happened against the Chargers: from the opening offensive series, the Cardinals looked like a team with a clear plan and disciplined division of responsibilities.
Brissett played calmly and without an interception
At the center of the victory was Jacoby Brissett, the experienced quarterback who received an improved contract this summer after his status as the primary starter had been the subject of speculation during the spring. Arizona officially announced in late July that it had agreed to a new contract with Brissett for the 2026 season, and that move received strong confirmation in his first official appearance. According to the NFL, Brissett completed 27 of 37 passes for 277 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He did not force risky throws, got rid of the ball quickly and controlled the rhythm of the offense for most of the game. Arizona recorded 393 total yards, while the Chargers were held to 268, which clearly enough shows that the result was not simply the consequence of a few random big plays.
The NFL's analysis of the game particularly highlights the balance of LaFleur's offense. The Cardinals had 34 rushing attempts and 37 Brissett pass attempts, preventing the Chargers' defense from focusing on only one type of play. Brissett most often targeted tight end Trey McBride, who caught nine passes for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Kendrick Bourne finished with eight receptions for 75 yards. Marvin Harrison Jr. had a more modest statistical impact, but Arizona did not lose its offensive structure because of that, nor did it begin unnecessarily forcing the ball toward a single star. Most importantly for a team that had often played from unfavorable positions a season earlier, the offense did not give the ball away to the opponent.
The running game also played a major role. Tyler Allgeier led the Cardinals with 61 yards on 17 attempts, while rookie Jeremiyah Love collected 41 yards on 11 carries and scored the first touchdown of his NFL career. Love was the third overall pick in the 2026 draft, and the Cardinals' official website states that this made him the highest-drafted running back in the league since Saquon Barkley in 2018. His status for Week 1 had been uncertain because of an ankle injury from the preseason, but against the Chargers he not only played, he also opened the scoring with important points. That is particularly encouraging for Arizona because LaFleur can now combine Allgeier's experience with the explosiveness of one of the most valuable rookies in the entire class.
Arizona struck first, the Chargers responded, but never took control
The Cardinals immediately showed at the start that they had not come to California simply to defend. They turned their first offensive possession into a touchdown after a 70-yard drive, with Love finishing the series on a five-yard run for a 7:0 lead. The Chargers responded on their first possession: Omarion Hampton broke through the defense for an eight-yard touchdown and tied the game at 7:7. However, that response was not the beginning of the favorite's domination, but the final moment in which the score was tied. Arizona spent the rest of the game in the lead.
Kicker Chad Ryland then became one of the key figures of the game. In the second quarter he made two field goals and took Arizona into halftime with a 13:7 lead, although one attempt from 54 yards struck the upright. An important defensive play came near the end of the first half, when Dante Stills brought down Justin Herbert on fourth down near the end zone and prevented the Chargers from scoring. Arizona then used the remaining time to increase its advantage once again. Such sequences, in which the defense stops the opponent in a high-risk situation and the offense immediately follows by scoring points, showed just how much more efficient the team was in crucial moments.
Ryland made another field goal in the third quarter for a 16:7 lead before the Chargers produced their best play of the second half. Herbert found Ladd McConkey for an eight-yard touchdown pass, bringing Los Angeles within just 16:14. According to the NFL, McConkey finished the game with five receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown and was by far the home quarterback's most productive target. However, his appearance ended after a heavy hit in the third quarter, after which the team removed him from the game. The following day, Jim Harbaugh said McConkey was "day-to-day" because of a rib injury, meaning that his status would be evaluated from day to day.
A blocked punt turned the game
Although the margin was only two points heading into the final quarter, the finish showed how much better prepared Arizona was to capitalize on the opponent's mistakes. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Simi Fehoko broke through the Chargers' protection and blocked JK Scott's punt deep in Los Angeles territory. According to the NFL, the Cardinals took over at the three-yard line, and only two plays later Brissett found McBride for a three-yard touchdown. The extra point increased the lead to 23:14 and created a two-possession margin for the first time, completely changing the pressure on Herbert's offense.
The Chargers then tried to quickly make the game competitive again, but Herbert's deep pass was intercepted by safety Andrew Wingard. The NFL's analysis emphasizes that Arizona then stopped Los Angeles twice more on fourth down, effectively ending the final comeback attempts. With 2:33 remaining, Ryland made a 49-yard field goal for the final score of 26:14. Arizona therefore scored ten points in the fourth quarter, while the Chargers were held scoreless. The finish was an example of so-called complementary football: the special teams created a short field, the offense turned it into a touchdown, and the defense immediately followed by taking the ball away.
The statistics provide further explanation for why Arizona maintained control. According to the AP report, the Cardinals possessed the ball for more than 37 minutes, while the Chargers had it for fewer than 23, with a 72-to-51 advantage in plays run. Los Angeles converted only two of eight third downs and, according to the NFL's analysis, failed on all three of its fourth-down attempts. Such inefficiency is particularly costly against a team that does not turn the ball over and systematically consumes time with short and intermediate passes. Although Arizona had problems with penalties and did not turn every good drive into a touchdown, ball control and the absence of turnovers neutralized much of those shortcomings.
Herbert and the Chargers' new offense fell short of expectations
For the Chargers, the defeat is particularly unpleasant because of the expectations surrounding the new offense under coordinator Mike McDaniel. The club entered the season after two consecutive 11-win campaigns and two straight playoff appearances under Jim Harbaugh, while the Chargers' official website openly emphasized before Week 1 the ambition of reaching the playoffs for a third consecutive season and competing for the top of the AFC West. Herbert spoke during the preparation period about a faster and freer offense, but against Arizona the offensive structure failed to find continuity after a promising opening series. The favorite looked increasingly nervous late in the game, and the problems accumulated precisely in the moments when the offense needed to speed up.
Herbert finished with 17 completions on 27 attempts, 209 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Cardinals' defense sacked him three times, with one of those sacks coming on fourth down near the end zone in the second quarter. Los Angeles collected only 81 rushing yards, so it failed to create the balance needed to take pressure off the quarterback. Hampton scored a touchdown but finished with only 43 rushing yards on 12 attempts. When McConkey left because of injury, Herbert was without his most reliable target, and throughout the fourth quarter the Chargers failed to find the rhythm necessary for a serious comeback.
After the game, Harbaugh admitted that the team had not played the way it wanted and emphasized the need for a response in the next round. The loss also carried personal statistical significance for him: according to NBC Sports, he had been 6-0 in NFL season openers as a head coach before this game. At the same time, it should not be overlooked that one game does not determine an entire season. The Chargers still have a quarterback around whom they can build a serious offense, but the game against Arizona showed that the transition to McDaniel's system will not automatically solve the problems with pressure on Herbert, converting third and fourth downs, and maintaining offensive stability late in games.
LaFleur's start changes expectations, but the season has only just begun
For the Cardinals, the victory is also important because of the way it was achieved. The team did not depend on one spectacular individual play, but received contributions from the offense, defense and special teams. Brissett led a safe offense, McBride was a dominant target in the middle of the field, Love scored a touchdown in his debut, Fehoko blocked a punt, Wingard intercepted a crucial pass, and Ryland made four field goals. Such a distribution of responsibility is particularly valuable for a team that finished 2025 with three victories and lost the final nine games of the season. Week 1 cannot confirm a complete turnaround, but it can show that the team's fundamental mechanisms are functioning.
In his first game, LaFleur did not try to prove himself with excessively aggressive play calls. Instead, Arizona used pre-snap motion, short and intermediate passes, controlled rushing and enough variation to prevent the Chargers' defense from predicting the direction of the attack. After the game, the NFL particularly highlighted Brissett's efficiency and the balance between rushing and passing. That is an important signal for the remainder of the season because the veteran does not need to be the quarterback with the largest number of spectacular plays if the system around him regularly creates favorable situations on second and third down. His greatest value in this game was his decision-making in avoiding mistakes that would have given the Chargers a short field and an opportunity to come back.
Particular attention in the coming weeks will be focused on whether Arizona can maintain that level against stronger defenses and within its own division. According to the Cardinals' official schedule, the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning Super Bowl champions, visit Arizona in Week 2 on September 20. That will be a significantly different test for LaFleur's offense and an early indication of how much the victory in Inglewood was the result of genuine progress and how much it reflected the specific circumstances of Week 1. The Chargers play again at SoFi Stadium on the same day, where they host the Las Vegas Raiders. For Harbaugh's team, that game will carry additional importance because a loss to a divisional opponent immediately after an unexpected opening defeat could create serious pressure at a very early stage of the season.
The injury situation will also be important. After additional examinations, McConkey was described as a player whose rib injury would be monitored from day to day, while Harbaugh said that safety Elijah Molden was in a similar status because of a hamstring problem. Arizona lost safety Kitan Crawford during the game, as he was carted off the field, and available information at the beginning of the week cited an ankle injury and uncertain status for Week 2. Because injury reports change during the week, the players' final statuses will become clearer only after official practices and the release of the final injury reports.
The biggest message from Week 1, therefore, is not merely that the Cardinals defeated the favorite, but that they did it in a way that can be repeated: long possessions, no turnovers, a balanced offense and a defense that stopped the opponent in crucial situations. According to market expectations before the game, Arizona was supposed to be one of the teams with the lowest chances of winning in Week 1. Instead, LaFleur's team left Inglewood with a 1-0 record and one of the most impressive results of the season's opening weekend. The Chargers, on the other hand, received an early reminder that favorite status and a quality roster mean little if a team loses crucial battles on third and fourth down and allows the opponent to control time of possession.
Sources:
- NFL Game Center β official score, quarter-by-quarter scoring, location and basic game information (link)
- NFL β Week 1 analysis, Brissett's statistics, McBride's statistics, Herbert's performance and key plays in the fourth quarter (link)
- ABC15 / Associated Press β game report, context of LaFleur's debut, flow of the game and team statistics (link)
- Arizona Cardinals β official announcement of Jacoby Brissett's new contract and his status ahead of the season (link)
- Arizona Cardinals β official Jeremiyah Love profile and information about his selection in the 2026 NFL draft (link)
- Los Angeles Chargers β official Week 1 preview and context of two consecutive 11-win seasons under Jim Harbaugh (link)
- Arizona Cardinals β official 2026 season schedule and timing of the Week 2 game against Seattle (link)
- NBC Sports β update on Ladd McConkey's rib injury and the status of other injured Chargers players (link)