The good, bad and ugly of the Arizona Cardinals' thrilling win

ARIZONA – The Arizona Cardinals secured a tough last-second win from kicker Chad Ryland as they defeated the Los Angeles Chargers at home, 17-15.

It was by no means a smooth or effortless performance from the Cardinals, but with their backs against the wall, Kyler Murray, James Conner and the offense put together a game-winning effort to get a much-needed win.

However, the win still highlighted some areas that this Cardinals team is sorely lacking. There are praises for what was implemented well and comments on improvements without which this team will not compete.

RB James Conner

Without a doubt, the Cardinals' offense works best on the ground, in the arms of their bulldozing running back. James Conner was spectacular in Monday night's game, rushing for 101 yards on 19 carries – a good 5.3 yards per carry.

He also caught two passes for 51 yards, the latter coming on a 33-yard scramble on a screen pass to put the Cardinals within game-winning field goal range late in the fourth. Conner was always patient and dominant, battling through a strong Chargers D-line and proving to be a reliable target for Murray late.

Defense – Nick Rallis

The Cardinals defense had trouble leaving men wide open and conceded several third downs. It certainly wasn't a dominant performance, but the plan looked creative, aside from some gaping holes in the occasional soft zone play.

Overall, the pass rush managed to keep Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert off balance as the game progressed and made critical stops in critical situations.

Cornerback Max Melton was taken advantage of for some poor coverage late, but the Rutgers rookie played a very good game overall, recording nine tackles (eight solo) and a brilliant third-down PBU in one-on-one coverage. The same went for Garrett Williams with a PBU of his own and five tackles.

The Cardinals' thin defensive front collected five tackles and hit Herbert seven times, recording three sacks. Naquan Jones, Ben Stille and Dante Stills each recorded a sack as Arizona's pass rush remains light.

As for the normally dysfunctional run defense, the Cardinals were excellent at holding down JK Dobbins, holding him to just 40 yards on 14 carries. Overall, Arizona's defense allowed just 59 yards on the ground on 22 carries – a below-average 2.7 yards per carry for Los Angeles.

This is not only a step in the right direction, but a crucial one. Forcing the opponent to become one-dimensional, even when the pass defense is poor, can only improve your chances of getting stops in critical moments, even against some of the best quarterbacks.

Stopping the run is extremely important, and the Cardinals finally seemed to be able to do that on Monday night.

Of course, it shouldn't be ignored that Herbert was able to throw for 349 yards – even though a 100-yard receiver wasn't allowed. There is still a significant need for talent development in both the secondary and D-line. But defensive coordinator Nick Rallis and his unit bent without breaking as the Cardinals held the Chargers without a touchdown and forced five field goals.

WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

This isn't an indictment of the pick, nor a claim that Harrison is a bust, or anything of the sort. But the rookie wideout was unsuccessful on Monday night, as he has been since his breakout game in Week Two. He only had three throws for six scores, going for 21 yards.

There were times when he was open and Arizona's O-line couldn't hold out long enough for Murray to find him. There were times when Murray made a bad throw. Certainly the poor production wasn't entirely Harrison's fault.

But in the fourth quarter, on second-and-10 from their own 30, a perfect pass was dropped to an open Harrison on the right sideline.

He wanted to grab the ball and had a clean shot, but the ball slipped through the rookie's hands. If it weren't for a 15-yard foul on Los Angeles, that could well have ended Arizona's hopes of a win.

It seemed like Harrison was waiting for a big hit as he was surrounded by the Chargers' stout defense. But at a critical moment, that ball needs to be caught, and he still hasn't been able to be a reliable target for Murray – regardless of the circumstances.

It's not time to overreact to Harrison yet. He'll be a good player, but Monday wasn't his night and it almost cost the Cardinals.

QB Kyler Murray

Murray got the job done on Monday, but it certainly didn't look pretty. Arizona's QB was 14 of 26 and threw for just 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The interception was poor as it was knocked down at the line of scrimmage – but an excellent play by Conner knocked the ball out of the defender's arms and Michael Wilson recovered the ball for the Cardinals.

Murray missed a few too many shots, including deep shots to Wilson and Harrison, and failed in terms of accuracy.

Still, he found a way to get the ball down the field. A brilliant 44-yard scramble for a score and engineering a game-winning 56-yard drive were a testament to his toughness and playmaking ability when the Cardinals need it most.

In fact, it wasn't a traditionally “good” box score performance from Murray, but it was a convincing performance, and he has now thrown a touchdown pass in every game this season.

Situational play prompt

Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has moments of genius, but the first three quarters of Monday night's game featured some poor situational decision-making and play design.

To his credit, he remained loyal to Conner for the most part throughout. But a direct snap on it was blown for a loss of six, and a dropped quick slant/in route to the big back in place of one of Arizona's key pass-catchers are not examples of Conner's best use.

Then came a 3rd & 1 at LA's 45. With Conner hitting the ball, Arizona instead ran two consecutive “tush push” plays, putting the ball in the hands of backup quarterback Clayton Tune instead of Murray or Conner.

Tune was stuffed both times and the Cardinals turned it over on downs. Regardless of the situation, this wasn't a winning play for Arizona, and it certainly shouldn't have been the call for back-to-back losses.

While Tune is certainly bigger than Murray, he's not nearly the weapon that should be on the field on key downs. If the Cardinals want hard-hitting short yardage runs, Conner is there for it. If they want creativity, keep Murray in the game. It's a no-brainer, and the stalled trip was entirely avoidable.

Nevertheless, Petzing delivered a solid second half and scored two great shots on goal, which ultimately made the difference in this game. Credit where credit is due.