The Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers don’t play very often, as they are in opposing conferences. The two will meet for the first time since 2018 this coming Sunday.
The Chargers will be looking to get back into the AFC wild card race, while the Cardinals are nearing the point where they are playing for pride. Many of the fans in Arizona are already speculating if a certain Super Bowl-winning coach will be coaching in the desert next season.
The Chargers lead the all-time series between these two teams 10-4. It’s an obviously small sample size given their lack of playing one another. The Chargers are 4-1 against the Cardinals in their past five meetings.
Let’s take a look at the last time these three teams played one another.
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2018: Chargers 45, Cardinals 10
Cardinals fans will undoubtedly remember this infamous season that lead to the team earning the No. 1 overall pick, which would eventually lead to them selecting Kyler Murray.
The Cardinals had one of the worst offenses in NFL history and were consistently blown out, with this game being no exception.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 10-0 lead in this one and then failed to score again. Rookie quarterback Josh Rosen struggled mightily on the day with just 105 passing yards and an interception. He did find Larry Fitzgerald for an opening-drive touchdown.
Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers tied the NFL record for consecutive completions in a game, completing his first 25 passes. It was a very poor showing from the Cardinals defense, surrendering 45 points on the day.
Rivers went 28-for-29 for 259 passing yards and three touchdowns on the day. The leading receiver on the day was Keenan Allen with 72 receiving yards and a score. Melvin Gordon also found the end zone twice.
It was telling for the type of day it was offensively, but the leader in receiving yards on the season was Christian Kirk, who had just 41 yards.
2014: Cardinals 18, Chargers 17
2014 was a special season for the Cardinals until Carson Palmer tore his ACL in midseason. The team was undefeated with him in the lineup and this was their first of many wins with him under center.
It was definitely a bit of an ugly game offensively, but the Cardinals offense clutched up late with a touchdown pass to John Brown with just over two minutes left to play.
Palmer had a nice outing with 304 passing yards and two touchdown passes. The leading receiver on the day was Michael Floyd, who had five receptions for 119 yards.
After scoring just six points all game, the Cardinals offense rallied to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one to the aforementioned Brown and another to running back Stepfan Taylor.
The Chargers offense struggled too, as Rivers had just one passing touchdown and an interception. Tight end Antonio Gates had a nice day with six receptions for 81 yards.
2010: Chargers 41, Cardinals 10
Continuing on our trend of Cardinals blowouts, this was an ugly one in San Diego.
The Cardinals starting quarterback on the day was Max Hall, who was a mere 8-of-14 passing for 82 yards. Larry Fitzgerald accounted for 56 of those passing yards.
Rivers had 241 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Antonio Gates had an absolute monster game with 144 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions.
It was obviously not a fun day for the Cardinals, who were in the middle of a tough stretch at quarterback between Kurt Warner and Carson Palmer.
