TEMPE – The Arizona Cardinals achieved what they sought out to do on Monday Night Football behind a 17-15 win over the Los Angeles Chargers that puts head coach Jonathan Gannon’s squad just one game out from .500. But for all the good the team saw out of the primetime win, Marvin Harrison Jr.’s inconsistent stat line remains a topic for discussion.

Harrison didn’t contribute much to the team’s 326 yards behind three catches (six targets) for 21 yards as he continues to search for his second career NFL game with at least 65 yards. His 130-yard, two-touchdown showing seems like a distant memory at this rate.

But for how much scrutiny Harrison’s getting from an on-paper standpoint, his head coach and offensive coordinator aren’t concerned with the rookie’s place in the offense seven weeks in.

“I think he’s doing some things extremely well. And then (offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Drew Terrell) and myself, we give him things to be cognizant of throughout the week,” Gannon said. “He’s very self-aware and consistent so he typically improves those things. He’s seven games in. It’s a learning experience for him, too. The reps that he’s getting, he’ll continue to learn and get better.

“We’ll find ways to keep getting him the ball, but the touchdown to (Greg Dortch), that happens because they’re doubling him. Am I like panic alert that Marvin didn’t go off last night? No. He’s impacting the game in positive ways to help us win.”

Gannon isn’t oblivious to the fact that Arizona needs to work on getting their 6-foot-4 playmaker the rock more, regardless of what defenses are doing.

But if defenses are going to have extra eyes on him — which has been the case quite a bit so far in 2024 — the Cardinals have to utilize the mismatches elsewhere on the field. Just like they did on Dortch’s TD snag.

Arizona Cardinals OC Drew Petzing reflects on rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr.’s MNF showing: pic.twitter.com/1fFsD46iDE

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) October 23, 2024

“People are very aware of him. The first play of (Monday’s win) was going to him,” Gannon told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Tuesday. “I probably shouldn’t even say that. But they cloud him, so the ball goes to (Trey McBride). They knocked it down, but the defense has a say, too.

“If they’re going to continue to put assets to him, other people have to step up and make plays.”

Concerned with Marvin Harrison Jr.’s effort?

There is warranted concern when it comes to getting Harrison the ball more.

The name of the game is to get your best players involved.

But as far as Harrison’s mental space while he and the team try to achieve just that hasn’t raised any red flags for Gannon.

He confirmed that thinking when asked about wideout’s effort after the TV broadcast picked up Harrison jogging during a couple of plays.

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Arizona Cardinals pass rusher Dennis Gardeck suffered a season-ending ACL injury Monday in a win against the Los Angeles Chargers, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo first reported.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed the news on Tuesday. It is not clear which knee Gardeck injured on Monday.

Gardeck, who leads Arizona with three sacks through seven games, tore his right ACL in 2020, the second ACL tear to that knee.

That ended a career-high seven-sack season, and even though Gardeck played in 14 games the next season, it took the undrafted player out of Sioux Falls College time to get back to himself. He didn’t record a sack in 2021 and added just one the next year before turning the production up a notch last year, posting six sacks and a career-high 46 tackles in the first year under new head coach Jonathan Gannon.

As an undrafted rookie, Gardeck made the Cardinals’ roster as a special teamer and off-ball linebacker in 2018 under the Steve Wilks regime but was converted to an outside linebacker under Kliff Kingsbury and then-defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

He is a four-time captain (2020-23) for Arizona.

Cardinals pass rush gets more thin with Dennis Gardeck’s injury

Arizona lost expected starting outside linebacker BJ Ojulari before the season, leaving Gardeck and Zaven Collins to fill in.

Gardeck did his part before getting hurt with his team-leading three sacks, a forced fumble and six tackles for loss.

Collins has recorded a sack and four tackles for loss, which is second on the team.

Next up in the pecking order is midseason pickup Julian Okwara and 2022 seventh-round pick Jesse Luketa.

The Cardinals will also hope their interior group can create more pass rush to help the edge rushers. Tackle Dante Stills is second on the team with two sacks, as is Naquan Jones. both have played a limited amount of sacks and have seen more playing time since injuries to starters Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols, who are out for the season.

Arizona also is on the cusp of debuting rookie first-round pick Darius Robinson, whose practice window was opened on Oct. 9 after he started the season on injured reserve because of a calf injury.

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Kicker Chad Ryland hit a 32-yard go-ahead field goal in the final seconds, and the Arizona Cardinals escaped a defensive back-and-forth with the Los Angeles Chargers to steal a Monday Night Football game in the final seconds, 17-15.

The Chargers had taken a 15-14 lead with Cameron Dicker’s fifth field goal in five tries and 1:54 left in the game. Los Angeles powered through more than eight minutes of the game clock in the fourth on a 15-play drive to leave Arizona with little time to work with.

But Arizona quickly moved the ball, taking advantage of a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty on the Chargers after a Marvin Harrison Jr. drop to set up the Ryland chip shot.

James Conner showed up with a 33-yard reception on the drive on top of his 101 rushing yards on 19 carries for the night.

Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray didn’t have the cleanest of games but put together a trio of strong drives. Early in the fourth quarter with Arizona trailing 9-7, he felt the pressure looking right and spun left before realizing the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t contain the edge. He then beat linebacker Junior Colson to the sideline and scooted for a 44-yard touchdown run to put the Cardinals ahead, 14-9.

KYLER DOWN THE SIDELINE FOR A 44-YARD TD.

?: #LACvsAZ on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/K3eZnbdIuQ

— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2024

Murray engineered a few strong offensive possessions for Arizona, but that was enough to maintain a lead against a Los Angeles team that only got to the red zone once and lived on the leg of Dicker.

The Chargers kicker hit two field goals in the second quarter, one in the third and another two in the fourth. He hit a 59-yard make for his first attempt of the night.

Arizona, meanwhile, got off to a rough start. Murray was interception on the first possession of the game by defensive lineman Teair Tart, but running back James Conner punched the ball out from behind and the Cardinals recovered before ultimately punting. They punted away their third possession but finally got a rhythm behind 42 rushing yards from Conner on the fourth possession of the game.

That set up Murray for a 5-yard pass to receiver Greg Dortch to put Arizona ahead 7-3 with 5:40 left in the first half.

Los Angeles kicked a 50-yard field goal just before halftime, and the Cardinals’ first touch of the second half died when backup quarterback Clayton Tune failed to convert from third- and forth-and-1 on quarterback sneaks. The Chargers took a 9-7 lead on another field goal to follow before Murray’s pulled out his 44-yard run on the fourth play of the next Arizona possession.

Murray finished with six rushes for 64 yards to complement Conner’s busy night on the ground.

The quarterback completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, a touchdown and the pick.

Meanwhile, the Chargers moved the ball with more success before their possessions died. Justin Herbert threw for 349 yards, but Arizona controlled Los Angeles’ run game, holding the Chargers to 59 total yards on the ground.

Arizona finished with 181 rushing yards.

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TEMPE — ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham said his postgame comments on the Sun Devils’ kicking game were “unacceptable” because of the negative impact it had on kicker Ian Hershey.

“Just when I realized it was affecting a kid,” Dillingham said Monday of when he decided an apology on X was necessary. “I’ve never in my career done anything that’s had a negative effect on a kid, and I’ve had some really bad seasons, really bad play, and absolutely failed him.”

Hershey is 7 of 12 on field goal attempts this season after missing both tries in the fourth quarter in Saturday’s 24-14 loss to Cincinnati.

Tryouts will still happen, Dillingham clarified. He said if someone proves himself good enough, he’ll be added to the roster. The team will perform a thorough vetting process to make sure participants are eligible to make the team.

“We got a bunch of emails (which) shows the interest in the position,” Dillingham said.

Kenny Dillingham apologized for his postgame comments about ASU’s kicking game. He said there’s a lot of interest for the open tryouts and they’re working to vet through all of it and will add someone who’s good enough. pic.twitter.com/mct4dSK9Ny

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 21, 2024

The head coach said he has confidence in the three kickers already on the roster, including redshirt freshman Carston Kieffer and graduate senior Parker Lewis. Kieffer is 0 of 1 on career field goals while Lewis hasn’t attempted one since 2021.

Dillingham said he met with the current group for 30 minutes Monday morning.

“At the end of the day we have three guys who are collegiate kickers that are really good. They are,” Dillingham emphasized. “And we gotta do a better job as a staff with them to get them more confident … I’m excited for those guys moving forward.”

Dillingham gives injury updates on ASU QB Sam Leavitt, CB Javan Robinson, WR Xavier Guillory

After the ASU offense was much less potent with backup quarterback Jeff Sims in for an injured Sam Leavitt, Dillingham said he’s hopeful the Sun Devils will have Leavitt back coming out of the bye week.

“I would say it’s 50-50 if he’s gonna return, maybe 60-40 that he won’t. We’re just still in that stage where we don’t (know),” Dillingham said. “The next week will be telling.”

He later said the bye week will be used to better adjust the offense around Sims so if Leavitt can’t go yet, the offense is better suited to the backup.

Top outside cornerback Javan Robinson, who suffered a shoulder injury in Saturday’s loss and had his arm in a sling, is still getting tests done as of Monday.

Dillingham confirmed wide receiver Xavier Guillory tweaked his hamstring in practice last week and was later ruled out before the game, hurting the receiver depth more than it already was due to Malik McClain redshirting.

He was hopeful Guillory, who made 20-plus yard plays in the Kansas and Utah games, would be back out of the bye.

Former Arizona State Sun Devil and current 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall made his NFL debut Sunday, 50 days after he was shot through the chest during an attempted robbery in San Francisco.

Pearsall finished with three receptions for 21 yards on five targets as the Kansas City Chiefs topped the 49ers 28-18.

With 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings out with a hip injury and Deebo Samuel active but under the weather, it was important for San Francisco to get Pearsall into the lineup alongside fellow former Sun Devil receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Samuel played just four snaps Sunday before being ruled out with an illness and Aiyuk later went down late in the second quarter with a knee injury and did not return.

The No. 31 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Pearsall was targeted for the first time with 1:35 left in the second quarter but former Perry High School quarterback Brock Purdy threw well over Pearsall’s head.

On the very next play, Purdy found Pearsall for the rookie’s first career reception, a six-yard completion.

First career reception for @S1ickSzn ?

? #KCvsSF on FOX
NFL+ // pic.twitter.com/iaaAdXeQyY

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 20, 2024

Aiyuk’s knee injury came just moments later. The former Sun Devil was carted off the field just moments after making a brief stop in the Medical Evaluation Tent.

Not good.. Aiyuk with the nasty leg injury. #KCvsSF pic.twitter.com/Ot6sAeng4N

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) October 20, 2024

Brandon Aiyuk now has been carted to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/oakOEAhS60

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 20, 2024

Early in the fourth quarter, Purdy threw incomplete to Pearsall again, this time underthrowing the former Corona Del Sol standout.

On the 49ers’ final drive of the game, Purdy connected with Pearsall for a nine-yard gain on an out route.

Ricky Pearsall with a good catch on an out route for a 1st down. #FTTB #49ers pic.twitter.com/LMC9gb353a

— Stay Faithful (@StayFaithfulVIP) October 20, 2024

Pearsall’s third catch of the day came four plays later for a six-yard gain to set up a Purdy rushing touchdown. The 49ers then went for two, but Purdy threw incomplete to Pearsall.

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Open tryouts at kicker are coming Monday for Arizona State students, head coach Kenny Dillingham said after a 24-14 loss at Cincinnati on Saturday.

ASU kicker Ian Hershey is now 7 of 12 on field goals this season, after he missed both attempts on the Sun Devils’ final drives in the loss.

While the second kick likely wouldn’t have made a difference against Cincinnati, the first would’ve made it a one-possession game with six minutes left.

Earlier in the season, he had an extra point get blocked due to not enough lift, leading to redshirt freshman and Tempe native Carston Kieffer getting a crack at it.

Keiffer has gone 0-for-1 on field goals and has a missed extra point.

“Our kicking game’s atrocious, so if you can kick and you’re at Arizona State, email me,” Dillingham told reporters postgame. “We gotta find somebody who can make a field goal.”

He said kicking questions have greatly impacted his game management, especially late.

The Sun Devils have gone for it on fourth down inside opponents’ 40-yard line when the game situation hasn’t necessitated it on at least three occasions, including twice in the win over Utah.

Dillingham said he has to do a better job of putting his kicker in the right headspace to perform while also noting that he needs players on the field who can get the job done.

He said the team will use social media to advertise the Monday tryouts, which will be open only to students enrolled at ASU.

For the second year in a row, Phoenix Suns superstars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant both fell in ESPN’s NBA Rank.

After Booker cracked ESPN’s top 10 in 2022-23, he fell to No. 11 last season and dropped again to No. 15 this year.

It was simply about team performance, because there were no obvious signs of a dip in his play, writes Dave McMenamin.

His ranking has regressed ever so slightly because of team success as he went from putting up 40-point games in the 2021 Finals to getting swept out in the first round last year. But at 27 years old he is just scratching the surface of his prime.

Booker played in 68 games last season and averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 49.2% from the field.

Durant also dropped from No. 7 to No. 9 in ESPN’s annual rankings.

Why? It’s about the rise of others, according to McMenamin.

While he could have been dinged for the Suns’ underwhelming playoff performance, it’s hard to peg the first-round loss on him after he averaged 26.8 points on 55/42/82 shooting splits against Minnesota in the four-game series. He showed off his sustained excellence all over again during the Paris Olympics as the team’s third-leading scorer, behind Stephen Curry and LeBron James.

Durant played in 75 games last season (his most since 2018-19) and averaged 27.1 points, 5.0 assists and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 52.3% from the field.

Meanwhile, Bradley Beal fell all the way to No. 70 overall after placing 37th last year.

Beal missed 29 games last season due to back, ankle, nose, hamstring and finger injuries.

McMenamin wrote Beal’s fall in the rankings was solely due to his lack of availability.

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Beal has now missed 130 games because of injury — which is more than Anthony Davis (120) and in the neighborhood of Kawhi Leonard (161) — without taking the hit to his reputation the way those two did. This plummet in the rankings is directly tied to his recent unreliability. If he can stay on the court and help the Suns realize their potential, he, too, will rise again.

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Inconsistencies have been the biggest reason why the Cardinals’ 2-4 start has been so frustrating, Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort said Friday.

Ossenfort told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke the Cardinals have had good moments, but it’s been rare for all three phases to come together for a full game.

“We have to get back to executing on our end, taking care of the things we can control and really ironing out those inconsistencies,” Ossenfort said. “When we play three phases complementary, we’ve shown that we can win close games … and we can compete with anyone at a high level.

“But when we don’t do those things, things are gonna go the wrong way, and we found that out two of the last three weeks.”

General manager Monti Ossenfort told @WolfandLuke the Cardinals can correct a lot of their mistakes, giving him reason to believe a turnaround is coming. pic.twitter.com/wkwYA1fVOu

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 18, 2024

The general manager pointed to issues such as pre-snap penalties and turnovers as areas Arizona can correct, especially as the schedule starts to get easier following a grueling first six opponents.

Kyler Murray, James Conner and Greg Dortch each lost a fumble for the final three drives during the 34-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Plus, the team committed a season-high 13 turnovers, seven of which came pre-snap.

Exploratory talks ongoing for Cardinals ahead of NFL trade deadline

The Nov. 5 NFL trade deadline is just a few weeks away, and the Cardinals have a chance to address some needs given the team’s injury situation.

Ossenfort, however, said most of the discussions taking place over the weeks leading up to the deadline typically don’t ever lead to anything concrete.

Although this week has featured several trades, including the New York Jets acquiring Davante Adams, Ossenfort expects most of the talks will go up to the week of the deadline.

He gave no indication as to how active the Cardinals will be, calling the deadline more of a conceptual thing whereas the draft and free agency can be more impactful.

“Maybe there will be more activity this year, but I think it’s one small part of the league year where there’s a chance to add somebody to your team,” Ossenfort said.

Welcome to the NBA, Bronny.

In the fourth quarter of the Phoenix Suns’ preseason finale against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant blocked Lakers’ Bronny James on a layup attempt, but was whistled for the foul.

Needless to say, the crowd at Footprint Center — and Durant for that matter — did not abide.

KD tried to block Bronny ?

Suns challenged the foul but were unsuccessful ? pic.twitter.com/9UlqVRbJVd

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 18, 2024

Durant was adamant that it was a clean block and Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer ultimately challenged the call.

The challenge deemed unsuccessful, and Bronny missed both free throws.

Later on, Bronny was called for his first NBA flagrant foul in a play involving Phoenix’s Jalen Bridges, adding to the list of Bronny’s “Welcome to the NBA” moments from Thursday’s preseason game.

BRONNY JAMES’ FIRST NBA FLAGRANT FOUL ?pic.twitter.com/J7sJcgpF13

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 18, 2024

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TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon presented good news for his team’s offensive line, saying Thursday that right tackle Jonah Williams has a “good chance” to return this season.

Williams, an offseason free agent signee, suffered a knee injury in Week 1 at the Buffalo Bills and landed on injured reserve.

The Cardinals had since lost right guard Will Hernandez to a season-ending knee injury, leading to shuffling along the right side of the line. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Oct. 2 Williams’ season outlook was uncertain.

“(Williams is) doing extremely well,” Gannon said.

“He’s in there with me in the morning. He gets in there early, gets his stuff done and comes back multiple times. He’s doing well. He’s positive. He’s making good strides.”

Kelvin Beachum has filled in at right tackle in place of Williams. Trystan Colon and Isaiah Adams received reps at right guard on Sunday at the Green Bay Packers, and Adams also slotted in at left guard when Evan Brown left with an ankle issue.

Williams’ timetable remains unclear.

Cardinals injury updates for Bilal Nichols, Matt Prater

The Cardinals placed defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (neck) and kicker Matt Prater (knee) on injured reserve this week.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Nichols was done for the season, and Gannon confirmed the news Thursday. The Cardinals have lost both free-agent defensive line additions Nichols and Justin Jones (triceps) for the season.

“He’s been having a little bit of a stinger issue, so we ran a bunch of tests and it just kind of makes sense to give him some rest here,” Gannon said. “It hurts. They obviously had big roles for us, two starters, but the other guys will step in and pick up the slack.”

Prater’s injury, which cost him the previous two games, is not expected to end his season.

Gannon called it a short-term reserve stint for the 40-year-old.

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