Cardinals defense slams the door shut on Chargers in season-opening win

The Arizona Cardinals turned in a complete effort in their 26-14 season-opening win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

But while it was the offense that turned up the heat early on behind multiple scoring drives kicked off by Jeremiyah Love’s first NFL touchdown, it was Arizona’s special teams and defense that erased any lingering hope for a Chargers victory.

Allowing just one touchdown in the second half, Arizona’s defense forced a trio of punts across the final two quarters. But it was Simi Fehoko blocking a Chargers punt early on in the fourth quarter that really opened up the flood gates.

It was the first blocked punt for L.A. in the last 76 games.

Sitting on the Chargers’ third-yard line after the block, Arizona needed just two plays to find paydirt on a three-yard touchdown to Trey McBride.

A Herbert interception four plays later followed, with safety Andrew Wingard continuing to make noise in his Arizona debut. Wingard is the first player in franchise history to have two tackles for loss, an interception and forced fumble in a single game.

Dewey crashing the party

📺:CBS pic.twitter.com/6k2sHLgqgJ

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 13, 2026

And while the offense couldn’t complement the defense’s effort, it did chew up nearly five minutes of precious clock in a two-score game.

Another late turnover on downs resulted in another Arizona field goal to extend the lead even more.

Safety Budda Baker brought the boom soon after with Arizona’s third sack of the afternoon before one more turnover on downs for good measure the following drive.

Despite Arizona’s defense allowing chunk yards early on and watching L.A. score with ease on its opening drive, the Cardinals bounced back with a fumble and turnover on downs the next two drives.

Both of those stops ended up in points the other way for Arizona, which knocked in a pair of field goals to take a 13-7 lead into halftime.

Arizona’s defense entered the season with a magnifying glass on it following a disastrous 2025 under Nick Rallis. And while there’s plenty to clean up ahead of a Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks, it’s a step in the right direction.

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