Dante Stills headlines Cardinals D-line in Week 1 victory over Chargers

While the Arizona Cardinals’ upset win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 garnered plenty of praise for the offense under head coach Mike LaFleur and quarterback Jacoby Brissett, the defensive side of the ball had an equally standout performance in limiting the Chargers to 14 points.

Defensive lineman Dante Stills played a significant role in that, recording a huge sack to force a turnover on downs with the Chargers three yards away from the end zone trailing 10-7. The Cardinals tacked on a field goal on the ensuing drive to take a 13-7 lead into halftime.

Dante Stills gets the sack on 4th and goal!

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That play also credited Stills with a tackle, tackle for loss and a QB hit, and although those were the only traditional stats he recorded, he brought a relentless energy in 32 of Arizona’s 51 defensive snaps that contributed to the overall smothering performance by the Cardinals defensive line.

“I had a one-on-one opportunity, and I felt like I had to win,” Stills said of the play on Wolf & Luke. “It was in the red zone, so it was either score or stop them. I feel like I had a great opportunity to win that rush. … It was a great feeling.”

Stills is in his fourth season with the Cardinals after being drafted in the sixth round by the organization out of West Virginia in 2023. It was surprising to some when Stills was listed as a starter on Arizona’s depth chart over former 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson, but through one game, it has appeared to be the right decision.

To Robinson’s credit, he hurried the quarterback twice in his 19 snaps, which was tied for second on the Cardinals only behind Stills (three) and tied with Jordan Burch.

Other top performers on Arizona’s D-line include nose tackle Roy Lopez — who finished with a game-high defensive PFF grade of 89.9 — and Walter Nolen III, who applied pressure all day and even helped on a sack by drawing a triple team.

The Cardinals D-line will have its hands full again in Week 2 with the defending champion Seattle Seahawks coming into town Sunday.

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