5 reasons why the Los Angeles Chargers lost 17-15 against Arizona Cardinals in Week 7

The Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers finished out Week 7 of the NFL season. Unlike the other Monday Night Football game, which had a lot of points, both teams had trouble making explosive plays. The 17-15 score was a true reflection of the contest.

The Chargers had many chances to win, but they couldn't convert them. They're now sitting at 3-3, while the Cardinals are 3-4.

Check out five reasons why the Chargers lost against the Cardinals:

5 reasons why Chargers lost against Cardinals

#1. Red zone inefficiency

The offense scored 15 points, with Cameron Dicker responsible for all of them. Greg Roman's offense did not score a single touchdown through four quarters. To put things into perspective, Arizona had allowed 20 or more points in five out of six games this season and was coming off a 34-13 loss to the Packers.

#2. Lack of playmakers at wide receivers

Although Justin Herbert threw for 349 yards, the lack of a true WR1 on the roster was evident. Los Angeles has one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but its leading receiver was Joshua Palmer, with 63 yards through four catches. He was WR3 in 2023. They need to fix the position. Quickly.

#3. Allowing big plays in the running game

Arizona was inconsistent throughout the game, but Kyler Murray exploded for a 44-yard rushing touchdown that changed the momentum. Los Angeles allowed 6.2 yards per carry throughout the night; James Conner had 101 rushing yards in 19 attempts and forced 11 missed tackles.

#4. 0 sacks throughout the game

After four quarters, Jesse Minter's defense was unable to register a single sack on Murray, and the pressure never became a problem during the game. Although Joey Bosa was injured, Khalil Mack finished the game with three tackles and no quarterback hits.

#5. Inefficient running game

Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman have always preached an offensive philosophy with the running game as their basis. So it's surprising to see that the Chargers finished the game with 59 rushing yards and a 2.7 yards-per-carry average on 22 attempts.

J.K. Dobbins was a non-factor for most of the night and his longest carry was just 11 yards against one of the league's worst-rated defenses.