Cardinals vs. Chargers score, takeaways: Justin Herbert, Brandon Staley deliver last-minute victory in Arizona

Chargers' sealing defensive stand:

Cardinals get the ball with 11 seconds and one timeout after the Chargers' clutch TD and two-point drive. Kyler Murray's first pass takes five seconds and isn't close to anyone. His second one takes the entire remaining clock and is nearly picked by Michael Davis. And that'll do it! Los Angeles finds a way to pull this one out, 25-24.

Gerald Everett's go-ahead two-point reception:

The Chargers get the two-pointer! Herbert hits Gerald Everett on a slant over the middle, and it's too easy. L.A. now in front 25-24 with 15 seconds left in the game. Brandon Staley's bold call pays off. Wow.

The Chargers' TD, which may or may not lift L.A. to last-second victory:

Justin Herbert executes a perfect play-action roll-out to hit Austin Ekeler, who extends the ball over the goal line while being tackled out of bounds. And Brandon Staley is going for two, for the win.

Chargers pull up to the Cardinals' 14, and Justin Herbert dumps one to Austin Ekeler, who takes it 10 yards for a first. Chargers take their final timeout with 18 seconds left in the game, and a first-and-goal, down seven. This is the ballgame here.

Cardinals doing their best to give the Chargers a jolt of life at the end. Needing a first down or two to milk the clock under two minutes, they instead got sacked inside their own 10, then had a player wrongly out of bounds on the punt, setting up the Chargers inside Arizona territory.

Brutal for the Chargers: third-and-7 from the Cardinals' 35, and Justin Herbert faces instant pressure from Isaiah Simmons up the middle. Simmons downs him for a loss of 13, and L.A. is forced to punt on fourth-and-20, removed completely from scoring range. Now Arizona will control the ball as the two-minute warning approaches, up seven with a chance to run away with this one.

Just an incredible catch by DeAndre Hopkins on the Cardinals' latest drive:

Turns out Zaven Collins did not control the ball on his would-be pick, so Justin Herbert avoids a turnover. Still, the Chargers have to punt it away, and Brandon Staley's defense desperately needs a stop.

And there goes Justin Herbert's rock-solid day. Pressed to make a play on third-and-13, down seven with under eight minutes to play, the QB fires one well short of Josh Palmer, and Zaven Collins comes up with an easy pick going to the ground. Huge takeaway from an Arizona "D" that came close to stealing the ball earlier, when Palmer was stripped. Officials now reviewing the play to confirm Collins had possession of the ball when he went to the ground on the INT.

Throwing a three-yard pass to Gerald Everett on third-and-14 is indicative of the Chargers' offensive woes. Justin Herbert hasn't lost anything. And the weapons are there out wide. The problems lie up front and on the sidelines, where the strategy is centered on lateral passes to make up for an injury-riddled O-line. Where there should be explosion, there is just scattershot movement. L.A. is averaging 5.1 yards per play, with 17 points on the board, despite forcing two turnovers and getting a mostly pinpoint day from Herbert.

James Conner's TD to put Arizona in front in the fourth:

James Conner, have yourself a day! The veteran running back logs his first TD catch of the year, hauling in a short zip on the move and easily breaking Kenneth Murray's tackle attempt to put Arizona back on top, 24-17. Conner is now up to 122 yards from scrimmage, and he's been nearly flawless since an early-game fumble. Cardinals just dominating on the ground, outrunning the Chargers 172 yards to 30 with just over 13 minutes left in the matchup.

Arizona's rushing success is notable considering its recent staffing changes:

Newcomer Corey Clement steps in as the third-down back for the Cardinals and moves the chains with a short catch-and-run off the right side. Kyler Murray has now completed passes to eight different players today. Arizona driving deep into L.A. territory as we enter the fourth quarter.

The Chargers' longest drive of the day (14 plays) ends in three points. With the ball at the Cardinals' 8-yard line, Justin Herbert can't connect with either Austin Ekeler or Keenan Allen, setting up Cameron Dicker's 26-yard kick. We are back to the starting point: it's a 17-17 contest.

Justin Herbert throws a perfect laser off his back foot, hitting Keenan Allen in the end zone as the receiver outmuscles Isaiah Simmons for a would-be TD, but Allen can't quite get both feet down in bounds for the score. Herbert finds Josh Palmer on an out route the very next play, however, to keep the chains moving. Herbert has had a pretty stellar game, all things considered; he's been outdone mostly by his own O-line or play-calling, which shouldn't sound like a totally new issue to Chargers fans.

Kyler Murray with a slight limp going off the field after a pitch to James Conner leaves him on the ground. Then Matt Prater boots a 49-yard field goal try wide left, so the Cardinals' lead remains three. Conner is already up to 98 yards carrying the ball, and Murray has had his way, too, picking up 56 on seven carries. The difference in this game is really the turnovers: Arizona has two, and still leads by three, but could/should probably be up multiple scores. Chargers have held the ball for just 13 minutes.

Kyler Murray's legs put the Cardinals on top in a tight game with L.A.:

Kelvin Beachum is involved in some pushing and shoving as the Cardinals try to get points on the board before halftime. In the end, Kyler Murray gets it done with his legs, taking off on a 5-yard scramble that looked more like a 20-yard sprint. Speed kills, and he's got it. Arizona is back on top, 17-14, with halftime around the corner.

Bad news for the Chargers, who were just starting to have reason to celebrate offensive gains:

Arizona has no one in DeAndre Carter's vicinity on the Chargers' latest score:

The big plays continue. This time Justin Herbert moves left after facing pressure in the pocket, basically side-arms one downfield, and DeAndre Carter is waiting all alone, hauling in the pass and then gliding untouched into the end zone for the score. Chargers now lead it 14-10 after their second passing TD. Bittersweet, though, as tackle Trey Pipkins is injured on the play.

Derwin James picks off Kyler Murray:

Kyler Murray has generally been on the mark today, but he just had an extremely ugly finish to the Cardinals' latest series. Scrambled around and flung it deep, with no one in sight, on second down. Held the ball loosely with his left hand on a scramble near the sticks on third. Then put one up for DeAndre Hopkins on fourth-and-1, only for it to land right in the hands of the tight-covering Derwin James. That's the second time James has had his hand on a turnover today.

A look at Justin Herbert's quick-strike TD to Keenan Allen, making this a 10-7 game:

Keenan Allen into the end zone on the short pass for the TD, and all of a sudden we've got a ballgame! Chargers cut the deficit to three points. What a huge play by Michael Bandy earlier in the series to recover the Josh Palmer fumble and keep the drive alive.