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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer
GLENDALE, Ariz. — On Sunday night, during the Arizona Cardinals‘ team meeting ahead of Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, running back James Conner got up in front of his teammates and coaches and began to talk about maximizing the opportunity that awaited them.
It worked.
Behind Conner’s 152 all-purpose yards, the Cardinals rebounded from an embarrassing 21-point loss a week ago in Green Bay with a 17-15 win over the Chargers on “Monday Night Football” thanks to a last-second 32-yard field goal by kicker Chad Ryland.
“I thought he was lights out,” coach Jonathan Gannon said of Conner. “There were a lot of times he is getting 4 yards and it should be probably 1 or 2.
“He put the team on his back today and carried us home.”
Conner’s hope was to inspire a team in flux that was at a breaking point. A loss would’ve dropped the Cardinals to 2-5, but a win brought them to 3-4 and put them in a tie for second in the NFC West. He conveyed to his teammates that being 2-4, as they were heading into the game, was just a moment in time, Gannon explained.
His message Sunday night was simple yet powerful.
“Just telling them push all their chips in for this week, that we still on a mission, to tell the guys don’t take nothing for granted, and just play good football,” Conner said. “Push all your chips in to this week, give it all you got.
“We got some guys on the team who out for the season, who wish they could be out there and just play hard. So, yeah, just told them to play hard and push all their chips and just get a victory for this week.”
That’s what Arizona did. Conner ran for 101 yards Monday, his third 100-yard game of the season, and caught two passes for 51 yards, including a 33-yard gain in the fourth quarter that set up the winning field goal.
His 152 scrimmage yards and 7.2 yards per touch were both season highs. In the process, Conner became the first player to eclipse 100 yards against the Chargers. He also forced a fumble after quarterback Kyler Murray threw an early interception to Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart. Michael Wilson recovered, and Arizona kept the ball with a fresh set of downs.
When the typically reserved Conner talks, Murray said it carries added weight.
“Not a lot of volume, but the substance behind it and what he’s preaching, anybody for that matter,” Murray said, “when you get up there and you pour your heart out, guys feel it.”
Conner chose this week to address the team because of way the season has unfolded. Arizona has been on a roller coaster of a journey thus far, nearly winning every other game. As one of Arizona’s captains, Conner said he needed to “rally the troops.”
His timing was perfect. The Cardinals were coming off a week that featured a physical and chippy practice Thursday that reminded Gannon of a training camp or OTA practice. Players, Gannon said, were “a touch frustrated.”
Friday was a similar practice followed by a “really good” mock game Saturday and a walk-through Sunday that saw the offense “on point,” Gannon said.
“There was no blunders,” Gannon said of Monday morning’s preparation. “Those guys are locked in. I knew we were going to play well. We knew it was going to be a good game versus a good team.
“But I think that’s the main thing is you just got to control your day and just keep stacking good days. And our behavior is right, but now we got to keep it going. It’s got to translate because we’re good enough where it can translate. I know that.”