For the first time since November 3, 2025, the Arizona Cardinals entered victory formation. They held on to take down the Los Angeles Chargers, 26-14 — an upset that would be considered stunning on a national level, but perhaps not to those who kept close eye on Arizona’s preseason.

New head coach Mike LaFleur needed just one game to secure his first victory as a head coach. He became the first non-interim Cardinals head coach to win the first game of his tenure since Don Coryell did so in 1973.

Needless to say, it was an expectation-shattering win. But not simply by way of the final score.

Cardinals’ maligned defense shocks Chargers

Considering the Cardinals surrendered a franchise-record 488 points in 2025, and made very few significant changes to their defensive coaching staff and personnel, the majority share of pressure landed on defensive coordinator Nick Rallis’ shoulders heading into Sunday.

His unit responded with a startling, borderline dominant performance.

It looked ugly early on. Arizona allowed Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense to march down the field for a first-drive score on just eight plays. And then, the tide began to turn. The Cardinals recovered a fumble on Los Angeles’ second drive, then held firm in their own red zone to force a turnover on downs a drive later.

Rallis’ group held Herbert to just 209 yards through the air and allowed just 81 rushing yards on 21 attempts — 3.9 yards per carry.

Arizona sacked Herbert three times and picked him off once. They collected pressure throughout, and, if not for a 48-yard pass interference penalty on Max Melton, might have held the Chargers scoreless for the entire second half. Los Angeles totaled just 268 yards of offense and went 2-for-8 on third down.

Without falling victim to hyperbole, Arizona’s defensive effort vastly surpassed anything they accomplished in 2025, with largely the same personnel and the same coordinator. There is a long season still to be played, but this was the perfect way for Rallis’ team to set a tone for an expectation-busting season.

Cardinals’ offense looks like real deal

Defense was Arizona’s biggest question mark. LaFleur’s offense, however, was the Cardinals’ largest source of hope.

It was not a perfect performance by Arizona’s offense, by any means. Drives stalled out. Pre-snap penalties were an issue at times. Starting QB Jacoby Brissett made some inaccurate throws, and Arizona’s run-blocking did not provide quite as much room for Jeremiyah Love and the Cardinals’ ground game as might have been hoped.

But that is to be expected, both with a rookie head coach and an entirely new scheme.

The point, however, is this: a somewhat uneven, rusty performance by the Cardinals’ offense — in week one of a 17-game season — still provided a more competent, confidence-inspiring output than just about anything done in non-garbage time during 2025, and perhaps since Kliff Kingsbury was calling plays.

The Cardinals’ offense operated with a more efficient flow all game. Despite settling for five field goal attempts (and missing one), there was no lack of ball movement and, generally, no sense of offensive futility.

Arizona collected 393 yards of total offense, and that included an extremely-shortened touchdown drive due to a fourth-quarter blocked punt by Simi Fehoko.

Brissett completed 27 of his 37 passes for 277 yards, a touchdown and a passer rating of 103.1 — exactly the type of steady, turnover-free performance the Cardinals were after when they named Brissett their starter. Trey McBride, to no one’s surprise, led Arizona’s pass-catchers with nine receptions, 95 yards and a score.

Rookie RB Jeremiyah Love was somewhat limited as he worked his way back from injury. He still managed to pick up his first career touchdown on his second carry of the game, but was out-carried by Tyler Allgeier, who led Arizona in rushing with 62 yards.

Perhaps the beauty of this offensive showing was just how much room there was for improvement. A 26-point performance surpassed all but three of their point totals from the 2025 season, and is the highest such total since that very same win over the Dallas Cowboys on November 3.

26 points is not a high bar. But it was, undeniably, an encouraging start to a season entirely devoid of expectations. There may not be real hope for a playoff run this season, but to thoroughly enjoy a Sunday afternoon of Cardinals football is much more than last season was able to offer Arizona fans.