The Arizona Cardinals pulled off one of the biggest stunners of Week 1, beating the Los Angeles Chargers on the road 26-14 in what looked like the perfect blueprint for coach Mike LaFleur's team going forward. The offense wasn't perfect, but it had its fair share of strong performances, including a big game from Trey McBride that pulled him close to a Jimmy Graham tight end record.
The team's new coach, LaFleur, put his team's win into words afterward as fans began to make sense of the surprising performance. The game included a solid but unspectacular effort from rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, who nevertheless made his presence felt in his first-ever NFL game. Afterward, Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett described Love in glowing terms that bodes well for Week 2.
âÂÂYeah, I mean the touchdown was all him, I don't think he was supposed to go that way,â Brissett said about Love's first-ever career score. âÂÂBut, I mean, it's, you hand him the ball, and you watch, you know? And that was my first time seeing it, like, âÂÂOh, yeah, okay, yeah.'
Article Continues BelowâÂÂI mean, I thought he played well in the pass game and in the run game and getting some gritty runsâ¦I thought he did a really good job.âÂÂ
Brissett added that Love, who ran 11 times for 41 yards and a touchdown, said he had âÂÂso much more in the tankâ at halftime, inspiring confidence to keep feeding him the ball. Tyler Allgeier led the Cardinals with 61 yards on 17 carries rushing-wise, forming a solid one-two punch in Week 1.
Brissett, Love, Allgeier, and the Cardinals now have the Seahawks' undivided attention heading into their September 20, Week 2 meeting in Glendale, Arizona. Brissett needs all the help he can get from Love and his teammates as he and his new head coach LaFleur work to bring the Cardinals back to prominence long before most fans ever expected it.

