Chargers vs Cardinals: match preview on 13 September 2026

Chargars to beat Cardinals

The Cardinals arrive with three straight defeats and a defensive record that demands attention. They have conceded 109 points across those three matches while scoring 81. Their most recent outing was particularly alarming: a 38-42 defeat away to the Packers, where they were outscored by four points despite putting up 38 of their own.

The Chargers have played only one match, a 18-20 home loss to the Rams on 28 August.

Combined with home losses to the Cowboys (13-34) and Panthers (30-33), the pattern shows a side that struggles to contain opposition attacks while failing to maintain consistency in their own output.

No head-to-head record exists between these teams, and no standings data is available to place them in context. What remains is the recent form, and the Cardinals' three consecutive losses paint a difficult picture.

The Cardinals' defensive fragility is the central concern. Conceding 42 points in a single match, then 34 and 33 in subsequent outings, suggests a structural vulnerability that a Chargers attack could exploit. The Chargers' single match showed they can stay within reach of opposition scoring, even when they fall short.

The Cardinals have been involved in games with high total outputs: 80 points against the Packers, 47 against the Cowboys, 63 against the Panthers. Their matches tend to be open affairs, which could work against them if the Chargers maintain their discipline from the Rams game.

The Chargers' approach against the Rams was measured. They scored 18 and conceded 20, a difference of only two points. That level of competitiveness, even in defeat, suggests they are not far off the mark.

Without team news or injury reports to complicate the picture, the straightforward reading is that the Cardinals are struggling. Three losses, a negative point difference of 28 across those matches, and a recent high-scoring defeat point toward a side in need of improvement. The Chargers have one data point, but it shows they can compete.