The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 7 matchup between the Chargers and Cardinals on Monday Night Football.
Find a breakdown of every Week 7 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| LA Chargers | Rank | @ | Arizona | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3.0 | Spread | 3.0 | ||
| 23.25 | Implied Total | 20.25 | ||
| 18.2 | 26 | Points/Gm | 22.2 | 17 |
| 13.2 | 1 | Points All./Gm | 27.2 | 27 |
| 58.4 | 26 | Plays/Gm | 57.5 | 31 |
| 56.2 | 2 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 63.0 | 20 |
| 4.8 | 25 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.8 | 10 |
| 5.1 | 8 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.9 | 28 |
| 52.40% | 3 | Rush% | 47.54% | 12 |
| 47.60% | 30 | Pass% | 52.46% | 21 |
| 40.93% | 12 | Opp. Rush % | 52.12% | 30 |
| 59.07% | 21 | Opp. Pass % | 47.88% | 3 |
- Chargers games are averaging 31.4 combined points, the fewest in the league.
- The Chargers have scored first in every game this season, the only team to do so.
- The Chargers have turned the ball over on a league-low 3.6% of their possessions.
- The Chargers average 2.13 points per drive in the first half (15th) compared to 1.0 points per drive in the second half (31st).
- Arizona is second in the NFL in points per drive in the first quarter (3.23) and 21st outside of the opening quarter (1.84).
- 21.8% of the drives against the Chargers reach the red zone, the lowest rate in the league.
- 50.9% of the drives against the Cardinals reach the red zone or score prior, the highest rate in the league.
- 60.3% of Charger sets of downs reach third down, the highest rate in the league.
- 28.9% of Charger sets of downs reach third and long (needing 7 or more yards), ahead of only the Browns (35.1%).
- When the Chargers reach third down, they are 10th in conversion rate (42.5%).
- Arizona has converted a league-low 12.0% (3-of-25) of their third and longs (needing 7 or more yards).
- Kyler Murray is the only quarterback in the league who has not converted a first down with a pass on third and long.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Kyler Murray: Murray struggled again on Sunday, closing the week as QB23 (12.0 points).
He now has weeks as the QB1 and QB5 and games as the QB15, QB17, QB24, and QB23.
Throwing for 6.7 yards per attempt last week, the only time that Murray has thrown for 7.0 yards per game was against the Rams.
That was also the only game where he threw more than one touchdown pass.
Murray ran for only 14 yards on Sunday, which he needs to support his floor for fantasy.
Murray does have an upside with his legs, as we saw two weeks ago in San Francisco (83 yards and a touchdown rushing).
Still, with a pedestrian team total, he is best used in 2QB leagues here, where you can absorb the weeks with rushing production as they come rather than chasing them.
If using him in 1QB formats, he is a volatile asset.
Opposing offenses are running few plays against the Chargers, but they are 9th in passing points allowed per attempt (0.339) and sixth in passing points allowed per game (10.4).
If there is a path for Murray to succeed here, it is with his legs. Bo Nix ran for 61 yards against the Chargers on Sunday.
Justin Herbert: Herbert has not had a scoring week in the front half of the position yet this season.
QB18 (13.7 points) is the best week we have gotten from him.
The Chargers are just not putting him in a position to have much success in fantasy through the air.
Herbert has the fewest dropbacks per game on early downs (18.0).
The sad part is that he has been great on third downs, bailing out this offense.
He is fifth in the NFL in rating on third down (114.9), completing 68.4% of his passes (4th) for a first down or touchdown on 42.1% (9th).
Herbert did have a season-high 34 pass attempts on Sunday, but they also came in a game in which the Chargers ran a season-high 75 plays, 10 more than any other game this year.
It was the second time they ran more than 54 plays in a game.
While all of that paints a lackluster picture for fantasy points, if there was a spot for Herbert to max out his opportunities as a passer, this is it.
Arizona is allowing a 71.8% completion rate (31st), 8.1 yards per attempt (31st), and a 5.9% touchdown rate (27th) to passers.
That has them 28th in passing points allowed per attempt (28th).
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Running Back
J.K. Dobbins (TRUST): Dobbins has not been as efficient over the past three weeks as he was to open the year, but he has run into a harrowing gauntlet of run defenses that have slowed down just about everyone those teams have faced.
While the long runs have tapered off, Dobbins has established himself as a true workhorse.
He has handled 73.9%, 85.7%, and 77.1% of the backfield touches in those games.
With no Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal finding his footing, this backfield runs through Dobbins.
Vidal had a positive debut and should be stashed in leagues, but he still only had 6 touches.
This is a week where he can put that workload to significant use.
Arizona is facing 30.2 backfield touches per game (29th), allowing 17.5 rushing points (27th) and 155.5 yards from scrimmage per game (30th) to backfields.
Cardinals RBs: We will have to follow this backfield this week.
James Conner injured his ankle late in the first half on Sunday.
He missed the second half's opening drive, checked back in, fumbled, and then was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
*Conner practiced in full to end the week and is not on the Arizona injury report, signaling that he is good to go for Monday Night.
Conner is a volume-based RB2 in this matchup.
The Chargers have defended the run well, allowing 4.22 yards per carry (11th) and 8.9 rushing points per game (5th) to backfields.
They are 24th in receiving points (9.9 per game) allowed to backs.
Wide Receiver
Ladd McConkey (TRUST): McConkey was in and out of the lineup on Sunday with various ailments, but he still managed to lead the team in targets (8), catching 4 passes for 43 yards.
McConkey looks excellent from a market share perspective. The issue is the size of the top-down pie.
He has 26.4% of the team targets (WR11) but is running 23.0 routes per game (WR75) with 6.4 targets per game (WR40).
He also is not getting a lot of work downfield.
68.7% of his targets are shorter than 10 yards downfield.
As a result, he has been a touchdown-based WR4/FLEX.
McConkey has been WR19 in both of his weeks with a touchdown.
He has been WR66, WR56, and WR46 in his weeks without a touchdown.
While this all looks lackluster, as we mentioned with Herbert, if there was a matchup for McConkey to turn in a spike week, this is it.
Arizona is 31st in points allowed per target (2.07) to wide receivers, allowing a 72.4% catch rate (31st), 8.9 yards per target (30th), and a 7.6% touchdown rate (27th) to the position.
Marvin Harrison Jr.: Harrison Jr. exited last week's game with a concussion, but has cleared protocol and is expected to play on Monday Night.
We are hoping to see more diverse usage for Harrison Jr.
He has been in the slot for 16.7% of his snaps.
Only 34.3% of his targets have been shorter than 10 yards downfield, 61st among wide receivers with 100 or more routes.
25.7% of his targets have been 20 or more yards downfield, 12th among the same group.
As a byproduct, 14.3% of his yards come after the catch, 70th out of 76 wide receivers with 100 or more routes run.
24.7% of his routes have been go routes.
31.4% of his targets have been on go routes.
We are OK with the volume but would like to see some creative use for Harrison to smooth out his profile.
Harrison Jr. is on the WR2/WR3 line for this week.
The Chargers are second in catches allowed to outside wide receivers (4.2 per game), but if hunting for a path to larger upside, they are allowing 10.7 yards per target (31st) to those receivers.
Michael Wilson: With Harrison off the field,Wilson ran a route on 96.7% of the dropbacks, catching 2-of-3 targets for 21 yards and a touchdown.
The touchdown bolstered his day, but Wilson has been a WR4 or better in three of his past four games.
From a playing time perspective, Wilson is the best bet to make here as a WR4/FLEX.
Tight End
Trey McBride (TRUST): McBride received the most significant lift when Harrison Jr. exited the game, but he gets a great matchup to take advantage here even with Harrison Jr. expected to play.
The Chargers play the most zone coverage in the NFL (83.6% of snaps).
McBride has been targeted on 28.4% of his routes against zone coverage this season compared to 18.8% versus man coverage.
As a byproduct of so much zone coverage, tight ends have 27.5% of the targets against the Chargers, the second-highest rate in the league.
More Week 7 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Broncos @ Saints | Thursday Night Football |
| Patriots vs. Jaguars | Sunday -- 9:30 a.m. ET (London) |
| Seahawks @ Falcons | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Titans @ Bills | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bengals @ Browns | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Texans @ Packers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Dolphins @ Colts | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Lions @ Vikings | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Eagles @ Giants | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Raiders @ Rams | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Panthers @ Commanders | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Chiefs @ 49ers | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Jets @ Steelers | Sunday Night Football |
| Ravens @ Bucs | Monday Night Football |
| Chargers @ Cardinals | Monday Night Football |
