The clock was dwindling in the first half when the Cardinals defense stared the moment down.

Nursing a 10-7 lead against the Chargers, QB Justin Herbert had led his team to a goal-to-go, and now it was fourth down at the Arizona 3. At the snap, Dante Stills bulled his way up the middle and Herbert never had a chance, going down in a heap after a 10-yard loss.

"We allowed them to get down to the goal line," Stills said. "I had a good rush, and I just won. It definitely felt good because I haven't had a sack in a whole year."

Here's the kicker: the Cardinals never ended up surrendering the lead after that, in what turned out to be a 26-14 win that stunned the rest of the NFL. The defense, much maligned since last year, was arguably the biggest reason why.

"I just feel like we've been disrespected ever since I've been here," said Stills, now in his fourth season. "We're always put down the bottom, always last in the rankings, and this is a step one."

The offense played well but the group understands the red-zone trips need to produce more touchdowns.

The Andrew Wingard interception was impressive, ranging far to pick off Herbert on a deep ball. His forced fumble was crucial, allowing cornerback Will Johnson to recover and wear his own Turnover Buffs for the first time as a Cardinal.

But there might not have been a more important sequence for the defense, and how LaFleur sees them, as when the Cardinals held a 16-14 lead with 14:10 left and the Cards facing a fourth-and-1 at their own 40. Few coaches choose to punt in that situation anymore, and just last week, LaFleur did say he'd used analytics (which overwhelmingly said go) as a tiebreaker for game situations.

But this wasn't a tie. LaFleur trusted his defense. The Cardinals punted, the D held on a three-and-out, and then the special teams blocked a punt. Nothing like a 3-yard touchdown drive to take control of a game.

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-- The debut of Jeremiyah Love wasn't exactly muted. Coming off an injury, in which he barely practiced for a month, he played fewer snaps than starter Tyler Allgeier (41-32) and was out-touched (19-13). But in his 11 rushing attempts, he forced six missed tackles and showed flashes of what he'll be.

"It just reassured me I am still who I am," said Love, who proclaimed himself ready for Week 2 against the Seahawks.

LaFleur said Love showed explosion on his TD run, and Brissett noted the run was mostly Love improvising as he bounced outside. LaFleur also said it is frequently more difficult to run in Week 1, for whatever reason. It's safe to say Love has bigger things ahead of him.

-- Love became the first Cardinals running back to score a rushing touchdown in his first NFL game since Tim Hightower did it in San Francisco in 2008. (Here's hoping that someday, Love equals Hightower's feat of scoring the game-winning TD in an NFC Championship game.)

-- Jacoby Brissett said before the game Sunday, linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. texted him support going into the opener. "That's all I needed," Brissett said. The quarterback was steady. Every throw wasn't perfect, but he didn't turn the ball over, didn't take a sack, and was everything the Cardinals hoped he'd be.

He and the Cardinals do face a hellacious defense in Week 2 against the defending champion Seahawks. But Brissett wasn't getting into that matchup yet.

"We're enjoying this one," Brissett said. "It's hard to win in this league. We'll get to them when we get to them."

-- Kendrick Bourne had five catches in the first half, underscoring the upgrade at WR3. Zay Jones didn't have his fifth catch of the season in 2025 until Week 5. The wide receiver ended up with eight catches on eight targets (for 75 yards) and acknowledged his heavy usage left him panting a bit by game's end.

"Whatever Mike needs me to do is just what I want to do," Bourne said. "I want to excel in my role. You know, so if that's blocking, I blocked a lot tonight, and it was great. It was one of the toughest games in my career, not only catching ball but blocking. Whatever I've got to do to help the team win, it's what I'm willing to do. It's what I was brought here to do."

I'm guessing Bourne isn't going to have eight catches a game. But as Brissett said, "Pretty sure none of y'all had him on your fantasy team."

-- An underrated play: Mack Wilson obliterating Chargers wideout Ladd McConkey – legally – on a hit to cause an incompletion. The collision was so big it knocked McConkey out for the game, and was reminiscent of the statement hit (albeit late) that Kyzir White delivered in the 2023 season opener. That was also a game in which the Cardinals defense was trying to make a point.

"That hit that Mack had," safety Andrew Wingard said, "gets you going."

-- One down, 16 to go.

Time to go home.