— Chad Ryland has kicked for the Cardinals for three games and already has two game-winning field goals.
“Honestly, I really had a good feeling we were getting, at least, in range, just knowing how the offense moves the ball,” Ryland said. “The guys like to ball out and they did that on that last drive for sure, and I got a chance to hit a kick. Thankfully, it went through.”
— Ryland gets the winner, but the special teams star was Blake Gillikin. The punter had his best game of the season, driving long hang-time kicks – four punts all told – and not one was returned with a solid 44.5 average. All four were inside the 20, and his best was downed at the 1 in the fourth quarter (unfortunately, the Chargers were still able to turn that one into a field-goal drive.)
— Greg Dortch isn’t having the season he wanted, but he got a big touchdown catch.
— The Chargers writers ended up getting a pool report from the officials after the two key fourth-quarter calls that ultimately went against L.A., but both seemed right in real time. There was a flag thrown on the Cardinals for pass interference on the play before the Chargers final field goal, but there was miscommunication between Justin Herbert and Simi Fehoko – the former threw it deep, Fehoko bent in short – and whatever contact was moot because the ball was 10 feet over Fehoko’s head. The other was Cam Hart’s helmet-to-helmet on Marvin Harrison Jr. after Harrison dropped a pass – but on the replay, it’s clear Hart hit Harrison when he was defenseless.
— Congrats to the D-line law firm of Stille, Stills and Jones for coming up with sacks.
— Murray had his 20th game of at least one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown, which is fourth-most in NFL history.
— The wait for Marvin Harrison Jr. to find his groove continues.
— Bill Belichick, appearing on the ESPN Manningcast, was all-in on James Conner, reacting to Conner’s forced fumble after the Murray interception. “That guy is a football dude,” the former Patriots coach said. “That guy could play linebacker.”
— The plays by Michael Wilson and Trey McBride to jump on fumbles – Wilson on the Conner-forced-fumble-after-Kyler-pick and McBride on a Conner fumble – was crucial on a day in which the Cardinals ended up even in the turnover battle.
— Looking ahead, the Dolphins have cleared quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to practice again, and assuming it…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Word From The Birds…