The Arizona Cardinals have done the unthinkable in 2026. They have played at SoFi Stadium twice and had two great games at the venue.
After the Cardinals‘ defense spent the previous four weeks allowing 37.0 points per game, they returned to Los Angeles on Sunday and beat the Rams 18-16. That’s now twice that the Cardinals stormed into SoFi Stadium and held an opponent to under 20 points this season.
They did it in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers, winning that game 26-14. Take those two games, and the Cardinals’ defense has allowed an average of 15.0 points.
The Cardinals have also allowed under 200 net passing yards in both games at SoFi. They held the Chargers to just 187 in Week 1. Against the Rams, that number sat at 194 yards.
While the Cardinals produced well enough offensively to beat the Chargers by two possessions, that wasn’t the case against the Rams. Instead, the offense did just enough for the Cardinals to sneak away with the win.
What Makes The Arizona Cardinals Defense Click at SoFi Stadium?
Week 1’s win against the Chargers was a foreshadowing. Per Pro-Football-Reference, the Chargers ranked 26th in total offense with 1,464 yards. They still haven’t gotten it together here in Week 6, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 22-6 on Sunday.
However, that doesn’t explain how the Cardinals kept the Rams’ offense in check. Heading into Week 6, Pro-Football-Reference listed the Rams’ total offense as producing 2,122 yards. They were the only team in the league with 2,000+ total yards, and their passing offense was first in the league with 1,538 yards.
The first thing that jumps out? The Cardinals allowed just one play of 20+ yards, not counting penalties. That occurred on a 43-yard catch from Puka Nacua. Arizona didn’t allow another catch beyond 16 yards. They also didn’t allow running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum to gain more than 14 and 13 yards on a single run, respectively.
While the Rams’ running backs averaged 4.84 yards on the ground, when you take out the long runs from both Williams and Corum, it paints a different picture. Their 92 yards on 19 carries turns into 65 yards on 17 carries, good for just 3.82 yards per rushing attempt.
The offense also deserves credit. They may not have found the end zone, but they won the time-of-possession game 34:52 to 25:08. In their win over the Chargers, the Cardinals held the ball for 37:31, compared to Los Angeles’ 22:29. In short, there is a common denominator between Weeks 1 and 6 in time of possession.
Cardinals Must Repeat These Performances Going Forward
There is nothing special about SoFi Stadium, or that it’s a good luck charm for the Cardinals. Instead, Arizona played a bad team there in Week 1, and they took advantage. In Week 6, they faced one of the league’s most efficient offenses and refused to allow many big plays on the ground and through the air.
The biggest takeaway is that when the defense keeps the play in front of them, they won’t let opponents gain massive chunks of yardage. When the offense gets the ball, it needs to be ball control, ball control, and more ball control.
The Arizona Cardinals gained just 338 yards, or 4.8 yards per play. But they were on the field for 70 plays. That’s how a team plays an efficient ball-control offense. With a quarterback possessing a limited skill set like Jacoby Brissett, ball control is essential. It’s up to the Cardinals to continue this approach in Week 7.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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