Defensive grit a welcome sign for the Cardinals, who showed pride in snapping 4-game skid

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals are a flawed football team that probably doesn’t have enough raw talent to compete for a playoff spot this season.

But they do have some pride. For one week, that was enough.

The Cardinals (2-4) — who entered Sunday’s game as 12.5-point underdogs — pulled off a big upset with an 18-16 road win over the Los Angeles Rams. It was a potentially job-saving coaching performance by Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, whose unit had given up 37 points per game during the previous four-game losing streak.

“I thought (Rallis) was excellent today,” first-year coach Mike LaFleur said Sunday. “I thought he put them in some incredible spots. I give a lot of credit to that whole defensive staff and then the players making it come to life. It was a really, really good performance by coaches and players on the defensive side.”

The Cardinals might have found a recipe for future defensive success with their gameplan against the Rams, dialing up an aggressive approach that featured lots of blitz packages.

Safety Budda Baker and edge rusher Josh Sweat each had a sack and two hits on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who rarely looked comfortable in the pocket.

LaFleur — who was the Rams’ offensive coordinator for three season before becoming the Cardinals’ head coach — knew Rallis’ defense had the ability to be better than it showed during the four-game losing streak.

“It’s one game. It’s a total reset next week. It’s a 1-0 league,” LaFleur said. “But it’s something that I truly feel like we can build on because, again, I’ve had to go against this defense enough over the years and it’s not fun when it’s clicking like that.”

What’s working

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett has usually put up good individual statistics during his 18-game tenure as the team’s starter, but the Cardinals had a 3-15 record over those contests.

Win No. 3 was particularly sweet because Brissett led the game-winning drive, connecting with Jalen Brooks on a 21-yard catch before the Rams were called for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty, which put Arizona in field goal range.

What needs help

The Cardinals have to find a way to get into the end zone instead of kicking field goals. Arizona did a lot of things right on offense, gaining a respectable 338 yards and running 70 plays, which allowed the Cardinals to control time of possession, but the unit was just 5 of 15 in third down conversions.

“It’s definitely frustrating, especially playing against a team like that,” Brissett said. “At any point they can go score. So, you obviously understand that touchdowns are a premium. We have got to go back and watch the film and get better at that.”

Stock up

Kicker Chad Ryland has had some frustrating misses during his Cardinals tenure, but he was automatic against the Rams, connecting on six field goals from 34, 30, 22, 38, 27 and 43 yards to account for all 18 points. Those are all from a reasonable distance that an NFL kicker should make, but going 6-fot-6 in any game is impressive.

Stock down

The Cardinals feel like wide receiver Michael Wilson can be a No. 1 option, which is one reason they felt OK about moving on from former No. 4 overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr., trading him to the Texans. But Wilson has been relatively quiet without Harrison on the field, catching eight passes for 62 yards over the two games combined.

Injuries

Defensive lineman Walter Nolen III had a right ankle injury. LaFleur said he would know more about the severity of the injury later in the week.

Key number

2 — Wins for the Cardinals at SoFi Stadium this season. They also beat the Los Angeles Chargers in Inglewood in the season opener.

Next steps

The Cardinals host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

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