The Arizona Cardinals pulled off a 18-16 road and divisional upset over the Los Angeles Rams that even the most biased of fans didn't see coming. We're more than happy to be wrong in what is perhaps the most shocking upset so far this season.
Week 5 was disastrous for both teams. The Cardinals' defense gave up 45 points to the Detroit Lions while the front office essentially admitted their Marvin Harrison Jr. draft mistake, turning him into a second-round pick from the Houston Texans.
Meanwhile, the Rams were looking to right the ship after a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills. We anticipated this one being a shootout with a pissed-off Rams team taking out its frustration on what has been an incredibly flawed Cardinals defense up until this point.
They finally impressed under defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, looking far more aggressive and creative than we've been accustomed to seeing.
Cardinals' defense is finally trending in the right direction under Nick Rallis
Arizona entered Week 6 with the fifth-lowest blitz rate in the league under Rallis at 19.9 percent. They changed that approach, putting pressure on 38-year-old Matthew Stafford and a Rams offensive line that was without left tackle Alaric Jackson, who was suspended after punching Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb following their loss on Monday Night Football. It proved to be just the right amount of aggressiveness and creativity, showing blitz and backing off at times to keep Stafford guessing.
It's fair to wonder how much of this strong playcalling was due to LaFleur knowing the ins and outs of the Rams offense under Sean McVay, considering he was their offensive coordinator from 2023-25 before accepting this head coaching position with the Cardinals.
Still, this looked like an entirely different Arizona defense in just the matter of one week, meaning it's impossible to view this win as anything other than a sign that Rallis finally has this team trending in the right direction.
Many wondered if the Cardinals' defensive struggles would place Rallis on the hot seat, considering Arizona was surrendering the most points per game and in the midst of a four-game losing streak in large part because of it. Not only did Rallis stay in his position, but he also maintained control of the playcalling duties on that side of the ball.
We don't want to overreact to one game, especially since the Cardinals just had a juicy 45-point burger dropped on them the previous week. But it does at least show signs of life in this Cardinals defense, quieting job security talks for one more week - at the very least.
Hopefully they continue building off this stout defensive effort in Week 7 against a Denver Broncos offense that has been underwhelming under signal caller Bo Nix so far this season. That matchup is slated for Sunday, October 25, with a 1:05 PM PDT kickoff back at Glendale's State Farm Stadium.
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