The Seattle Seahawks may be the defending champions, but it's the divisional rival Los Angeles Rams that were the talk of the summer.
Many analysts viewed the Rams as the title favorite heading into the season following their blockbuster acquisition of superstar Myles Garrett, arguably the best player in the entire association. They even somehow convinced Aaron Donald to come out of retirement.
Last season the Rams were a 12-win team, while the Cardinals managed to win just three games. Playing on the road, Arizona was almost such massive underdogs to the point that expecting them to snap their four-game losing streak at SoFi Stadium would be considered borderline unrealistic. After all, they entered the contest as massive 12.5-point underdogs.
Still, the Cardinals were impressively competitive under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur, signaling a legitimate change to this franchise and the start of a new era.
Last week's blowout loss to the Detroit Lions, in which Arizona's defense surrendered 45 points, is one of multiple signs that we should temper expectations for the Cardinals in the short term. Still, there's something to be said about the competitiveness of this up-and-coming team and the direction they're headed under LaFleur after this statement divisional upset.
Cardinals finally look like the team Mack Wilson Sr. had confidence in
While it may come as a surprise to many around the league, this upset proves linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. was actually right all along: teams still have to deal with the Cardinals.
Mack Wilson wasn’t wrong: https://t.co/A8O43xDeqJ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 19, 2026
Defense was the most pleasant surprise, as Arizona's aggressive schemes under coordinator Nick Rallis clearly confused Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay. That's also not overly surprising considering LaFleur was an offensive coordinator under McVay with the Rams from 2023–2025.
This week felt like a make-or-break season for the Cardinals, coming off not only their blowout loss to the Lions but also their Marvin Harrison Jr. trade with the Texans. From the fan perspective, it became increasingly difficult to look forward to next year's draft after each loss, knowing how those selections have aged under general manager Monti Ossenfort.
Kyler Murray is now undefeated with the Minnesota Vikings, while it's only a matter of time before Marvin Harrison Jr. is prioritized in Houston's offense more than he ever was in Arizona this season.
The Cardinals clearly still have plenty to sort out going forward in this rebuild, but this was both an encouraging and much-needed win given how poorly things have gone as of late. We always had trust in LaFleur being the right fit as head coach for this team in the long run, and Arizona caught a glimpse of what that future looks like with this significant and surprising win over their divisional rival --- just weeks removed from being viewed as the league's favorite contender.
It remains to be seen whether these winning ways can continue, especially given the Cardinals' brutal schedule in the coming weeks. Still, that doesn't diminish the fact that this win gives Arizona plenty to be excited about under this new LaFleur era.
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