TEMPE – During an offseason in which the Arizona Cardinals brought in coach Mike LaFleur to replace Jonathan Gannon, the team also retained 10 members of the previous coaching staff.
In particular, LaFleur chose to keep defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, who held the same position for all three seasons of Gannon’s tenure. In Gannon’s final season, Arizona surrendered 28.7 points (fourth most in the NFL) and 357.7 yards (sixth most) per game.
By the time the Detroit Lions walked away from State Farm Stadium with 45 points and 412 total yards in Week 5 of this season, the lack of improvement from the Cardinals’ defense was a major storyline. To make matters worse, a road matchup against the Los Angeles Rams’ high-flying offense awaited the following week.
Instead of raising the decibel level, Rallis silenced the critics for at least a week after shutting down the preseason Super Bowl favorites in the Cardinals’ 18-16 victory on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
It was a moment to relish for the entire unit, including its spiritual leader.
“At the end of the day for us, we care about the guys that are in the building,” safety Budda Baker said. “You hear the outside noise, but you ignore the outside noise and that’s the biggest thing for us. That’s probably exactly what Nick is doing as well as he’s just focused on putting the game plan for us to be able to execute and play fast.
“I think he has been doing that, and I think we just need to execute better and we will. He’s continuing to grow within his scheme each and every week, so that’s what you want as a player. You want your coach to work hard for you, and of course, we’re all working hard for him.”
Through the first five games of the 2026 season, Arizona possessed the league’s worst scoring defense (32.4 PPG) while also placing ninth-worst in terms of total yards allowed.
The day after the Cardinals had no answers for Detroit’s offensive attack, the Rams put up 454 total yards in a 37-34 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills. Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns in a showing reminiscent of his 2025 MVP campaign.
As a result, Rallis made a major change to his game plan. His unit, which previously held a 19.9% blitz rate (fifth lowest), kept Stafford under pressure and picked up three sacks.
One of those proved to be crucial when linebacker Josh Sweat strip-sacked Stafford on a two-point conversion attempt in the second quarter. LaFleur’s only regret was that defensive end L.J. Collier, who scooped up the ball, did not attempt to pass the ball off after being chased down and tackled 35 yards from the end zone.
“It’s basically no risk, give it to the fast guy,” LaFleur said. “L.J. was rolling, though.”
Arizona held Stafford to just 222 passing yards, his second-worst total of the season, reminding LaFleur of his experiences game-planning around the team’s defensive identity while he was the Rams offensive coordinator from 2023-25.
“I thought their play style was awesome,” LaFleur said of his defense. “I just saw clear minds. I saw 11 as one. I saw cleats in the ground, and I thought they were just working together in unison.
“It was reminiscent of what I felt like I saw in ‘24, maybe even in the early parts of last year in terms of just something that did not look fun for the opposing offense.”
Baker made the most out of the pivot towards aggression with six total tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. He leads the team in sacks with 3.5.
“Tell Nick to call me on some pressures, man,” Baker said playfully. “It’s definitely nice to get in the backfield a little bit, but also kudos to our defensive players – everyone doing their jobs and certain things that guys have to sacrifice to make other players get the play.”
Arizona’s defense also benefited from the efforts of the other side of the ball. Although the Cardinals scored zero touchdowns and relied solely on six field goals from kicker Chad Ryland, they possessed the ball for nearly 35 minutes and ran 13 more plays than the Rams.
The first two drives of the second half alone took 16 minutes and 46 seconds off the clock, allowing the defense plenty of time to rest and replenish on the sideline.
“Any time you can keep the defense off the field as much as we did there,” LaFleur said, “that’s kind of somewhat starting to be our identity a little bit in terms of we’re playing good ball and it’s long sustained drives. It’s not easy doing what they’re doing out there.”
Despite the win, LaFleur also reiterated Monday that one game doesn’t distract from the work that still needs to be done on defense throughout the rest of the season. The eight-game losing streak to NFC West opponents may be over, but Arizona’s defense is still the ninth-worst and third-worst unit in terms of yards and points allowed per game.
On the other hand, the Cardinals’ upcoming schedule may afford Rallis and his unit more opportunities to continue improving. Just two of the team’s next seven contests are against opponents with a total offense ranked 15th or higher, and one of them happens to be the Los Angeles Rams.
Regardless, LaFleur is continuing to put his trust in his defensive coordinator, just like he did after allowing 30 or more points in four consecutive games.
“I knew our defense had more than what we’ve been putting out there and we just had to unlock it some way, somehow,” LaFleur said. “I do believe we can start to build an identity off of this one.
“Each week’s going to be a game of its own and there’s always going to be unique challenges, but (I’ve) got a lot of faith in Nick. (I’ve) got a lot of faith in the rest of the defensive staff. I think they’re coaching their butt off.”
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