On Sunday morning before the Cardinals played the Rams, Chad Ryland got a text from his mom.

"Trust the process," was her message to her son, and while that's how the kicker already lives professionally, it couldn't have foretold a better ending.

Ryland trusted his process six times against the Rams, booting six field goals and accounting for all the Cardinals' points in a dramatic 18-16 win. The final field goal came on the game's final play, a 43-yarder hit as the clock was running.

If there was ever an easier choice for NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, which the NFL bestowed upon Ryland on Wednesday, it'd be hard to find.

"In all the games, myself, (holder) Blake (Gillikin), (long snapper) Casey (Kreiter), the whole squad, we are trying to go 1-0 every kick," Ryland said. "And the more we can stay in that mindset and focus on the process and reset each time, It's monotonous but it works."

The Cardinals have won the conference's special teams award after both of their wins. Simi Fehoko won it after Week 1 following a blocked punt against the Chargers. Dating back to 2022, the Cardinals have now won special teams POW honors four times, with one on offense and one on defense.

Ryland hasn't won an NFC weekly honor, but in 2024 did win the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Month award in October after kicking three game-winning field goals.

Ryland has made all 12 of his extra points and 14-of-16 field goals through six games; he is on pace for 153 points -- which would shatter the franchise record of 140 by kicker Neil Rackers in 2005.

Ryland would prefer to score less, if it meant more touchdowns for the Cardinals as they work through red-zone issues. But a victory, no matter how it was accomplished, still trumps all.

"It's fun to win, and in this league wins are hard to come by," Ryland said.