Jeremiyah Love was out, and Tyler Allgeier was the lead running back. But Bam Knight, frankly, ached for a chance like Sunday in Los Angeles.

In the din of the winning locker room, music blaring to represent the mood, Knight was thrilled with the victory. And yeah, he hopes more people realize what he can bring to the game.

"That's been my mentality coming into this season," Knight said after rushing for 80 yards on just 15 carries. "I feel like every time my name comes up people are like, 'He's a good third back' or 'He's a good team guy.' I want to show not only this organization but the league I am capable of playing Sundays. And not just when somebody goes down."

Knight might've had more. He suffered full body cramps much of the second half, limiting his playing time (and perhaps taking a piece from the Cardinals' red zone package.) Allgeier wasn't as efficient with his 38 yards on 18 carries, but the guy literally never loses a fumble and late in the fourth quarter, that's what you want in a back.

The defense was the star Sunday. That unit, and special teams, which not only eliminated Rams kicker Blake Grupe (more on that in a bit) but also delivered six field goals in six tries from kicker Chad Ryland, necessary in the 18-16 win.

"We have to score touchdowns in this league," tight end Trey McBride said. "But very proud of the defense and how they battled. Just a total team win. Chad Ryland, 6-for-6. That's awesome."

Knight's job is week-to-week. Whenever Love is ready, he will return. That will mean Knight will go back to being a third back. For now. He knows he's shown what it can be if the Cardinals turn to him.

And it's fun to be that guy in a locker room like Sunday's.

"No better feeling than this right here," Knight said. "It's good to get the running game going. It's a huge loss with Jeremiyah out but I'm glad me and TA were able to prove we can do it even with him down."

-- SoFi certainly seems to be an elixir for the Cardinals' defense. Or perhaps just the L.A. teams. But that unit was excellent on Sunday. Coach Mike LaFleur said he thought defensive coordinator Nick Rallis had an excellent game, and his players made it stand up.

There had been "uncomfortable" conversations LaFleur had during the week with both players and coaches. Details aren't coming, understandably, but to think the defense wasn't a big part of it would be naïve.

At no time did the Rams truly threaten to break loose. Puka Nacua did have 80 yards, but he was mostly kept in check, boosting his total with his late 42-yard catch. Budda Baker was excellent despite dealing with a groin issue. And Josh Sweat was a monster.

"There ain't no telling what I can do if we are actually in the game," said Sweat, who was credited with a team-high four pressures and a sack on 25 pass-rush snaps. "People think I forgot how to play football."

"We put it together tonight against a really good team," Sweat added. "If we can do (expletive) like that and it's down to the wire, everybody can make plays."

-- After the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade, Jalen Brooks knew he was going to get more chances. He dropped what would have been a first down catch with 7:06 left, forcing a punt. But later, on the first play on what turned into the Cardinals' game-winning drive, Brooks made a fantastic grab of a 21-yard catch and absorbed a hit to the head to earn another 15 yards on a penalty.

"You have to be resilient in this game," Brooks said. "I had that drop on that third down that put us in a tough spot, and I told (Kendrick Bourne) and the receivers, 'I'm built for this moment. You have to be resilient."

-- The Cardinals might've scored two more points. Maybe even should've. Rams kicker Blake Grupe was hurt, so after the Rams scored a touchdown, they were essentially forced to go for two.

Josh Sweat obliterated QB Matthew Stafford on a blindside sack, the ball was fumbled, and defensive lineman L.J. Collier picked it up and started running. Any fumble or interception on a two-point try returned all the way to the other end zone is two points for the defense. At one point, cornerback Kei'Trel Clark came racing up on Collier's right begging for the lateral, hoping to take it the rest of the way. Collier hung on to it and was tackled around the L.A. 35.

"I was trying, but ayyy, he's a big man, he was being greedy," Clark said with a big smile. "It was all good. It was a great play at the end of the day. I wanted the ball but it's all good."

Collier, in the glow of a huge win afterward, insisted he wasn't looking to give anyone the ball.

"Nah man, get a block," Collier said with a smile. "I played running back in high school. If I had been 50 yards out, that's six. That 98 (yards) was too much. I stalled out. Everybody is talking about pitching, nah. I'm from the country, I'm from the sticks. If it was do or die, I would've pitched it, but it wasn't do or die. I was moving, man."

-- Special teams was huge not just because of the two-point Sweat sack – ultimately the difference in the game – or Ryland's six field goals. It came on Duvernay's 40-yard kickoff return after the Rams' initial field goal. The Rams had just cut 245-pound kicker Harrison Mevis to replace him with 160-pound Grupe, who was forced to make a tackle on Devin Duvernay's 40-yard kickoff return after the Rams' initial field goal. No kicker put the Rams in tough spots (although punter Ethan Evans did boot the extra point on the Rams' last TD to give them a brief lead.)

-- Sunday was just the second time the Cardinals have ever won a road game without a touchdown in their long history, according to Next Gen Stats. The only other time was the infamous 12-6 road win in St. Louis in 2014, when the Cardinals clinched a postseason berth despite losing starting QB Drew Stanton (Carson Palmer was already out for the season) and Cardinals coach Bruce Arians declared after the game of Jeff Fisher's Rams, "There's a reason one team is going to the playoffs and the other one is always 8-8."

-- We will see next Saturday when player fines are announced, but it sure looked like McBride was taken down with an illegal hip-drop tackle by Rams defensive back Quentin Lake. There was no flag on the play.

-- Blitzing Budda Baker got another sack and his blitz forced a fourth-down incompletion. He's been a menace when Rallis has sent him.

-- The red-zone issues aren't awesome. Five trips there, all field goals, will normally get a team beat. LaFleur knows that. But he praised Ryland. "If you're going to kick it, you might as well make it."

-- That's it for today. Cardinals have a huge game Sunday at home, celebrating Larry Fitzgerald going into the Ring of Honor as well as retiring his number. Oh, and the suffocating Broncos defense is visiting. A difficult chore. But for now, an important victory.