The spotlight shone bright on the Cardinals defense going into last week's road game against the Rams, the unit trying to find a solve after allowing 30 points a game for four straight weeks.

In Los Angeles, the spotlight remained, but this time as the star of the show.

The Cardinals held the high-powered Rams to 16 total points and only 200 yards of offense prior to the final drive, tangible evidence of what the defense could be,

Mike LaFleur has long had confidence in defensive coordinator Nick Rallis and his unit. They just needed to prove him right.

"I trust the human. I trust the worker," LaFleur said. "I got a lot of faith in Nick. I got a lot of faith in the rest of the defensive staff. I think they're coaching their butts off, and I think the details are improving."

That belief from the head coach might be why Rallis said he didn't feel pressure.

"It felt like another week of preparation to be 100 percent honest," Rallis said.

But maybe it was never about pressure. There are thousands of eyes watching every moment. That comes with playing and coaching in the NFL.

Maybe instead it was about resiliency.

"A big thing we talked about was that and being able to face adversity, keep staying consistent, doing the little things correct, and never wavering in our faith in our team and our practice and our training," linebacker Cody Simon said. "There are tough conversations between everybody. We all know the standard is higher. We had to play better."

Simon didn't play a ton of snaps on Sunday, but when he was out there, he was a difference-maker. He recorded one tackle and forced a fumble which was recovered by Denzel Burke.

If it wasn't about resiliency or about pressure, the desire for collaboration was the need. Linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. said each Wednesday, Rallis introduces the game plan and then they will pull up the menu and go through the "why" that will help them play fast.

But after those "tough conversations" took place throughout the week with players and coaches, collaboration was a focal point.

"I think what is most misunderstood about Nick is how much he really pours into us definitely, and a lot of people on the outside don't see that, but I feel like he's a great leader, and that's even with him being a 33-year-old DC because he's a leader of men," Wilson said. "He's always willing to listen and I really feel like he's listening right now for sure, for sure. I feel like he's leaning on us."

After the game, LaFleur said it felt like the defense went back in time to 2024. That was a season where the Cardinals played a bend-don't-break style of defense and went three consecutive home games without allowing a touchdown.

Rallis said "in some aspects" it reminded him of that campaign. The focus has been on the 2026 Cardinals. But just like they did back then, on Sunday safety Budda Baker was a versatile chess piece and the blitz was effective.

Was the success against the Rams a byproduct of the resiliency? Consistency? Collaboration?

The players seem to believe all of the above. They need that and then some going forward.

"It felt like a deep deep breath because we finally got one out of the way and we need to keep stacking them and not do more or do less than what we did," defensive lineman L.J. Collier said. "Rallis thought he had seen something out there and it was working. Time and time again we were all in Matthew Stafford's face. I'm a firm believer in if it ain't broke, don't fix it."