The Cardinals defense has cycled through many players during coach Bruce Arians’ tenure, but one thing that’s never left is a pride in shutting down opposing rushing attacks.
The unit has long held a core belief that stopping the run will lead to success, and most of the time it has been excellent at doing so. That wasn’t the case in the first matchup with the Rams, when rookie Todd Gurley had 15 carries for 144 yards in the second half alone to spark the 24-22 upset victory in Week 4.
That performance has stayed in the minds of the defense for a long time, and two months later it will finally get a chance at atonement.