As Macdonald noted, the turnovers were big not only because they gave the Cardinals the ball away, but also because in both cases the offense turned short fields into touchdowns.

“That was great,” Smith said. “We talk about it all the time. Mike talks about how we want to play as a team and complementary football is the most important thing. I thought the way we performed offensively was right.” After they scored, they wanted to score a touchdown there, but ended up getting three. Then we go right back, the defense goes out and loses the ball. Then we get seven, they commit another turnover and we make a two-score game. Those are the things you need to gain momentum and really finish these games here.”

Smith-Njigba said: “That was huge for us. We want to convert those picks into touchdowns, and this was a good execution.”

Jones, who also had eight tackles in the game, surpassing the 100-tackle mark for the third straight time, said his first interception of the season was fairly straightforward.

“I dropped my hook, and as soon as I turned around and looked for the ball, it was there,” Jones said. “It kind of surprised me, but I’m glad I caught it this time instead of letting it fall like I did in the game against the Rams.”

He added that he was a little surprised that the ball came to him the way it did, noting, “It was kind of right for me.”

But while Jones downplayed his role in making the turnover happen, Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon explained that Jones actually had a pretty impressive game to be in the right spot.

“I honestly thought the first (interception) 13 was a really good play,” Gannon said. “That’s where the ball was supposed to go and he kind of read his eyes and came back out. He played the strong side and then went back to the weak side. It was a good game, so give them credit.”