Dante Stills watched from the sideline and thought as if the entire sideline was thinking late in Saturday night’s game.

The Cardinals would do it.

They couldn’t, not after a cruel rebound and loss of possession just five yards from victory. But they had pulled it off thanks in large part to a defense that wasn’t going to let something like that happen again based on their performance the week before in Carolina.

“For the most part, we took care of our business,” Stills said after the defensive end and his teammates held the Rams to 257 yards despite the Rams being at capacity with Nacua, Kupp and their offensive line — guys who weren’t there during the week Health were 2 as the Cardinals held LA to 10 points.

This time there were only 13.

“I thought they fought,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “They played one hell of an offense.”

Budda Baker was effective early, the secondary was impressive for the most part, and although Kyren Williams had more yards in the first quarter (27) than he had all of Week 2 (25), he only had 56 for the game. There was nothing spectacular. Just good, steady work keeping the Cardinals in the game and, most importantly, getting the ball back for the offense’s last chance when they desperately needed a three-pointer.

The defense will be looked after by GM Monti Ossenfort in the offseason. However, making games like Carolina an outlier is crucial. Nick Rallis’ unit got the job done at SoFi.

– It’s no surprise that James Conner didn’t make it far in the game. Once you’re done, the margin for error is low. We’ll see what happens – I’d be shocked if Conner didn’t at least consider playing next week and making sure he doesn’t miss a game this season – but the team will make a smart decision.

– Michael Carter continues to play well when he gets the chance. Very good.

– Trey McBride was so good and he was the story in the game. Both because of its excellence and because of the final choice. I don’t know if he’ll be considered for All-Pro, but he definitely should be.

– Meanwhile, Marvin Harrison Jr. had his best game against the Rams and then another great game against the Rams. I’m sure Cardinals fans would love to have a Rams killer on the roster.

– Harrison Jr. wasn’t the starter for the first time this season (although he was on the second play of the game, and “starting” is more about what play and formation you call on the first snap, and not so much about). the “best”) “11 are always out there.)

– Harrison had an excellent back-shoulder catch that he aggressively hit over the defender for 24 points. He’ll do more of this as his career progresses, but this was a good sign.

-Rookie Christian Jones made his NFL debut on Saturday and even made a few good tackles while subbing in for Jackson Barton.

– Speaking of the offensive line: They played better in the second half and that made the difference. However, Jonathan Gannon believed that the first half’s problems were due in part to the fact that the Cardinals were often in difficult field position (their first two drives started at their own 3 and their own 5). Penalties didn’t help again. The Cardinals had seven penalties in the first half, including six on offense.

– Kyler Murray said he thought OC Drew Petzing tried to help McBride score his first touchdown. He scored his goal on an attempt in the third end zone. McBride became the first Cardinals to score a TD receiving, rushing and fumble recovery in a season since Hall of Famer Ollie Matson in 1952. Sure, it’s a mysterious group, but impressive nonetheless.

– McBride’s TD came on his 98th^Th Catch of the season, so he will hold the record for most catches before receiving a TD reception. But with the TD, he can no longer be the guy who has the most receptions in a season with a bagel in the TD column.

– Somehow the Cardinals had three offensive penalties on one play – and one of them was a non-intentional grounding, which during the play looked like it could have been called. Center Hjalte Froholdt was illegal downfield (rejected), guard Isaiah Adams held (rejected), and wide receiver Michael Wilson committed offensive pass interference (accepted). I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in my 25 years of coaching this team.

– His importance quickly faded, but veteran Zay Jones will never be targeted, even though he made a great 19-yard tiptoe catch down the sideline in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t even a tip, but more like a ballerina standing on her toes as the ball came in. Fantastic long shot.

– The final word belongs to Kyler Murray and his connection to Harrison:

“We haven’t even scratched the surface yet. He had a good season. Everyone thinks he had a disappointing season. That’s not the case.”

That’s all for tonight. Time to fly home.