For the second consecutive week, the Cardinals defense put together quality outings that wounded up in disappointment after a scoring drive by the Vikings with 1:13 left sealed the deal in a one-point defeat.
Yet when the team was watching the film, a different emotion emerged.
"It just lit a fire under all of us," Mack Wilson Sr. said.
The linebacker was as good as any player on the field in Sunday's game. He finished with seven tackles, tied with safety Budda Baker as the team's leader, and had two sacks. With the amount of force with which Wilson hit Sam Darnold, Wilson was surprised the Vikings quarterback didn't fumble up the football.
As a whole, the unit put together their best performance on third-down, only allowing one first-down conversion in eight attempts. Over the last two games, seven of their last 10 sacks have come on third-down.
"It's hats off to (defensive coordinator Nick) Rallis and just the whole staff with what they've been doing to put guys in the position to make plays," Wilson said. "As a defense, it's just trusting what coach Rallis dials up. It goes back to us buying in, trusting one another, and everybody doing their job."
Wilson epitomizes the Cardinals desire to utilize versatile players. Recognizing that the sacks and tackles are expected from a guy that plays with the motor Wilson possesses, he's also capable of dropping back in coverage.
But it wasn't enough in Minnesota, and that stuck with the players.
"The ultimate goal is to get a win and even if you play good as a player or defense, it doesn't feel as great if you lose the game," Wilson said. "There's plenty of thing out there we got to get cleaned up still."
Those missed opportunities were what coach Jonathan Gannon noticed had sparked the flame as they watched the film back on Monday. In his eyes, motivation to improve stems from those moments.
"When you don't get the result you want, you want to look back on it and try to learn from it, grow from it, and that should make you feel some type of way going into the next one," Gannon said. "I'm anticipating to see our response on Wednesday because I know it's going to be good."
Wilson admitted that Sunday's loss to the Vikings stung, and it probably hurt more considering the defensive unit's bend-but-don't-break motto held up until crucial fourth-quarter drives in back-to-back weeks. The mentality of the locker room forces the team to look ahead.
They'll host the Seahawks, their opponent from two weeks ago, in a massive NFC West showdown. With a win, the Cardinals return back to the top of the division with four games to go. Despite a two-game losing skid, Gannon's confidence hasn't wavered.
"Good teams are disciplined about their process," Gannon said, adding he will shake up a few details during practice. "Just staying consistent and displaying winning behavior, that's what it always goes back to. We've got to do it at a high level to give ourselves a chance to win Sunday."
