Bordow: Cards' defense finally steps out of offense's shadow

SEATTLE As the Arizona Cardinals ran off the field Sunday, celebrating their 26-20 victory over Seattle, a brave Seahawks fan held up a sign that read, "You'll screw it up guaranteed."

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Defensive end Bertrand Berry couldn't help himself. Upon seeing the sign, he broke into a wide smile and shouted of the Seahawks, "They were who we thought they were."

And maybe, just maybe, the Cardinals aren't.

Oh, this is still a team largely dependent on offense. All Kurt Warner did Sunday was, ho-hum, pass for 395 yards.

Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald? Twenty-three catches for 337 yards. Just another day at the office.

But for once, it wasn't the offense that won the game or grabbed the spotlight. The Cardinals' defense took a bow and perhaps gave notice that come the postseason, it will have something to say, too.

Seattle had just 196 total yards. The Seahawks were 1-for-9 on third-down attempts. Arizona forced four turnovers.

And in the final 5 minutes and 38 seconds, with the game on the line, the defense came up with two stops, a three-and-out and a clinching interception by rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who had two picks on the day.

"We knew we could take this game over," defensive end Antonio Smith said.

It had been a rough week for the defense. They were criticized - and rightfully so - for allowing the San Francisco 49ers to nearly steal a victory last Monday. Then, too, they had to endure memories of their trip here last year, when the Seahawks put up 42 points and, in Darnell Dockett's words, "they really tried to embarrass us and run up the score."

"We kept that in our mind every time we lined up," Dockett added. "We kept saying, 'Remember.'"

Remembering is one thing. Doing something about it is another.

The Cardinals stoned a Seahawks team that welcomed back quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and receiver Deion Branch from injuries. All three of Seattle's touchdowns came after Arizona turnovers inside its 20-yard line.

Even more impressive: Arizona played much of the game without starting cornerback Rod Hood (ribs), and veteran Eric Green was hobbled with a knee injury. But up stepped Rodgers-Cromartie and backup Ralph Brown.

"My hat's off to our defense," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "... They got their hands on balls and made big plays."

It was important that the Cardinals finished what they started. They blew a 14-point second-half lead in Carolina. They let a bad San Francisco team drive within one yard of a game-winning score. Had Seattle gone down the field and scored on its final possession, doubt would have filled one side of the locker room.

"That's what we've been preaching the last three weeks," defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said. "We gotta finish, we gotta finish, we gotta finish."

Now, we're not ready to say the defense has arrived. The Carolina collapse is too fresh in the mind, and here come the New York Giants in six days with the most physical ground game in the league.

But you can see the growth and maturity. You love the aggressiveness, although they sometimes take it too far (expect Adrian Wilson to be fined or suspended for his hit on Hasselbeck in the second quarter). And you can't miss the playmakers, from Dockett to Wilson to Rodgers-Cromartie.

"They're starting to play very well," Whisenhunt said.

In a Seattle newspaper Sunday morning, a writer called the Cardinals' defense "average at best."

The players said they didn't read the article. But when told about it, they puffed their chests out and took one last shot at everything Seattle.

"It was a good thing we didn't see it," safety Antrel Rolle said. "Otherwise, we would have whupped them worse than we did."