The Arizona Cardinals put together their most complete effort of the season on Monday night, snapping a five-game losing streak with a 27-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The offense continued to play solid football with Jacoby Brissett under center, and Marvin Harrison Jr. embarrassed Daron Bland all night en route to a career-high seven catches for 96 yards and a score.

The bigger storyline from Monday night was the Cardinals' defense, which held an opponent to under 20 points for the first time since week three, and just the second time all season. Dallas came into the game averaging over 30 points per game, but could only manage 10 offensive points, with the other seven coming via a blocked punt.

Josh Sweat and Calais Campbell continued to dominate upfront for Arizona, but the biggest reason for the defensive ascension is the play of three rookies. 1st-round pick Walter Nolen made his NFL debut after being sidelined with an injury, and it was immediately apparent that, as long as he can stay healthy, he’s going to eat offenses alive. On 10 run defense snaps, Nolen was able to earn an 82.4 PFF grade and tally two stops at or behind the line of scrimmage. His tackle for loss on Javonte Williams halted what looked to be an impressive first drive for Dallas and set the tone for Arizona’s domination up front.

Later in the game, he was able to showcase his pass-rush ability, blowing by Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith and sacking Dak Prescott.

Nolen playing this well in his first game against one of the best interior offensive lines in the league means it’s not crazy to project that the Cardinals' pass rush could fully evolve into the top 10 unit that fans were expecting, given the resources put into this group over the last two seasons.

In the secondary, Will Johnson has looked like a special player since week one, and he continued his fantastic play against two of the game's best receivers, limiting Ceedee Lamb to 24 yards on two catches and George Pickens to one catch for 19 yards while being the primary coverage defender. Johnson’s PFF coverage grade sits at 74.9 through six games, and he’s yet to allow more than 43 yards in a single game.

The most pleasant surprise from Monday has to be Denzel Burke, though. Forced into his second-most coverage snaps of the entire season due to a mid-game injury to Max Melton, Burke posted an elite coverage grade of 90.8. Burke allowed four catches on seven targets for 33 yards, and his clutch pass breakup against Lamb on 4th down early in the fourth quarter proved to be monumental in preventing a Cowboy comeback.

Burke was also able to snag an interception on what was effectively a 4th down Hail Mary from Prescott down by 10. It’s unclear if Melton will return against the Seattle Seahawks next week, but Burke’s performance should give the team confidence if they need to start him.

This draft class looks like a transformative one for Arizona’s defense, both up front and in the secondary. It’s going to be interesting to see if Cody Simon can earn more snaps after his forced fumble on Monday, because Akeem Davis-Gaither isn’t getting it done as a tackler, or if Arizona invests more at the position during the offseason to really complete the defense.

Either way, there's deserved optimism for this unit going forward, and a red-hot Seahawks offense is going to provide another great measuring stick for just how good this group can be.