GLENDALE, Ariz. -- This is what it has come to.
The Arizona Cardinals are 5-7 overall following their 32-16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, as Todd Gurley accounted for 168 total yards and Jared Goff completed 67.7 percent of his passes while throwing for two touchdowns. The loss, Arizona's third in its past four games, has all but left the Cardinals' postseason dreams on life support and has brought the offseason closer.
How did the Cardinals get to this point? By taking one of the best defenses in the NFL and dismantling it, piece by piece.
The Cardinals let six defensive players -- including five starters -- go in free agency. One by one, general manager Steve Keim let them all leave. Some were because of finances. Some were because of their play. Some were because they thought they could be replaced by someone better. They went on to sign contracts that combined to be worth close to $130 million with other teams, while the Cardinals chose the bargain route.
Now they're getting what they paid for, and this season is what Arizona was left with: A defense that was ranked second in yards allowed per game and per play now ranks 14th, 10th in rushing yards per game and 19th in passing yards per game. It's also ranked 27th on third down, 26th in the red zone and 25th in points allowed per game.
The Cardinals were a top-six defense in three of coach Bruce Arians' first four years in Arizona. Last season, they had a fierce pass rush, anchored by Calais Campbell in the middle and complemented by Chandler Jones and Markus Golden on the edges. They had a young core in their secondary with D.J. Swearinger growing into a vital piece of the safety rotation while Tony Jefferson developed into one of the league's best all-around safeties. Those two were helped by the addition of cornerback Marcus Cooper, who replaced Brandon Williams in the starting lineup after one week and went on to make six interceptions. Then there was inside linebacker Kevin Minter, who grew into his role as the defense's quarterback over his four seasons in Arizona, and outside linebacker Alex Okafor, an underutilized pass-rusher who backed up Jones and Golden -- and was still effective.
Everyone but Okafor started.
It doesn't take 20/20 hindsight to realize Keim outsmarted himself.
Campbell signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jefferson signed a four-year, $34 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens, Swearinger signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract with the Washington Redskins, Cooper signed a three-year, $16 million contract with the Chicago Bears, Minter signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, and Okafor signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.
Keim then set out to either replace the departed or let defensive coordinator James Bettcher figure out a way to produce the same type of defense without them. Keim replaced Minter with Karlos Dansby, who signed at 35 years old and is now 36 -- nine years older than Minter. Keim counted on Arizona's stable of young defensive linemen to fill the giant void left by Campbell -- both literally and figuratively -- but Robert Nkemdiche hasn't produced at the level the Cardinals have expected, and the combination of Rodney Gunter, Xavier Williams and Olsen Pierre has produced five sacks and 51 tackles. Campbell is among the league leaders with 12.5 sacks.
He let Cooper walk and tried to replace him with Justin Bethel at cornerback, an experiment that yet again didn't work, so Keim, like last season with Cooper, had to find a replacement. This year it was Tramon Williams.
After letting Swearinger and Jefferson go, Keim signed veteran Antoine Bethea to fill their void, and his presence has been wanted and needed in the secondary. Bethea, 33, brought experience and leadership to the secondary that hadn't existed in recent years. His three interceptions have been a boost, especially because it has taken Tyrann Mathieu more time than expected to return to his play-making self and Tyvon Branch tore his ACL in Week 10. Jefferson has been a key part of the Ravens' secondary, tallying two sacks and an interception this season along with 50 tackles, which are third on the team. Swearinger has emerged as a defensive leader for Washington. He's second on the team in interceptions, with three, and tackles, with 57, to complement his seven passes defensed.
Keim opted to keep Kareem Martin instead of Okafor. While Martin has finally grown into his position at outside linebacker after moving there in 2015 and made his first career interception on Sunday, he hasn't had a sack this season, while Okafor had 4.5 before tearing his Achilles and going on injured reserve. By letting Okafor go, Arizona went with three outside linebackers this season and the hopes that first-round pick Haason Reddick could rush the passer off the edge, if needed. Well, he was needed -- as was Okafor -- after Golden tore his ACL in Week 4.
The Cardinals' defense is part of the story this season. It has given up just one 100-yard rusher and receiver but had four receivers go for more than 90 yards against them. But the team that was as effective and as dominant last season -- it was ranked first in sacks per pass attempt -- has been forced to reconfigure itself, thanks to front-office decisions to not hand out the type of money that was needed to keep the defense not just intact but also competitive at the level the Cardinals made their standard.
In other words, the Cardinals are getting what they paid for.