TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Tough, fast, mean. The Arizona Cardinals aren’t pushovers anymore, thanks to an aggressive, hard-hitting defense.

Even the “p” word – playoffs – isn’t as ridiculous as it might seem.

After a 17-14 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday, Arizona is 4-5, equaling its win total for all of last season, and is just a game out of first place in the unimposing NFC West.

In his first season, coach Dennis Green has changed the attitude of this moribund franchise. The Cardinals aren’t winners yet, but they’re no pushovers, either.

“I think we are a step closer to being a good team,” Green said Monday.

Since an 0-3 start, the Cardinals are 4-2 going into next Sunday’s game at Carolina. After that, Arizona plays four of its last six at home.

The Cardinals are 3-1 at Sun Devil Stadium and ended a 17-game road losing streak with a come-from-behind 24-23 win over Miami two weeks ago.

The last two victories might have been ugly, but the hits have been hard for a defense that shut out the Giants in the second half.

“We’ve been able to develop a style of play here,” Bertrand Berry said, “and the fans really respond. That’s what good teams do – they win at home.”

Green brought a reputation for high-scoring offense from his decade as coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

But defense has been Arizona’s strongest asset.

“When a guy makes a play, then somebody else wants to make a play,” defensive tackle Russell Davis said. “It gets contagious.”

Davis is the lone holdover on a defensive line that was one of the worst in the NFL a year ago. Rookie Darnell Dockett is the other tackle. Peppi Zellner, acquired in a trade with Oakland, plays one end, and the team’s unquestioned defensive leader, Berry, is the other.

Berry, signed as a free agent out of Denver, had four of Arizona’s six sacks of Kurt Warner on Sunday, and has nine for the season.

Green thought the biggest play of the game came when Berry dropped Tiki Barber for a loss.

“You can talk sacks and all that,” Green said, “but when he knifed in there and hit the blocker and knocked him back into the ball carrier for like a 4-yard loss, that was a stunner. Many times you need a stunning play to make a team think maybe they can’t do what they thought they could do.”

Berry has been a mentor for Dockett, who slipped to the third round because of some off-field problems at Florida State.

“I’ve learned so much from the guy, even off the field,” Dockett said. “He’s a class guy and he plays hard. Every time I line up next to him I’m comfortable because I know that I’m going to be playing 110 (percent), because he’s playing 110. If you’re here, you know you can play football, but he teaches you how to be a better person.”

Arizona’s offense has been slow to develop, and Green acknowledges he is not a patient man. On Sunday, the Cardinals managed just 178 yards of offense, only 90 through the air.

Young quarterback Josh McCown has made fewer mistakes as the season goes on, and he still is getting comfortable with the system and his three talented receivers: the recently returned Anquan Boldin, rookie Larry Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson.

The most significant offense has come from Emmitt Smith, who keeps defying Father Time. Smith gained 30 of the 37 yards of Arizona’s winning drive Sunday. He scored two touchdowns in a game for the first time since leaving Dallas two years ago.

, and has eight TDs for the season.

“I think guys are knowing that they can trust the guy to the right and trust the guy to the left,” Smith said. “That breeds confidence, and breeds togetherness. That’s strength. That’s what you need when you’re going out and playing a team in the National Football League.”

AP-ES-11-15-04 1744EST