The Arizona Cardinals have improved to 5-2 for the season by beating the Baltimore Ravens 26-18 at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

What looked to be a comfortable win ended in dramatic fashion for the home fans as Joe Flacco threatened to force overtime on the final drive, but Tony Jefferson intercepted a pass in the endzone to end the challenge from the Ravens.

Solid defense in the early stages of the game saw both sides turn to their kickers, with Arizona's Chandler Catanzaro missing with a 55-yard field goal attempt before the Ravens took the lead when Justin Tucker split the posts from 44 yards.

A fine catch from Michael Floyd set up the first touchdown of the night as Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer followed the play by handing off to Chris Johnson, who evaded several tackles on the way to completing a 26-yard rush for the touchdown.

The response from the Ravens and Flacco was impressive as Justin Forsett finished a patient drive by sprinting 14 yards into the endzone, the Ravens making it 10-7 heading in the second quarter.

An error from Baltimore's punt returner Jeremy Ross would shift the momentum before the half-time interval, though, as Justin Bethel stripped the ball away from his rival, and when penalties edged them closer to the endzone, Palmer capitalised with a short touchdown pass to Floyd.

The Cardinals defense stepped up in a crucial third quarter as pass rushers piled the pressure on Flacco, who was unable to close the gap on the hosts as Arizona took a 20-10 lead with a couple of 21-yard field goals from Catanzaro.

It looked like any chances of a Baltimore fightback were dashed when Palmer finished an 11-play drive by firing a four-yard touchdown pass to John Brown with just over eight minutes, but Catanzaro's failure to add the extra point kept the door open.

Another mistake handed an opportunity to the Ravens as Drew Butler's punt was blocked by Asa Jackson, and the away side took advantage when Flacco found enough space to pick out Kyle Juszczyk with the short pass.

Flacco ensured that the Arizona lead was cut to eight when a two-point conversion attempt ended with him delivering the ball to Nick Boyle, who had peeled away to make an easy completion in the endzone.

As the Cardinals looked to take time off the clock on the next drive, Palmer was ruled to have intentionally grounded the ball when throwing it out of play under pressure and the penalty helped the Ravens to earn possession just inside the two-minute warning.

Flacco continued to feel the presence of the Cardinals defense in the game-deciding drive, but passes to Chris Givens and Crockett Gillmore edged the Ravens to just short of the endzone

A penalty on the offense cost them five yards with 13 seconds remaining, and the game was then clinched by Jefferson, who claimed an interception on the run to hand Baltimore their sixth loss of the season.