Rapid rewind: Lions start fast, lean on defense in bounce-back victory over Cardinals
Glendale, Ariz. — What started as a track meet slowed to a crawl as the Detroit Lions had to grind out a 20-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Sunday.
The teams combined to score touchdowns on each of the game’s first three possessions, with Detroit jumping out to a 14-7 lead while leaning heavily on its ground game.
The Lions added a third touchdown before the half on a trick play to take a 10-point lead into the break. That advantage lingered until late in the fourth quarter, when the Cardinals sliced it to seven points on a 45-yard Matt Prater field goal with just under four minutes remaining.
But the Lions were able to run out the remaining clock thanks to a 17-yard pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown to convert third-and-11, followed by an 8-yard scramble by Goff to seal it.
Game ball
Building on his strong start to the season, Lions safety Kerby Joseph played a key role in ending four of the Cardinals’ first five possessions in the second half.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Joseph intercepted a deep ball intended for rookie sensation Marvin Harrison Jr. Later in the frame, Joseph stopped Kyler Murray 1 yard short of the sticks on a designed third-down run, leading to a punt, then broke up another deep ball, also on third down, alongside teammate Brian Branch.
Joseph punctuated his performance with a fourth-down pass breakup while in man coverage on tight end Trey McBride.
Scoring summary
First quarter
● 10:16 — The Lions clearly wanted to get back to asserting their will after last week’s offensive struggles. David Montgomery ran the ball six times for 39yards, capping the opening drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. LIONS 7, CARDINALS 0
● 5:08 — The Cardinals wasted little time responding behind Murray’s dual-threat ability. The quarterback ran twice after Lions defenders surrendered the edge each time, resulting in 34 yards. The QB was also perfect throwing the ball, completing all four of his passes, including a 10-yard crosser to Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 10-yard score. LIONS 7, CARDINALS
Second quarter
● 12:17— It was another run-heavy possession for the Lions with Jahmyr Gibbs taking nine handoffs and gaining 35 yards. But St. Brown fueled the scoring drive with a 20-yard post pattern from the slot to dig the team out of a second-and-15 hole, and the All-Pro receiver bailed the offense out again on third-and-goal with a shake route for a 5-yard touchdown, his first of the season. Jake Bates missed the extra point wide right, leaving the lead at six. LIONS 13, CARDINALS 7
● 0:29 — After a series of punts, the Lions opened this drive with a 24-yard play-action pass to LaPorta. On the cusp of stalling near midfield, Gibbs managed to convert a third-and-12 with a 14-yard run, leading to a hook-and-ladder toss from St. Brown to Gibbs for a 21-score in the closing moments of the first half. LIONS 20, CARDINALS 7
● 0:00 — Benefitting from an unnecessary roughness infraction against linebacker Jalen-Reeves-Maybin, the Cardinals were able to move into field goal range for Prater to bury one from 44 yards out as time expired in the half. LIONS 20, CARDINALS 10
Third quarter
● None
Fourth quarter
● 3:48 — Moving urgently into Lions territory, the Cardinals stalled following an Aidan Hutchinson sack, bringing him to 6.5 on the season. Still, the home team was able to slice Detroit’s lead to a single score with a 45-yard Prater field goal. LIONS 20, CARDINALS 13
Turnovers
● With the Cardinals moving into Lions territory to open the second half, Murray took a snap before the defense was set and fired a deep shot to Harrison, only for Kerby Joseph to undercut the throw for his second interception of the season.
● Facing the opposite direction while faking a handoff, Goff didn’t see linebacker Dennis Gardick drop from the edge into coverage. Targeting tight end Brock Wright on a crossing pattern out of the play-action, Goff threw it directly to the defender for the easy, third-quarter interception.
Notable
● Just before the two-minute warning, the Lions snapped the ball on a third-and-12 play while the Cardinals countered with an aggressive blitz. Gibbs faced the prospect of blocking two oncoming rushers and slowed zero as Goff took a massive shot as he tried to throw, resulting in the ball popping into the air where it was intercepted by linebacker Mack Wilson and returned for a touchdown.
But the play was wiped out when the officiating said the snap came after the two-minute warning. TV replays suggested the call was incorrect, and the ball was snapped with 2:01 on the clock, but the play was not reviewable.
● Dan Campbell successfully challenged a fourth-down conversion by Murray in the third quarter, ending a scoring threat just outside Detroit’s red zone.
Key stats
● Goff had a perfect passer rating at the half after completing all 12 of his passes. He finished his day 18-of-23 for 198 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
● David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 189 rushing yards and a touchdown, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
● St. Brown paced Detroit’s pass catchers with seven grabs for 74 yards and a score.
● Branch led the defense with nine tackles, including one for a loss and two pass breakups.
Injuries
● After a series of early-game scares, the Lions lost two key pieces in the second quarter.
Linebacker Derrick Barnes suffered a knee injury from a cut block and defensive tackle Alim McNeill suffered a shoulder injury on the final possession of the first half. Neither were able to return.
Additionally, LaPorta was in and out of the lineup in the second half after getting rolled up on during the hook-and-ladder play.
Finally, Branch stayed down multiple minutes after a helmet-to-helmet collision with McBride in the closing minutes of the game.
Inactives
Linebacker Alex Anzalone (concussion) came into the day listed as questionable, but ended up being scratched from the lineup. Also inactive were Ifeatu Melifwonfu, Ennis Rakestraw, James Houston, Giovanni Manu, Colby Sorsdal and Isaiah Williams.
Melifonwu (ankle) and Rakestraw (hamstring) were ruled out on Friday, while Williams was questionable entering Sunday with a lingering abdominal injury. The others were healthy scratches.
Next game
The Lions return to Ford Field for a Monday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are 3-0 after easily dispatching the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, 24-3.
Jack Fox should get a game ball. That man flipped the field multiple times.
Watching from home, I heard the whistle right before tor at he two minute warning (the whistle may have been at snap, or milliseconds after, but there was an audible whistle to stop play), the TV announcers were off base.