There’s a lot to like about the Detroit Lions after their 26-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
For the first time this season, they played like a team and stayed focused throughout all four quarters.
With that victory, the Lions had a ton of players who stood out in a positive way, and a few who did not.
Here are the studs and duds for this week:
Stud: Matthew Stafford
After a poor performance in Week 2, Stafford bounced back in a big way versus Arizona. With Kenny Golladay healthy, Stafford had another weapon at his disposal and made the most of it.
😲 @kgxix#DETvsAZ | 📺 FOX | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/66AmUNFsiV
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 27, 2020
The 31-year-old quarterback finished the game completing 22 of his 31 pass attempts for two touchdowns and did so without throwing an interception.
Dud: Halapoulivaati Vaitai
Vaitai signed a five-year, $50 million contract to come to Detroit and play right tackle. Instead, his first game as a Lion was at the right guard position.
Vaitai struggled early on, allowing two sacks on Matthew Stafford in the first half.
While he held his own against the Cardinals’ defensive line for much of the game, those sacks plus one costly penalty late in the fourth quarter nearly caused the Lions to lose this one.
Just before the two minute warning, as the Lions were attempting to make their comeback, Matthew Stafford was able to get a 52-yard pass down the field to Marvin Hall for a touchdown. Unfortunately, Vaitai committed a holding penalty on the play, and the Lions had to replay the down.
Luckily, Detroit was able to run down the clock and get a last-second field goal to win, and Vaitai didn’t have to be the cause of another heartbreaking Lions loss.
Stud: Jeff Okudah
Asking any cornerback in this league to cover Deandre Hopkins is a tough thing to do. For a rookie in his second game as a pro, it’s near impossible.
While Hopkins did put up a good game against Okudah, there are a lot of things that the rookie did that warrant him being listed as a stud today.
The rookie made six tackles today, two of which went for a loss. He also notched his first career interception. Okudah was able to get ahead of Hopkins on a route and snag the ball before the Pro Bowl receiver could get to it.
Welcome to the league, rookie.
Dud: Darryl Roberts
The Lions have had to deal with more than their fair share of injuries at the cornerback position already this season. With Justin Coleman on injured reserve, the team has opted to use former New York Jets starting cornerback Darryl Roberts in the slot.
Roberts didn’t make any major mistakes in this game or do anything too costly for Detroit, but he did find himself unable to stop Andy Isabella on both of the speedy young receiver’s touchdown receptions.
Stud: T.J. Hockenson
Hockenson has become one of the most productive players on the Lions offense throughout the last three games.
The former first-round pick had four receptions for 53 yards against Arizona. While these stats weren’t team-leading or on scoring plays, three of those receptions went for first downs on drives that resulted in Detroit putting points on the board.
Stud: Kenny Golladay
In his first game of the season, Golladay nearly single-handed lay revived the Lions offense.
He lead the team in both receptions and receiving yards, with six catches for 57 yards. Add that to his 15-yard touchdown reception, and it’s clear that he is fully healthy and ready to make a difference for this team.
Stud: Jack Fox
Fox punted four times and pinned three of those punts inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line.
His leg helped Detroit flip the field and make it more difficult to Arizona’s offense to move the ball.
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