The Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday to the Detroit Lions 20-13. They fell behind 20-7 and then didn’t allow a point in the second half, although it wasn’t enough.
We looked at what happened offensively.
What did we see defensively and on special teams?
A TD taken away
With the clock moving toward the two-minute warning at the end of the first half, and the Lions facing third-and-12 from midfield, quarterback Jared Goff dropped back and was hit by safety Jalen Thompson and linebacker Owen Pappoe as he was attempting to pass.
The ball deflected into the air, where linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. caught it at the 44-yard line and appeared to score a touchdown that would have tied the game at 13, pending the extra point.
However, the officials ruled the two-minute warning was reached before the snap, so there was no play.
What followed was Jahmyr Gibbs gashing the defense for a 14-yard gain and a first down and two plays later, Goff threw a short 1-yard pass to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown who lateraled to Gibbs and he ran the final 20 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, the Lions led 20-7 with 29 seconds remaining.
When head coach Jonathan Gannon was asked about a possible letdown by the defense, he said, “Anytime you score (I’m not going to take the bait on that), like yeah, but with saying that, our guys are psychologically trained (one his five buckets); that’s an uncontrollable for us. So what we can control is, let’s play defense and they hit us with that well-designed play there.
“But I thought when we came in at halftime, no one was down. Everyone was, ‘OK, here’s what we need to do.’ I thought the defense played extremely well in the second half to give ourselves a chance to get back in the game.”
About that second half
After two quarters, the Lions had rolled up 240 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per play. Goff was 12-for-12 for 137 yards and a 153.8 passer rating.
However, they scored no points in the final two quarters and had only 133 yards (3.9 per play). That was in large part because Goff was 6-for-11 for 62 yards and an interception, dropping his game rating to 113.6.
Of course, he connected with St. Brown for an 18-yard gain on third-and-12 from their own 28 on a play that began with 2:20 remaining in the game. That ended any chance the Cardinals had of getting the ball back.
Ransacked by the run
The Cardinals had few answers for running backs Gibbs and David Montgomery. On the first possession of the game, the Lions took a 7-0 lead on a 70-yard drive during which Montgomery rushed six times for 39 yards and scored on a 1-yard run.
For the game, he and Gibbs accounted for 225 scrimmage yards on 42 touches. They combined for 188 yards rushing on 39 attempts. Montgomery got numerous extra yards after being stopped, but the scrum kept him moving.
Individual standouts
Linebacker Kyzir White led the way with 10 tackles, but only one solo. Safety Jalen Thompson had six solos among his nine tackles. Wilson had eight tackles (three solo) with one for loss and a sack. Linebacker Dennis Gardeck had an interception, a pass defensed and four tackles (two solo) with one for loss.
Linebacker Budda Baker was his usual self with seven tackles (four solo). He left the game briefly in the second quarter with an unannounced injury, but returned on the next possession. Defensive lineman Dante Stills, who was inactive last week, had a sack to go with six tackles (two solo) and one for loss.
Gannon said of Stills, “Week 2 was in the past and he knew he was going to maximize his opportunities. I thought he played well.”
What “dynamic” kickoff return?
It seems about time that everyone stops referring to the new kickoff rule as “dynamic.” There were no returns in the game as Cardinals kicker Matt Prater had three touchbacks and Detroit’s Jake Bates four. Prater was successful on field goals of 42 and 45 yards. Punter Blake Gillikin punted five times for a 52.0 average and 44.0 net.
Greg Dortch allowed a punt to bounce at around the 14-yard line rather than move to catch it and the ball was downed at the 2. On another possession, the Cardinals were forced to start at the 10 after Kei’Trel Clark was penalized 10 yards for an illegal block out of bounds.
In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals started possessions at the 12-, 9- and 7-yard lines following two Dortch fair catches and a downed punt.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
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