6 quick takeaways from the Lions road win over the Cardinals in Week 3.
The Detroit Lions took a gut punch last week, but they dusted themselves off and returned to their winning ways.
Coming off their first loss of the season, the Lions were faced with a red-hot Arizona Cardinals team that had just walloped the opposing Los Angeles Rams by a score of 41-10. If Detroit wanted to prove themselves as a team capable of making a deep playoff run, this was their moment. The litmus test went well, but there are still growing pains and literal pains to address for the coming weeks.
Let us examine some takeaways from the Lions’ 20-13 win over the Cardinals.
Early season wounds
Back in May, I talked about the concerning trend of the Lions having the earliest bye weeks on average in the entire league. Yet after all of these early injuries to kick off the 2024 season, a Week 5 bye is suddenly looking like a welcome break.
Already missing Ifeatu Melifonwu, Alex Anzalone, and Ennis Rakestraw, the Lions picked up even more wounds against the Cardinals. Terrion Arnold was briefly knocked out of the game with a knee injury. Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill, two key components of the defensive front, were both down at some point, with McNeill (shoulder) being ruled out early in the third quarter. Derrick Barnes (knee), the lone proven SAM linebacker on the roster, was carted to the locker room early and did not return. Sam LaPorta (ankle) got rolled up on the Lions’ hook-and-ladder touchdown, also requiring a cart-assisted locker room trip. Marcus Davenport got looked at on the sideline in the third quarter, already coming off a missed Week 2 game. Dan Skipper was shaken up early in the game. Brian Branch (neck) got hurt on a torpedo of a tackle late in the game.
A team is only as good as its depth, and the Lions have already had to reach into their backup pool for help. This does not even account for players already on the Injured Reserve like Brodric Martin, Emmanuel Moseley, or John Cominsky, nor does it include minor dings to ironmen like Penei Sewell or Graham Glasgow.
Lions lack the finishing blow
The Lions’ defense is playing incredibly well given all of the injuries they have sustained so far this season. Detroit is 2-1 largely due to their defensive efforts, and if their offensive counterpart could step up, we might be looking at a 3-0 record to start the year.
On paper, the Lions offense was productive. Jared Goff was efficient with a pair of touchdowns, while David Montgomery went over 100 yards on the ground. Yet much like last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the yards have not translated into points. Detroit recorded 463 total yards on offense last week, but only turned it into 16 points. Against the Cardinals, Detroit amassed 373 total yards, but their final score was just 20 (three touchdowns due to a missed extra point). All three of those scores came in the first half as Detroit failed to muster a single point in the second half.
It did not end up costing them thanks to the defensive effort, but certainly could have. It is another example of a disturbing trend through three games. The offense is fierce early on, but they have sputtered late in games. The Lions had plenty of opportunities to put a nail in the Cardinals’ coffin, but it never came until the very final drive. If Detroit wants to be a Super Bowl team, they need to be able to close out games instead of allowing their opponents to hang around.
It is difficult to say what the solution is, and there likely is not a singular one. Amon-Ra St. Brown was once again productive, further putting his Week 1 disappointment behind him. Jameson Williams was largely a ghost on Sunday, but the Cardinals were paying special attention to the speedster, such as on his end-around loss of seven yards. The biggest name not yet clicking is Sam LaPorta, who had a pair of catches for 36 yards but suffered another injury. The Lions are clearly not playing to their potential, and you have to wonder if LaPorta is the key missing cog right now.
A modest outing from Hutchinson, but for good reason
Some will look at the stat sheet and be disappointed with Aidan Hutchinson registering just one sack against the Cardinals, yet another team fielding a backup offensive tackle. After notching himself a 4.5-sack performance against the Buccaneers last week, this is a major decrease in production, no?
Well, it is not that simple. The Cardinals were honing in on Hutchinson throughout the game, rarely giving him a clean one-on-one matchup. Arizona’s tight ends (Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins) finished the day with just four catches for 36 yards, largely a byproduct of frequently chipping Hutchinson. Without McBride playing a larger role in the passing offense, Kyler Murray’s was largely limited to Marvin Harrison Jr. downfield, and the Lions did a decent job of keeping him in check. That is just one example of Hutchinson impacting the entire game with his pass rushing.
Hutchinson had his share of pressures, forcing the elusive Murray out of the pocket or into difficult throws. When the Cardinals were in catch-up mode late in the fourth quarter, Hutchinson pulled out his devastating spin move to record himself the lone Lion sack of the game. The end result of Hutchinson’s pressure might not always amount to a sack, but Hutchinson is nonetheless one of the premier pass rushers right now—the Cardinals certainly treated him like one.
SAM I am not
I mentioned last week how important Derrick Barnes has been to the Lions’ defense, so losing him for an extended period could be problematic down the road. Already missing Alex Anzalone with a concussion, Barnes left the game with a knee injury, a further blow to their linebacking corps. The trio of Jack Campbell, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin is more than capable of stepping in and stepping up at linebacker, but the Lions might be without a true SAM.
After failing to find success with James Houston, Matthieu Betts, and Mitchell Agude at SAM linebacker, the depth chart was largely just Barnes. With his injury, the Lions turned to Reeves-Maybin and Ben Niemann, but the coaching staff has a tough decision to make for the future. If Barnes is out for a while, who will fill the void—if they fill it at all? Does Houston, a frequent inactive to start the season, get another chance? Do they roll with Niemann, whom they turned to in a pinch? Could they give the recently re-acquired Trevor Nowaske an extended look at SAM, a position he played in college? Could Mitchell Agude or Isaac Ukwu get called up from the practice squad? Or would they simply consider scrapping the position and using pass rushers like Marcus Davenport in a more traditional role?
Penalties aplenty
With Detroit playing close games on a weekly basis, they cannot afford to give up free yards. Nine penalties for 79 yards was the final total for the Lions on Sunday, far from their cleanest performance. Terrion Arnold was once again hit with a pass interference penalty, Carlton Davis was flagged for one of his own, Josh Paschal had a (fairly weak) roughing the passer penalty, while Jalen Reeves-Maybin added a careless unnecessary roughness penalty. The Lions also added four uncharacteristic false start penalties, even for a road environment.
Arnold in particular has now been flagged five times this season, but there is some optimism to be had. Figuring out what officials will and will not call is part of the learning curve of the NFL. Arnold’s coverage has been tight and he is putting himself into positions to break up plays. He merely needs to clean up his approach to coverage, such as turning his head in anticipation or maintaining better control of his arm position. Those types of errors will hopefully get corrected as he grows and gains experience.
The NFC North is looking fierce… aside from Chicago
The road to the NFC North title was never going to be a cakewalk, but after Sunday’s slate of games, there is some worry about Detroit’s competition.
The Chicago Bears are spinning their tires and are irrelevant to this conversation, but the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers have stood out early in the season. Green Bay has a pair of wins with Malik Willis substituting in for an injured Jordan Love thanks to excellent coaching and defense. The Vikings, also missing their young quarterback, look dangerous with Sam Darnold at the helm. They are one of the few undefeated teams still in the league, fresh off a stomping of the touted Houston Texans. The 34-7 score illustrates what is working for Minnesota right now: a stellar defense and an explosive offense.
The Lions have arguably the best roster in the division when healthy, but through three games, they have not looked like the dominant favorites they were billed as. It could be tough sledding down the stretch, but not an unwinnable situation. If the offense can come alive and the defense can hold firm, few teams in the NFL would outclass the Lions.
