Both the Arizona Cardinals offense and the Detroit Lions defense ranks near the bottom of the league and one of these units will have to step up to win the game.
Coming off of a disappointing loss on the road to the Carolina Panthers, the Detroit Lions look to rebound as they continue this two-game road stretch to take on the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have come back down to earth since their week one win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but they look like a disaster right now on both sides of the ball. These teams have units on both sides of the ball that have struggled to say the least early on in the season. This game will truly be the definition of stoppable force versus movable object as the Cardinals offense has a chance to look like Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, and 2016 David Johnson are back on the field again.
Is there anything else to say about how bad this Lions defense has been this season? How if Jared Goff were not playing turnover-free football they could be 0-4 at this point in the season. The worst thing about it is that the defense finally has had an actually good pass rush through four weeks but it does not matter because everybody else has been so bad. The good news for the Lions is that the Cardinals are going to be without starting left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. as he left the Giants game during the last drive and is going to miss the rest of the season with a bicep injury. Aidan Hutchinson and D.J. Wonnum should be able to feast off of Johnson’s absence if the secondary can hold up for just a single second.
Speaking of the secondary this could be the opportunity to either have a get right game and figure out the issues, or it will turn into Marvin Harrison Jr’s breakout game. Cardinals receiver Michael Wilson has seen 30 targets come his way over the course of the last two games and he is someone who will absolutely have a big game off of this Lions secondary. D.J. Reed was at least supposed to be the one guy the Lions could rely on and he has not turned out like that at all. He has gotten beat on so many routes this year, he gets called for plenty of pass interferences due to his poor coverages. Ennis Rakestraw has seemed promising so far in coverage but continually gets beat due to limitations with his size and strength. A week after Jacoby Brissett throws three picks against the Giants, he looks to have a clean game off of this Lions secondary.
The Cardinals and Lions both rank 20th and 21st respectively in rush defense giving up between 119-120 yards per game on the ground. With the Cardinals missing a key offensive lineman and Jeremiyah Love being questionable this week, I expect the Lions to be able to hold up a little better going against the Cardinals rushing attack. On the other hand Gibbs could have a bounce back performance as he looks to recover from a game where he only averaged 3.1 yards per carry. Gibbs last week was the Lions only recorded rusher as even Sione Vaki got in the game but did not have an attempt running the ball. Expect Vaki to get more usage against a struggling Cardinals team to help give Gibbs a few breathers.
This game will be closer than expected due to the putrid nature of the Lions defense but this is a game they should win going into the bye. If they do not beat the Cardinals going into the bye, then uncomfortable conversations are going to have to be had in the locker room and the front office on how to fix this team. The offense should continue to do its thing and have another good performance. The defense needs to have a game where they look competent and this Cardinals offense would be the one to have it against. It will be a tight game but the Lions should be able to finish the job.
