GLENDALE, AZ – Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett grades the Detroit Lions’ performance in their 45-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Oct. 11, at State Farm Stadium.
Quarterback
The Lions had a rough first quarter Sunday, then looked unstoppable the final three periods. Jared Goff was 19-for-30 passing for 271 yards and three touchdowns and played his fifth straight turnover-free game. Goff nearly lost a fumble Sunday and took sacks on his first three drives, but was quick with his decision making and sharp getting the Lions into the right plays. He did miss a couple throws early. He overshot Isaac TeSlaa in the back of the end zone and was late throwing to Jameson Williams on a bomb just before the 2-minute warning. But there’s not much to quibble
with on a day the offense scores on seven straight drives and puts up 45 points. Grade: A
Running backs
Jahmyr Gibbs had another 30-touch day and looked as strong at the end of the game as he did on the first series. He had 151 yards on 25 carries, ran for two touchdowns, including another when he reversed field on the entire defense, and caught five of his six targets for 56 yards. Gibbs almost always makes the first defender miss, and on Sunday he had two big blitz pickups, one on Sam LaPorta’s 38-yard touchdown and another an 11-yard pass to Brock Wright. Sione Vaki had six carries, 11 yards in limited action as a backup. Grade: A
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Receivers/tight ends
LaPorta woke the offense from its slumber with a tough fourth-and-3 catch in traffic to keep alive the Lions’ first touchdown drive. He finished with five catches for a game-high 88 yards and scored his only touchdown one play after he caught an 11-yard pass on third-and-12 to put the Lions in a manageable fourth down. LaPorta did give up a sack by Baron Browning late in the first quarter, and Amon-Ra St. Brown had a relatively quiet day with six catches for 69 yards on 11 targets. St. Brown fumbled twice (once on a punt return), though the Lions recovered both fumbles. Jameson Williams had two catches for touchdowns of 39 and 8 yards after no Lions receiver or tight end had a catch in the first quarter. Grade: B
Offensive line
The Lions controlled the game in the trenches the final three quarters, creating holes with waves of blockers for Gibbs. Penei Sewell and Wright had the big blocks on Gibbs’ 18-yard run in the second quarter, Sewell and Christian Mahogany gave Gibbs a big push from behind on his 16-yard second quarter run and Tate Ratledge, Wright, LaPorta and St. Brown were out front on his 22-yard scramper. The line did have some pass protection gaffes early. Someone let Budda Baker come unblocked up the middle for a drive-stalling sack and Juice Scruggs got beat by Roy Lopez for a sack on the second series. Blake Miller drew an ineligible man downfield penalty that negated a big pass to St. Brown and Scruggs was lucky he wasn’t flagged for the same penalty on a screen to Gibbs. Grade: A-minus.
Defensive line
Defensively, the Lions were dominant up front Sunday. They shut down the Cardinals’ rushing attack – rookie Jeremiyah Love had 22 yards on 12 carries – and had five sacks on Jacoby Brissett. Alim McNeill and Skyler Gill-Howard teamed for one sack when McNeill bulled his way through the middle of the line and D.J. Wonnum had two sacks, including one of the last play of the first half when he slipped underneath a block by rookie left tackle Jayden Williams. McNeill and Tyleik Williams are as tough a tandem to run on up the middle as there is in the NFL, and Aidan Hutchinson split a sack with Malcolm Rodriguez when he spun away from a block to stop a fourth-and-1 bootleg. Grade: A
Linebackers
The linebacking corps, arguably the Lions’ worst performing unit all season, played its best game of the year Sunday. Jack Campbell had 11 tackles and he and the rest of the group fared well in coverage against record-setting Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. Campbell blanketed McBride on a third-and-7 incompletion on the second drive and most of McBride’s nine catches (for 66 yards) came on contested balls with Derrick Barnes or Rodriguez in coverage. Rodriguez did bite hard on a boot-action fake that left Teegan Quintoriano open for his first touchdown, but he finished with four tackles and a half sack after replacing the injured Devin White early in the game. Grade: B-plus
Defensive backs
The Lions played more man coverage in their secondary than they have all season against a Cardinals receiving corps that doesn’t have down-field weapons. Rookie Keith Abney, a cornerback by trade, started at safety and had his first career interception on a Hail Mary, and Roger McCreary had six pass breakups on 17 targets as the Cardinals challenged him throughout the game. The Lions did get beat twice in man coverage on third downs on Arizona’s opening touchdown drive. Kendrick Bourne beat McCreary on a post route when Abney cheated up on an underneath receiver and D.J. Reed got turned around at the line of scrimmage on a slant by Michael Wilson. Reed (seven tackles) was solid in run support, though, Wonnum’s first sack was a coverage sack, and officials gave the secondary plenty of leeway to play physical. There was a coverage breakdown on Quintoriano’s second touchdown, when it was unclear if Clark, Abney or McCreary let him roam free in the end zone. Grade: B-plus
Special teams
Tom Kennedy had two nice punt returns, including a 22-yarder late in the first quarter that gave the Lions great field position, before leaving with a knee injury. St. Brown had a nice return, too, to help set up the Lions’ second TD, though he nearly lost a fumble on the play. Amen Ogbongbemiga was flagged for illegal formation on the second kickoff of the game, but the Lions shut down Arizona’s return game and Jack Fox netted 48 yards on his four punts with two kicks inside the 20. Jake Bates made his only field goal from 46 yards. Grade: A-minus
Coaching
The best thing the Lions did Sunday was get back to their aggressive style of play. Dan Campbell passed on field goals four times to try and convert fourth downs (the Lions were successful all four times), Drew Petzing had some creative calls on offense, including a reverse throwback screen to Gibbs, and Kelvin Sheppard shuffled his personnel on defense and got back to playing more aggressive man coverage in the secondary. The offense still takes too long to get going, and that could be an issue against better teams. And the defense may not hold up as well against a team that can protect its quarterback. But the Lions got back in the win column with feel-good performance and going into the bye that’s important. Grade: A
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jahmyr Gibbs, Jared Goff, DL get high marks in Lions win vs Cardinals
