Free Press reporter Christian Romo breaks down the Detroit Lions' Week 5 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals and gives his prediction.
Detroit Lions (2-2) at Arizona Cardinals (1-3)
The coaches: Lions − Dan Campbell (55-45-1 overall, 50-38-1 with Lions); Cardinals − Mike LaFleur (1-3 overall).
Last game: Lions lost to the Carolina Panthers 32-26; Panthers lost to the New York Giants 36-24.
Last meeting: Sept. 22, 2024; Lions won 20-13.
Key matchups
QB Jared Goff vs S Budda Baker
The Lions quarterback had a strong assessment for Detroit's offense against the Carolina Panthers after practice on Wednesday.
"What did we have last game, 26 points? We're better than that," he said.
While that may be the case for the offense as a whole, it's hard to envision a better version of Goff than the one who is playing right now.
Through four games, Goff
is second in the NFL in passing yards per game (303.5) and tied for third in touchdowns (nine), and is the only quarterback with at least 1,200 passing yards and zero interceptions so far this season. Those are the numbers of an elite quarterback, one who takes shots downfield but can still protect the ball enough to give his team full possessions.
Baker will try to change that, however. The eight-time Pro Bowler is Arizona's best defender and a potential problem for Detroit's long game. If he can help cover receivers Jameson Williams and Isaac TeSlaa, especially on deep routes, that might give Arizona's pass defense a chance to limit big plays and keep Detroit's explosive passing offense in check.
TE Trey McBride vs LB Jack Campbell
The Cardinals best ball-catcher is a tight end, partly because the Cardinals don't have a strong receiving corps, but mostly because McBride is widely considered the best tight end in the NFL. That's bad news for the Lions on multiple fronts.
For one, top receivers have torched the Lions defense, with the most recent, Panthers second-year wideout Tetairoa McMillan, just 8 yards short of a 200-yard game against the Lions last Sunday. For another, the Lions have allowed a league-high 37 receptions and six touchdowns to tight ends through the first four weeks this season. Basically, everyone expects the Cardinals will spam pass attempts to McBride, and it's hard to imagine an plan that doesn't center around the 2025 All-Pro.
The Panthers used play action and pre-snap motion to get Detroit's linebackers out of position, with the middle of the field often open for quick completions to McMillan and others. It's going to be up to Campbell to set the tone on that part of the field, with the All-Pro linebacker needing to disrupt Arizona's connection to McBride to give the Lions defense a chance.
Scouting report
Lions offense vs Cardinals defense
The Lions offense is fifth in the NFL in scoring (29.8 points per game) and sixth in yards (389.3 yards per game), one of the NFL's top offenses no matter how you parse it. But Lions coach Dan Campbell challenged his offense in a Tuesday radio appearance, saying his team needs to score "35 points a game at minimum" if it wants to be great.
That might come to pass on Sunday.
After a slow start to the season, the Lions have gotten great performances in consecutive games from wideouts Jameson Williams and Isaac TeSlaa, the latter of whom got a career-high eight targets in Detroit's loss against Carolina. Along with a hot start from tight end Sam LaPorta and business-as-usual games from Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions quarterback Jared Goff has so many options to get the ball downfield. No wonder the Lions have the third-most passing yards in the league.
That has transpired alongside a downswing in the run game, however. Gibbs had a season-low in rushes (15) and rushing yards (46) against the Panthers on Sunday, getting zero carries in the fourth quarter as the Lions leaned on the passing game to mount a comeback. Gibbs shouldn't need to be a superhero against the Cardinals with Detroit's passing attack clicking, but just for the sake of a complete effort, getting Gibbs at least 20 touches on Sunday might be the difference between a good and a great offensive showing.
Edge: Lions.
Lions defense vs Cardinals offense
Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard was fired up in his weekly news conference on Thursday, saying that he didn't want to provide "lip service" for a subpar defensive performance. And "subpar" might be generous – through four games, Detroit's defense is last in the league in yards allowed per game (423.8) and second-to-last in points allowed (31.8). If I were him, I wouldn't want to talk much about the defense, either.
Sheppard praised his unit's strong defensive line, which so far has featured All-Pro performances from stars Alim McNeill and Aidan Hutchinson, along with breakout games from youngsters Tyleik Williams and Skyler Gill-Howard. Sheppard said that the rest of the defense has been doing a "disservice" to the line, but the key to Detroit's defense going forward might revolve around how well the line does its job.
Detroit is fourth in the NFL in no-blitz pressure rate (41.8%) and found some success last game when rushing four, allowing for extra help to drop back in pass protection. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett is a capable veteran but is also susceptible to turnovers, with four interceptions through four games so far in 2026. Without any significant changes in personnel, Detroit's best hope to right the defensive ship may come down to how many takeaways it can generate – assuming All-Pro tight end Trey McBride doesn't have a monster game, first.
Edge: Cardinals.
Prediction
The Cardinals are probably better than their 1-3 record indicates, but aren't excellent in any facet of the game. That's a good test for a Lions team that badly needs a win – and while nothing suggests Detroit's defense is going to improve significantly from last week's loss against Carolina, the offense looks ready to accept Campbell's challenge and go off in the desert. The pick: Lions 34, Cardinals 24.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions-Cardinals scouting report: Can Detroit get back on track?
