GLENDALE, AZ – It went from ugly to nostalgic in a hurry, and by the time it was done, the Detroit Lions had everyone wondering what took them so long. Let's assume no one will get demoted or fired this week, too, as the Lions head to the bye week finally looking like themselves.
Mostly because promised they'd be better, and they were, beating the Arizona Cardinals, 45-21, Sunday, Oct. 11, at State Farm Stadium. The Lions were everywhere, but also where they were supposed to be.
It had been a while since this team – and those who love it – had this much fun. The schedule helped, of course; the Cardinals are middling at best.
They've also been competitive in a few
of their games, and after watching the Lions roll out a historically bad defense over their first four games, few felt like this was a sure thing.
And when the Cards forced a three-and-out and then strolled down the field on their opening drive? You could hear the hand-wringing all the way back in Michigan.
For a while, it looked depressingly familiar.
Arizona had room to run; time to pass; and when they needed to outfox beleaguered defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard to keep the drive going, they did it easily (and stylishly) with a double-reverse pass to quarterback Jacoby Brissett on fourth-and-1.
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That led to a 2-yard touchdown pass to a backup tight end – and considerable unease among the thousands of Lions' faithful in the crowd. What was meant to be a takeover in Arizona's desert "Sea of Red" suddenly felt like a Honolulu Blue and silver seance, as all those Michigan expats and Michiganders who trekked over the Rockies sat hoping for an apparition from the past.
Or any kind of sign that the era of run and fun wasn't kaput.
The Cardinals had made their 7-0 look easy. Of course, they did. Because it was easy, and has been for everyone who've played them.
Meanwhile, the offense looked worse than the defense, as it opened with three straigh three-and-outs.
On the fourth possession, with the Lions somehow only trailing 7-0 thanks to the defense perking up, coach Dan Campbell decided to shake it up and go for it on fourth-and-3 from the Arizona 47-yard-line.
He couldn't abide a fourth straight three-and-out. Nor could he abide another moment watching whoever was impersonating his squad.
They'd gained negative-10 yards in the first quarter, and Jared Goff hadn't completed a pass. Jahmyr Gibbs was the only offensive player to touch the ball, other than Goff, obviously, and Arizona's blitzes were flummoxing the Lions' offensive line – just as Carolina's blitzes had done a week earlier in Charlotte.
So, when that fourth down came on that fourth possession, Campbell had had enough.
He went for it. The Lions converted, completing their first pass of the day – again, in the second quarter.
Tight end Sam LaPorta caught it over the middle for 12 yards. A personal foul on the Cardinals' Mack Wilson moved the chains for 15 more yards and the Lions had life. Three plays later, Gibbs scored from the 1-yard-line.
The Lions scored two more touchdowns on their next two possessions, ad then another after converting another fourth down. Gamblin' Dan was back, and so was his offense, as it dropped 24 straight – all in the second quarter – and kept it going in the second half.
As offensive coordinator Drew Petzing finally began to find a rhythm, and a few trick plays that worked, so did Sheppard, whose defense forced five consecutive three-and-outs. Again, this was against Arizona, and the context is always critical.
Still, they needed this. Had to have this, especially after they hadn't looked like this for any stretch against New Orleans, Buffalo, New York or Carolina, even on offense.
If nothing else, it's a reset, and that's never the worst thing.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell gamble shakes Detroit Lions out of offensive doldrums
