The Arizona Cardinals are at a crossroads. Their 1-3-0 record will either become an even bigger hole to dig out of, or the team will begin to rebound. It all starts with this weekend’s game against the Detroit Lions.
Two seasons ago, Detroit finished 15-2-0 and looked like the favorite to reach the Super Bowl. Then the parity bug struck, and the Lions finished dead last in their division in 2025.
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The Lions are in a similar boat. At 2-2-0, a loss against
Arizona will push them deep into the lower third of teams this year. A Cardinals loss will send them straight into the abyss. Yes, it’s still a young season, but when a team loses early and often, that trend continues, and before anyone realizes it, the conversations become more focused on the top of next year’s draft order.
What can the Cardinals do in order to secure a win against Detroit?
Feed McBride and Higgins
The Lions, through four games, are horrible against tight-end coverage. That falls right into what the Cardinals’ offense does best.
McBride is third in the league in receptions with 33, so this offense is feeding him a steady diet already. But he is converting only 36.4 of receptions into first downs, while the league leaders have this stat at 70%, which is concerning. McBride is also tied for second in the number of targets with 46.
The Lions’ linebackers are very poor with regard to adequate pass coverage on the tight ends. Detroit will counter by attempting to make the tackle as soon as McBride catches it, then force Arizona to run another play. Their defenders don’t have to erase every completion.
And use Elijah Higgins a lot more in this contest. If the defense is laser-focused on limiting McBride’s production, throw Higgins into the mix. He has great hands and will gain good yardage after the catch.
Be pass happy all day
Detroit has a very good defensive front, but their defensive backfield is in trouble. This group ranks dead last in the league in pass coverage, so QB Jacoby Brissett should have a field day. Throw the damn ball, and then keep throwing it.
The Cardinals have plenty of pass catchers, so throw short to intermediate, and then a couple of long passes to keep the linebackers and safeties active. Detroit has given up the league’s most passing yards (1,308), the second most pass attempts (165), the most pass completions (115), is ranked #29 in completion percentage (69.7%), has allowed the third most passing touchdowns (11), and the fourth most first-down conversions via the pass (40).
The goal for Brissett is a 400-plus yard day. Yes, this Lions pass defense is that bad, allowing a league-high 304.0 yards per game.
Cardinals offensive line must hold up
It is going to be very tough when their top pass protector, OT Paris Johnson, is now gone for the year. But if the Cardinals offense is going to go all Air Jordan, they must protect Brissett all game long.
In addition, RG Isaiah Adams has been ruled out for the game. In their stead is Jon Gaines for Adams, and rookie Jayden Williams is now in at left tackle. The team did pick up veteran and first-round draft pick Jedrick Wills, who is very good in the run game, but he is not a good pass protector.
Gaines will be fine. He subbed in for Adams earlier in the season and gathered a 60.8 grade from Pro Football Focus for the one contest. His pass blocking graded out at 64.9.
Williams was selected in Round 7 of this year’s NFL Draft out of Ole Miss. The pick was heralded as a “steal” by several media outlets right after the draft. He has had all of training camp, preseason games, and now four weeks of development. He could become the weakest link, and then again, he could surprise a lot of folks. In his final year at Ole Miss, he only allowed two sacks in a tough conference. The kid is a good athlete, so we will see. He will be going up against RDE D.J. Wonnum.
