How about some stress-free football to calm some nerves?
The first quarter may have instilled some panic for Detroit Lions fans, but the second quarter onwards was a dominant performance from the road team. The Arizona Cardinals, inversely, started hot but wound up getting smothered by a previously-permeable Lions defense. The Lions now head into their bye week sitting at 3-2.
There is optimism that Detroit has the pieces to be a playoff threat, but it is a long way to go. For one, the offense needs
to continue to churn out impressive performances like these. Additionally, the defense needs to prove that this outing was not a one-off. If they can get some reinforcements over the bye week and clean up some sloppiness on both sides of the ball, the Lions could go into their tilt with the Green Bay Packers on a high note.
Which players walked away from Sunday’s beatdown as a winner or loser?
Note: The label of “loser” is used to evaluate and contrast in-game performance and is not an indictment of a player’s ability, value, or character. The term is not intended to be disrespectful in nature.
Winner: Drew Petzing, OC
It was revenge week for Petzing against his former team. Things started off slowly (three straight three-and-outs) and after a scoreless first quarter, there was a modest sense of panic. However, Petzing was able to lock in his offense and put together some dominant drives. In the second quarter alone, the offense scored 24 points! The final drive of the half featured this bit of trickery:
The Lions offense is far more talented than the Cardinals defense, so the expectation was that the Lions would deliver a beatdown, but that is never a given in the NFL. The personnel on offense looked very similar in 2025, yet poor play calling led to it faltering too often. With Petzing at the helm, the offense is dominating their opponents with both talent and playcalling.
Winner: Sam LaPorta, TE
I think it’s time to pay the man. While his contract status is still up in the air, his impact on the field is anything but. Early on when the offense was disjointed and sputtering, it was key grabs by LaPorta that kept the Lions offense moving.
His first came on a fourth-and-3 at a pivotal point of the game, with the offense having gone three-and-out on the prior three drives. That drive ended with a touchdown—Detroit had life. On the ensuing drive, LaPorta made a man miss on a short catch on third-and-12, rumbling his way to an 11-yard gain (although upon review, it certainly looked like he made the first—the league did not agree). LaPorta put that questionable spot in the rearview mirror by turning the fourth-down attempt into an easy 38-yard touchdown grab.
Everything went Detroit’s way from that point onward, en route to 45 points scored on offense. LaPorta finished the day as the Lions’ leading receiver with 88 yards on five catches. Reliability is at the forefront of LaPorta’s game. When things look grim, Jared Goff and Drew Petzing can turn to LaPorta for a spark.
Winner: Keith Abney, S
The Lions have been in a dire situation at safety to start the season, but they might have some solutions. For one, Brian Branch could return before long, perhaps on pace for a post-bye game against the Green Bay Packers. However, Lions also saw some success with rookie Keith Abney playing deep safety.
With injuries to Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper, the Lions had previously leaned on Chuck Clark for that role. While Clark has intangibles for the position, he was simply lacking the athleticism—the Lions need their deep safety to be a roaming missile, and Clark is not that. This week, it was Abney getting a look at safety, and he was largely impressive.
Abney impressed in both run defense and pass coverage, recording six tackles while only allowing 25 yards on his targeted routes. He also secured the first interception of his career on a pre-half Hail Mary, a play in which he looked like a true centerfielder and snagged the floating pass. However, perhaps the best part of his game was the lack of obvious mistakes. The rookie rarely looked out of place. He did not make many misreads. He was communicating and coordinating well with the other defensive backs, avoiding the crucial big plays that had plagued the defense.
Barring Kerby Joseph returning to the lineup, I think the Lions have to roll with Abney at safety until proven otherwise. This is important because…
Loser: Chuck Clark, S
I credited Clark’s intangibles in the prior section, but they were seriously lacking against Arizona. Whereas Abney was sound with his assignments, a major of the Cardinals’ big plays came at the expense of Clark.
On one play, Clark erroneously broke downhill on a catch like Elijah Higgins, leading to a massive 38-yard gain. He was clearly frustrated afterwards, jumping up and down as though there was a miscommunication. Perhaps there was, but given how the other defensive backs played it, I would wager that Clark misread the situation. Later on the third quarter, Clark again took a shallow read and allowed an easy touchdown catch for Teagan Quitoriano.
With Branch set to return before long and Abney playing well at free safety, I do not see a reason to start Clark going forward.
Winner: Jared Goff, QB
It feels like we are not appreciating how great Goff has been to start the season. Through five games, he has over 1,400 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The stats alone don’t tell a full picture, however. The Lions offense has had some ups and downs to start the season, but rarely has Goff been at fault for the miscues. Ill-timed turnovers had hurt him in the past, but so far in 2026, he has been perfect at avoiding them (aside from that bizarre non-fumble against the New Orleans Saints).
I think “steady” is the best descriptor for Goff. He will not wow people with his legs (though he did sneak for a touchdown today). He will not fire howitzers downfield (though he can still throw some deep shots). However, he is reliable and facilitates success for the players around him. Players like Sam LaPorta or Amon-Ra St. Brown are talented players in their own right, but Goff also brings out the best in them. The same can be said with Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator—Goff is a coordinator’s best friend because you can build a scheme around him and he can and will execute it.
Goff might not be a hot MVP candidate unless he puts up gaudy numbers, but there is no questioning his value to this offense.
Loser: Juice Scruggs, C
For as good as the offense was post-first quarter, Scruggs was lagging behind for most of the afternoon. Scruggs was neither impressive in pass protection nor in run blocking. Early on in the game, Scruggs was beat soundly by Roy Lopez for a sack. The Cardinals also recorded a sack via a blitzing Budda Baker up the middle, and while Scruggs was not solely responsible, he did little to impede the blitzers. Despite Jahmyr Gibbs’ impressive day on the ground, that success rarely came running behind Scruggs. Lopez in particular gave the offensive line some fits.
With Cade Mays on pace to return after the bye, it seems like Scruggs will be relegated to a reserve role. Even though this was a down performance, he nonetheless filled in admirably to start the season.
Winner: Jameson Williams, WR
Williams quietly needed a game like this. He had been touchdown-less prior to this week, and while he had a 100-yard performance against the Carolina Panthers last week, he had been lacking consistency—it was very boom or bust for Williams. Drops had been an issue for Williams, arguably the biggest flaw holding him back from being a truly elite receiver.
Not only were the hands solid against the Cardinals, he got into the end zone a pair of times. One of those catches was his usual repertoire, a 39-yard deep shot in which is simply outran the defenders for an easy catch. The other, meanwhile, was a short 8-yard pass from Goff. It is nice to see him reach the end zone in ways that aren’t deep passes or end-arounds—he has the talent to be a well-rounded receiver.
Quick hits:
Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB
Another electric game from Gibbs, totaling 151 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. The only reason why he doesn’t get a bigger section is that this is now the norm for him—he is that good. Side note, he had some impressive pass protection reps against Arizona.
Winner: Kelvin Sheppard, DC
Did the defense truly turn things around, or was this a byproduct of playing an awful Cardinals team? Sheppard deserves some praise for changing personnel (Abney at safety) and scheme (more man coverage), but he is not out of the woods yet. I need to see this against more competent offenses.
Winner: DJ Wonnum, DE
Wonnum got two sacks of very different styles. His first was a pure coverage sack, but credit him for sticking with his assignment. As for his second sack, he flew past the left tackle and brought down Jacoby Brissett in a heartbeat. He is looking good across from Aidan Hutchinson.
Loser: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR
As a receiver, he was still impactful (69 yards on six catches), but a pair of fumbles almost ruined his day. The first came on a long punt return after Tom Kennedy left the game, while the second came on a reception that wound up as a loss of eight yards.
Winners: D.J. Reed and Roger McCreary, CBs
The starting corners looked much-improved against the Cardinals. They were sticky in coverage and, most importantly, actually making plays when the ball was thrown their way. McCreary alone accounted for six passes defended. Much like with Sheppard, I need to see it against better offenses, but it was promising.
Loser: Blake Miller, RT
It was a good day as a pass protector for Miller, but committing two penalties (false start on fourth-and-2 and ineligible man downfield on a 16-yard St. Brown catch) is far from ideal.
