The Arizona Cardinals were blown out on Sunday by the Detroit Lions 45-21 at State Farm Stadium. Offensively, they gained 327 yards. They had a first-quarter lead.
But it wasn't a good offensive performance.
Here is what we saw in the loss offensively.
Early-game script works
The Cardinals went 73 yards on 14 plays on their opening possession and scored a touchdown. Their offensive game script to start games appears to be working just fine. Last week, in their loss to the New York Giants, they scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, the drives totaled 14 plays.
Whatever head coach Mike LaFleur is cooking up to start games is working.
Nothing after that
On Sunday, after their opening-drive touchdown, the Cardinals went three-and-out on five consecutive possessions. They gained 25
yards for the rest of the half, going into halftime trailing 24-7.
That matched what happened in Week 4. After two touchdowns in two drives, their next seven possessions lasted four or fewer plays and they picked up a total of one first down.
Once quarterback Jacoby Brissett is off the original game script, he hasn't produced anything the last two games.
Harrison replacements produce little
If you wondered if the new players at the 'X' receiver position would have more usage and success than Marvin Harrison Jr., you have your answer. No. Receivers Jalen Brooks and Reggie Virgil were targeted a total of five times in the first half with zero receptions. Thanks to some fourth-quarter garbage time, Brooks and Virgil combined for four receptions for 45 yards.
Big Cardinals debut for Teagan Quitoriano
Quitoriano, signed from the practice squad after Hunter Long was placed on injured reserve, doubled his career scoring total. After scoring only two NFL touchdowns in his career, both coming in 2022, Quitoriano scored twice on two catches for a total of 15 yards.
His last receptions came in 2023, when he had two catches that season in seven games for the Houston Texans.
Minimal impact from Trey McBride, Michael Wilson
Wilson had a quiet game with four catches for 30 yards. He has 29 catches for 288 yards through five games, averaging under 10 yards a catch.
McBride is getting plenty of catches. He isn't getting many yards. He had another nine catches on Sunday, giving him five consecutive games this season with at least seven. He now has a league-leading 42 catches on the season.
The problem is he is averaging only 7.3 yards per reception.
Gaining 66 yards on nine catches, it was the fourth consecutive game he has averaged under nine yards a catch.
Jeremiyah Love doing little
Love leads all NFL rookies in rushing yards, but he hasn't done much. On Sunday, he had only 22 yards on 12 attempts, averaging 1.8 yards per carry this season. Between rushing and receiving, he is averaging only 3.6 yards per touch, which is not good for an average running back, much less the No. 3 overall pick in the draft expected to be one of the best backs in the league.
Back to 2025 Jacoby Brissett numbers
When you look at Brissett's stat line — 292 passing yards, three touchdown passes and an interception — that looks like a productive game.
But his production came on the Cardinals' first drive and after they were down 31-7. Remember the garbage-time numbers of 2025?
He started the game 7-for-9 passing for 65 yards and a touchdown.
After the Cardinals fell behind 31-7, he completed 18-of-24 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
Between the opening drive and falling behind 31-7, he went 4-for-14 passing for 73 yards and an interception, and that was against the league's worst passing defense.
He was good with the original game script and then productive once the game was out of reach.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Lions 45, Cardinals 21: 7 observations about the offense in loss
