Glendale, Arizona. – Richard Silva evaluates the Detroit Lions’ performance in their 20-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
quarterback
For the third week in a row, Jared Goff has thrown an ill-advised interception, this time in the third quarter. With a chance to take a three-point lead in the second half, Goff dropped back and attempted to complete a pass to tight end Brock Wright. Goff must have never seen linebacker Dennis Gardeck, who pretended to rush before dropping back into coverage and aborting the route. Goff nearly had another interception as well, but a timing error called back a pick-6. The quarterback’s final stat line doesn’t look bad — 18 of 23 for 198 yards and two touchdowns — but those turnovers need to go down. Grade: B-
Running backs
David Montgomery rushed for 35 yards on 11 attempts in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. On the first possession against the Cardinals, Montgomery was fed six attempts for 39 yards. He combined with Jahmyr Gibbs for 226 yards from the offensive zone, and both scored; Montgomery’s came from the 1-yard line and Gibbs’ came on a hook-and-ladder trick play where Goff hit a short pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who tossed the ball to Gibbs. Grade: A-
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
It was a solid day for St. Brown and Detroit’s two key tight ends, Wright and Sam LaPorta (the trio had 144 yards on 13 catches), but it was largely quiet for everyone else. Jameson Williams had his first slow game of the season. The third-year receiver was targeted three times and caught one of those passes for nine yards. On one of the other two, he was taken a little too far out of bounds by Goff on a deep over route, and the last was an incomplete pass on a deep ball that never really had a chance. But the Lions aren’t able to run the ball like they used to without blocking the efforts of TEs and WRs, so they deserve credit for that. Grade: B-
Offensive line
Goff was sacked twice, but he wasn’t exactly running for his life like he did at some points earlier this season – Arizona was able to record two more QB hurries in addition to the sacks. And much like the TEs and WRs were bolstered for the way the Lions were able to run the ball, the offensive line is getting even more support. A great example of their value came when Detroit tried to decide the game by passing the ball into Montgomery’s hands in the fourth quarter; Montgomery was essentially picked up by the offensive line and carried another seven yards. Grade: B+
Defensive line
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is as evasive as can be, so can you really blame the Lions for only sacking him once? Maybe, but he was on the move a lot. Arizona’s RBs combined for just 2.5 yards per carry. Murray was Arizona’s best runner, and even his performance (45 yards) was relatively limited. One negative factor played a role here: Josh Paschal was given an unnecessary penalty for “unnecessary roughness on the passer” in the fourth quarter. Grade: B
Linebackers
The Lions, already without defensive captain Alex Anzalone (concussion), suffered another setback when Derrick Barnes went down with a knee injury. The rest of Detroit’s linebackers did an admirable job, with players from Jack Campbell to Trevor Nowaske getting on the field. Malcolm Rodriguez had a particularly nice play late in the second quarter when he went after Arizona’s running back who was running into the flat. Rodriguez’s effort allowed Levi Onwuzurike to pressure Murray, and the Cardinals were forced to punt. Grade: A-
Secondary
That gives safety Kerby Joseph two interceptions in the end zone this season. His second takeaway came in the third quarter when he won a jump ball from receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Arizona’s star rookie scored a touchdown early, but the Cardinals’ offense couldn’t do much more than throw passes and hope. That and an interception is a win for the secondary any day of the week. Grade: A-
Special teams
It’s almost comical how easily punter Jack Fox can do his job. On Sunday he had five punts, one touchback, and four times he pinned the Cardinals deep in their own territory. Kalif Raymond was a solid punt returner, averaging 10 yards per return. The only downside was Jake Bates missing his first kick – an extra point. It’s a small blip in the grand scheme of his solid start to his career, but one that shouldn’t become a habit. Grade: B+
Coaching
After Goff threw 55 passes last week, the Lions realized they had a chance to score against the Cardinals. That’s exactly what they did, especially early on, and it worked. Detroit’s identity has stayed grounded and they went back to their roots to win. Class: A
@rich_silva18
