The Arizona Cardinals fell to 1-2 after a grueling loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at State Farm Stadium.
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense got off to a fast start, scoring on their first possession for the third consecutive season, the longest such streak to begin a season in team history.
But while the defense performed better in the second half, the offense could only score three points in the final 30 minutes.
Arizona Sports Anchors and reporters shared their key takeaways from the Cardinals’ loss:
Our reactions to the Cardinals’ loss to the Lions in Week 2:
Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta Morning: In their 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Cardinals essentially got a 60-minute taste of their goals.
The visitors, dressed in Honolulu’s blue and silver, were the more physical and aggressive team on both offense and defense. Detroit dominated the running game with David Montgomery (who was the best player on the field on Sunday) and Jahmyr Gibbs combining for 189 yards on 39 carries.
Detroit’s defense completely stifled Arizona’s running game, holding James Conner to just 17 yards on nine carries. None of the Cardinals’ three running backs who got runs ran for more than seven yards.
That forced the Arizona offense to become one-dimensional and throw more in the second half. Unfortunately, the cool, relaxed, and dynamic Kyler Murray we saw last Sunday against the Rams was absent. Murray completed 21 of 34 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown, but also threw his first interception of the season on an ill-advised deep throw to a well-covered Marvin Harrison Jr. Too many of Murray’s throws looked more like desperation throws, and he didn’t hit anything else on the field.
The Lions gave the Cardinals a chance to walk out, but they couldn’t. Kudos to the defense for throwing a shutout in the second half, but it all added up to another frustrating loss. By my count, the second this season.
Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo: 32. The number of the day is 32. That’s the number of rushing yards that Cardinals running backs James Conner, Emari Demercado and Trey Benson have gained. Kyler Murry believes they have the versatility to win a game when that happens. I believe the Cardinals are capable of a lot this year; beating a team as good as the Lions when their rushing attack is stymied like that isn’t one of them.
Kyler Murray — forced to throw and often forced to throw quickly — attempted more long throws than expected, with less than stellar results. The lack of a running game negated everything. A physical Lions team and playing behind a fourth right tackle in three games certainly accelerated the problem.
For that reason, the head coach and star quarterback weren’t ready to condemn the day entirely. Jonathan Gannon felt his team matched the Lions’ physicality throughout the game, and later told Paul Calvisi that he was impressed with the effort, violence and finish. Murray praised the Lions as a good team more than once, and was even asked the dreaded question about the “moral victory,” but didn’t completely dismiss it. Frankly, the Lions were probably one of the three best teams they’ll play this year; winning here was always going to be a tall order. Next time it happens, and the Cardinals can rely a little more on their strengths, the victory won’t just be a moral one.
John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo: I understand there are no moral victories, but the defense’s performance in the second half of this game gives me reason to believe this team is getting closer.
This Lions team is a beast with some of the most dynamic weapons in the game today – Amon-Ra St. Brown, David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta – and Arizona held them scoreless in the second half and to 20 total points. Detroit had the ball seven times in the second half and couldn’t score any points. Arizona forced four punts, had an interception, a big fourth-and-one stop by Dante Stills on Montgomery and the Lions ran the clock down on the final possession. That’s a damn good defensive effort.
The defense gave the offense every opportunity to win this game, but they couldn’t. After a perfect passer rating last week, Kyler Murray had a very subpar performance in this home game. He threw for just 207 yards on 21 of 34 passes. He missed receivers with passes that were too short, passes that were too long, and never really got into his rhythm. He had one touchdown pass and one interception. In the second half, Arizona’s possessions were: end zone interception, punt, turnover on downs, punt, turnover on downs, punt, field goal. So seven possessions resulted in three points on three punts.
I can’t say Arizona didn’t have chances, but we can take heart from the defense and the way it kept the team in the game. Arizona is currently 0-2 in games decided by one point or less. They will be a playoff team in the making if they start winning more of those games than they lose.
Kellan Olson, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night: The Arizona Cardinals will learn that there are multiple levels here. Not only the long-term prospects, but also the short-term ones are very positive. Nevertheless, they are no longer taking anyone by surprise. All of those big wins against top competition last year were simultaneously significant and also took place in a completely different context than this year.
Games like Sunday’s will come down to a few plays, as in any sport where two good teams compete. Consider the two-minute warning fiasco, Kyler Murray’s throw after his interception, the nullified successful fourth-down conversion, and Murray’s missed high throw to Marvin Harrison Jr. on third down. To be fair, Arizona had its own plays like that after that loss. Dennis Gardeck’s interception and his own fourth-down stop in response to the previous stop were great defensive plays.
Two teams that have different identities in many ways were ultimately decided by which team had more experience. Detroit began the game with a 13-man roster that set the tone for who would win the game up front where we all knew it would be crucial.
James Conner managed one run of at least five yards, while the Lions’ two-headed monster in the backfield managed FOURTEEN. Arizona’s passing attack is built on building the run game. 50% of the Cardinals’ pass attempts in Week 2 were plays. You can’t get to step two without step one. And that means Murray has to be damn good to overcome that. He wasn’t.
The other bright spot was the defense, particularly the secondary, which tested its talented players for the first time. Sam LaPorta may have been dealing with injuries, but Amon-Ra St. Brown couldn’t stop everything on the day, and Jameson Williams had just one catch. And as a unit, Detroit should have tied the game up at some point late in the third quarter because of the Cardinals’ offensive weakness, but the defense gave them more than enough chances to tie the game back up.
They were just a really good football team that played solidly enough to win away from home. Nothing was amiss. If we can handle the Commanders, a 2-2 start is more than OK.
Mitch Vareldzis, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night: The magic of the win over the Rams seems to have worn off. It’s difficult to replicate the success of a 40+ point performance, or even a 30+ point performance. The Saints provided an example of that today. There were things I liked, even though they didn’t lead to a win.
Kyler Murray looked patient in the pocket, going through his progressions before deciding to run and get out. The defense held firm after two consecutive touchdown drives by the Lions. And if not for a bizarre decision by the referees, they would have had multiple turnovers and a point.
What I didn’t like, however, was that the running game was limited to “Murray Magic,” which is not a recipe for success. James Conner was so bad that they tried to run a drive with Trey Benson, which was somewhat successful, before switching to a full-on passing attack.
That’s now two or three games where the running game has been subpar. To paraphrase Wolf, “One is a point, two is a trend, three is a pattern.” I expect a comeback next week against the Commanders, whose defense is one of the worst in the league, especially since they’re having a short week. Plus, it’s an opportunity to take advantage of Kliff Kingsbury’s offense for what it is and further defend the decision to release him a year after the five-year contract extension.
So if you can take any consolation from today’s loss, it’s that the Cardinals didn’t embarrass themselves and the black helmets continue to look beautiful.
