The Arizona Cardinals lost the Detroit Lions at home on Sunday 20-13, falling to 1-2 on the season. They struggled offensively after their first drive and allowed Detroit to move the ball easily in the first half. An unfortunate call led to a 14-point turnaround, and the defense shut the Lions out in the second half, but they couldn’t overcome Detroit’s tough defense, going 1-for-9 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.
Here is how it went down.
Lions 7, Cardinals 0
The Lions received the opening kickoff and went 70 plays in nine plays. They only had one third down. David Montgomery rushed fro 39 yards on the drive, ending it was a one-yard touchdown to give the Lions the lead.
Cardinals 7, Lions 7
dare we say ~aura~ pic.twitter.com/LNUGuiY5Jy
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 22, 2024
The Cardinals answered with a touchdown of their own. Marvin Harrison Jr. hauled in his third touchdown reception of the season, this time a 10-yarder from Kyler Murray. Murray had a pair of runs for 34 yards and they overcame a holding penalty in the drive to tie the score.
Lions rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold injured his knee on the drive.
Lions 13, Cardinals 7
The Lions took 13 plays on their next possession to 70 yards and score another touchdown, a five-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Jahmyr Gibbs was featured in that drive at running back, gaining 34 yards on nine carries. Kicker Jake Bates missed the extra point.
Mack Wilson sack forces a punt
GOT ‘EMMMMM pic.twitter.com/ccdGJUDSGB
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 22, 2024
The Cardinals went three-and-out, but they got the ball back after Wilson sacked Jared Goff on third down. It was his first sack of the season.
A defensive touchdown that wasn’t
The Lions had a third-and-12, Goff was hit, the ball landed in Wilson’s arms and he ran for a touchdown. However, the officials blew the play dead, saying the two-minute warning arrived before the snap. Gibbs ran for 14 yards on the next play and picked up the first down.
Trickery! Lions 20, Cardinals 7
After the misfortune of losing a defensive touchdown to the two-minute warning, the Lions used some trickery to score a touchdown in the final minute of the first half. St. Brown caught a one-yard pass and then lateraled the ball to Gibbs, who went 20 yards for the touchdown.
End-of-half 42-yard FG: Lions 20, Cardinals 10
The Cardinals were able to pick up points at the end of the half. Aided by a 15-yard Detroit penalty, they went 46 yards in 29 seconds and Matt Prater nailed a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to make it 20-10.
Murray picked off
On the opening drive of the second half, Murray there a deep pass to Harrison in the end zone. Kerby Joseph picked off the pass for a turnover. The Lions took over with a 10-point lead at their own 20.
Gardeck INT! Cardinals take over!
GERDECKY WITH THE INT 🙌 pic.twitter.com/MLVYqOT9nQ
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 22, 2024
The Cardinals forced a punt after Murray’s interception but went three-and out. The defense made a play, though. Dennis Gardeck picked off Goff and the Cardinals took over at Detroit’s 33-yard line.
Cards stopped on 4th down
Kyler Murray ran to the edge on fourth and less than a yard. Ruled originally as a first down, upon review, he did not reach the line to gain and they got no points after the takeaway when they were in field goal range.
The Lions took over at their own 24.
Injuries
Cardinals defensive lineman Justin Jones injured his triceps in the first half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Lions tight end Sam LaPorta injured his ankle on the Lions’ touchdown at the end of the half and was announced as questionable to return.
Cardinals get 4th-down stop
The Cardinals returned the favor at their own 34, stuffing Montgomery for no gain on fourth down, keeping the Lions from getting any points after their turnover on downs.
Another turnover on downs
Murray could not connect with McBride on a fourth-down throw with 11:12 left in the fourth quarter, giving the Lions that ball at the Arizona 48.
Lions 20, Cardinals 13
The Cardinals pulled within a touchdown, going 65 yards in nine plays with 3:48 to go and got a 45-yard field goal from Prater. Tight end McBride and Lions safety Brian Branch had a helmet-to-helmet collision that had both taken off the field to be examined.
Lions run clock out
On third-and-11, Goff connected with St. Brown to pick up a first down and take the game to the two-minute warning. After the Cardinals used their final timeout, Goff ran for one final first down before kneeling out the clock.
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