Detroit Lions vs Arizona Cardinals: Breaking Down Detroit's Game Plan

The Detroit Lions travel to University of Phoenix Stadium for a 4:05 p.m. EDT kickoff with the Arizona Cardinals. 

The Lions come off a 34-24 home win over the Minnesota Vikings, while the Cardinals lost in St. Louis 27-24 as they squandered an 11-point fourth-quarter lead. 

These two teams met last year in Arizona in Week 15. Both teams entered that game in the midst of prolonged losing streaks. Detroit had lost five in a row after a 4-4 start, while the Cardinals had bottomed out from a 4-0 start to 4-9. 

Arizona won that game 38-10 in what might be the lowest point total in non-Millen Lions history. Despite the Detroit defense holding the Cardinals to under 100 yards in both rushing and passing, Arizona was still able to score five touchdowns. 

Two of those touchdowns came on long interception returns, a 53-yarder by Rashad Johnson and a 102-yard scamper by Greg Toler. It was arguably the worst game of Matthew Stafford's young career.

In order to avenge that soul-crushing loss, here are four things the Lions can do to take down the Cardinals. 

1. Reading the Defensive Box: Six Equals Run, Seven or More Means Pass

One of the big keys to the Minnesota win was following that simple equation. When the Vikings held the seventh defender in the box, Detroit threw the ball. When they dropped that swing defender into coverage, Reggie Bush and Joique Bell made hay running against the sparser front. 

Both Bush and Bell are excellent receivers, and that dual threat allows the Lions to switch play options at the line based on what Matthew Stafford sees from the defense. This really stresses the linebackers and safeties, particularly on play action. 

Arizona runs a 3-4 defense, very different from the 4-3 look the Vikings presented. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required) and their defensive breakdown of Arizona's opener against the Rams, the Cardinals use both their outside linebackers almost exclusively as pass rushers. 

This means the key is the two inside backers, Jasper Brinkley and Karlos Dansby. As Pro Football Focus noted, Dansby spends more time in coverage while Brinkley sticks more to the run, both in about respective 60/40 splits. Both remain on the field for almost every snap; Dansby played all 71 in the opener, and Brinkley saw 63 snaps. Because the Cardinals almost never brought their safeties forward, Stafford's keys are the two inside backers.

Arizona's first opponent, the Rams, run a similar base offensive set to the Lions with a single running back, two wide receivers and either two tight ends or one tight end and another wide receiver. Granted the Rams lack anyone close to Calvin Johnson on the outside, but the schematics and designs are similar.

This formation should look familiar to Lions fans. Two receivers are split outside the tight end to the strong side from a single-back set. A single receiver (not pictured) is facing press man coverage to the wide left. The Cardinals have six defenders in the box, with the inside linebackers closely clustered to one another. 

The Rams made the correct read here, and Daryl Richardson picked up the first down by using a swift bounce cut through the strong side B gap. 

Later in the same drive, Sam Bradford correctly reads seven in the box against a single back set on 2nd-and-9. 

An excellent play fake sucks both Dansby and Brinkley forward as the three outside receivers run downfield routes. You can see them both trying to stop momentum and scramble backwards from the screenshot. The receivers at the top of the formation are both running clearing routes for Jared Cook (No. 89), who is already as deep as the backers and sprinting at full speed while they must change course. 

Cook runs the crossing route with good depth as Brinkley (No. 52) desperately tries to catch up with him. Dansby is occupied by Richardson flaring out into the flat as a receiver. The fact that the Cardinals dropped OLB Sam Acho into coverage actually helps give Bradford more time to stand and deliver the downfield strike. 

Substitute Reggie Bush for Richardson and Calvin Johnson for Cook and you can see how the Lions can find success attacking Arizona by following the simple equation. 

2. Punch the Gut

The Lions defensive line is a matchup nightmare for the Cardinals beleaguered offensive line. In fact, Detroit might not see a weaker offensive line all season. It is imperative that the Lions take full advantage of their position of strength. 

Arizona has tried to bolster their line. They drafted stud guard Johnathan Cooper from North Carolina with their first-round pick, but he was lost for the season due to a preseason leg injury. The Cardinals imported right tackle Eric Winston, who was rendered superfluous in Kansas City when they drafted Eric Fisher. 

Alas, Winston is quickly proving why both the Chiefs and the Texans gave up on him despite Winston's lofty reputation; he cannot move well enough anymore to be considered anything more than a serviceable starter, and in Arizona's Week 1 loss he wasn't even that good. Pro Football Focus graded Winston at -3.8, the lowest score on the offense. Winston was on the hook for one sack and three QB hurries.

Still, that was better than his left side counterpart Levi Brown. The Rams torched Brown for three sacks, including this strip sack by right end Robert Quinn.

Quinn is lined up in the Wide-9 technique, something the Lions deploy more frequently than any other defense. Brown is in a three-point stance with his head down at the snap. 

Quinn pushes off Brown's weak arm punch and dips his shoulder under Brown to gain the corner. The end has quickly bested the tackle and has an easy path to Carson Palmer's blind side. Quinn flattens nicely and slams into Palmer, forcing the fumble. Brown somewhat redeems himself by recovering the fumble. Three plays later, Quinn once again whips right past Brown for another sack. 

For the Lions, this is a great chance for Ziggy Ansah to demonstrate why the team is so bullish on him. Ansah showed his speed around the edge last week, nailing a strip sack of his own as he blew past left tackle Matt Kalil. Unfortunately, and perhaps incorrectly, Ansah was flagged for being offsides on the play. 

Ansah played primarily as a pass rushing specialist in the opener, ceding the bulk of the duty to Willie Young. He is also a threat to attack the quarterback, proving he can go inside or outside to best a tackle. With dynamic Nick Fairley lined up to their inside shoulders, Young and Ansah figure to have mano-a-mano combat with Levi Brown. Advantage Lions. 

Fairley and Ndamukong Suh on the inside are both major threats to the Cardinals. Fairley lived in the Minnesota backfield, while Suh consistently absorbed double teams and still directed the action. Mix in a twist or a stunt to add to the confusion, and the Lions defensive line is primed for a very big day. They must be disciplined enough to play the run on the way to the pass, something that has given Suh in particular problems in the past. 

In the Week 15 meeting last year, Suh notched a sack and three QB hits despite not having Fairley next to him. Detroit has significantly upgraded both end positions and added better depth to the defensive line. This is the key unit versus unit match up in this game. The Lions must consistently win this battle in order to protect the secondary, which is at a disadvantage against the Cardinals' three wideout sets. 

3. Keep an Eye on the Ball

Arizona is a very different style of team from Minnesota in Week 1. While the Vikings use lots of 12 and 22 personnel groupings (12 is one RB and two TEs, 22 is two backs and two tight ends), Arizona uses three wide receivers and a single back as their base offense. 

At quarterback, Carson Palmer is a significantly divergent talent from Christian Ponder. While Palmer has almost no agility, his ability to rifle the ball down the field presents a major threat. Palmer has no qualms about trying to fit balls into tight windows anywhere on the field. 

This makes constant awareness in coverage a key for the Lions defense. As anyone who has watched corner Chris Houston play, this is not necessarily a team strength. Take a look back to the opener, and Houston's baffling inability to anticipate the ball or react to the receiver going to make the catch.

On this play, Houston is in solid coverage position on Jerome Simpson. The Vikings wideout has a step on Houston but the Lions corner has an opportunity to make a play on the ball.

Even as Simpson begins to jump to catch the ball, Houston still has no inclination that the ball might be on the way. He must do a better job of reading the wide receiver cues and locating the football in the air. Houston committed the double sin of both getting flagged for interference and still allowing the reception on this instance.

Houston is making a jump in degree of difficulty from covering Simpson to Larry Fitzgerald that is akin to raising the level on the video game from "novice" to "expert." It is imperative that Houston and his fellow defensive backs read the cues and stay alert and aware of the ball. 

4. Protect the Pigskin

Last season the Cardinals forced four turnovers in the romp over the Lions. Stafford threw three interceptions, two of which were taken to the house. 

This year's Cardinals secondary added a dangerous creator of takeaways in nickel corner Tyrann Mathieu. The Honey Badger did not disappoint in his debut game, hustling down the field to strip Jared Cook of the ball as the lithe tight end cruised towards what appeared to be an easy touchdown. Look how quickly he closes ground and still keeps his focus on attacking the ball in the highlight video.

Given the fumbling propensities of Brandon Pettigrew and even Calvin Johnson, ball security even after the catch is going to be critical. Corner Patrick Peterson is one of the most dynamic play-making defenders in the entire league, and Mathieu has already proven his takeaway game translates to the NFL.

There is more to worry about than just the secondary. Last week beefy nose tackle Dan Williams picked off Sam Bradford and scored the touchdown from two yards out. Ends Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett are both disruptive forces capable of strip sacks and batted balls like the one which Stafford had picked off last week. Remember, this is a Cardinals team that finished fourth in takeaways in 2012 and had four games where they created four or more.  

Opponent	Week	Takeaways	Points off Turnovers
Miami	4	4	10
Atlanta	11	6	13
New York Jets	13	4	3
Detroit	15	4	28

Notice something amiss there? The Lions did a terrible job of preventing Arizona from capitalizing on the turnovers. The Falcons were good enough at avoiding damage that they actually won the game despite being -5 in turnovers. When the Lions turn the ball over, they must keep the Cardinals from turning them into production on the scoreboard.