Detroit Lions vs. Arizona Cardinals: Full Report Card Grades for Detroit
The Detroit Lions looked lost in the desert on Sunday, eventually wandering into a 14-6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. All told, it was their third straight trip to Glendale that ended in failure, leaving fans to wonder if the team is still capable of finding its way back in February.
All is not lost, but things will only get harder from here. Detroit heads to New England next week and finishes the season in Green Bay, which just dusted the Eagles and forced a tie in the NFC North.
The fans will want to move on from this game quickly and focus on the 7-3 record. Unfortunately, this isn't that type of article. This is an autopsy filled with grades and uncomfortable truths.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Many will label the hero of the past three games a goat this week, but that would be much too simplistic of an analysis.
Matthew Stafford struggled mightily to find a rhythm. He finished 18-of-30 for just 183 yards and one interception with a quarterback rating of 63.6.
What's worse, when Detroit looked to have something cooking, Stafford couldn't summon his recent magic.
"Jim Caldwell goes on fourth-and-2 from AZ 46. Fails as Matthew Stafford throws high for Calvin Johnson
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) November 16, 2014"
The play picked for the occasion will be debated on another slide, but Stafford didn't do his part here as the pass sailed hopelessly toward the sideline.
Furthermore, his pocket presence fell apart against a pass rush that came in waves. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that the Cardinals blitzed him on 75 percent of his dropbacks.
There's no way to smooth this one over. It was a rough outing for the fastest quarterback to 20,000 yards in NFL history.
Grade: C+
Running Back
2 of 10
The lone bright spot for the offense was Joique Bell.
Bell often made the first person miss en route to picking up yards after contact. He ran with physicality and enough agility to rack up 85 yards on 14 carries.
"Joique Bell strapping the Lions on his back.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) November 16, 2014"
His 6.1-yard average was earned against a defense that was in the top five against the run. Additionally, he also posted 30 yards through the air.
Theo Riddick was nowhere near as effective. He had at least one drop (albeit not on the cleanest throw) on his way to 26 total yards.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
There weren't many yards to pass around, so this should go by quickly.
Calvin Johnson had a lot of trouble getting open against Patrick Peterson, and the result was 59 yards on five catches.
"Calvin Johnson drops a deep ball. This IS a weird day.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) November 16, 2014"
The play in question happened when Stafford slid away from the pressure and unfurled a long pass that was just a touch behind Megatron. Still, it hit him in the chest and bounced to the turf.
Nobody else in the receiving corps had a better day. Golden Tate was given just two targets that he converted for two catches and 41 yards. Jeremy Ross added four yards on one catch.
As for the tight ends, Eric Ebron returned to the lineup and had 22 yards on four catches.
His stat line was hurt by his heavy use as a blocker due to Arizona's constant blitzing. That didn't go particularly well either.
"That was Ebron with the missed block on that Stafford INT. #DETvsAZ
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) November 16, 2014"
There were a few drops, most notably Johnson's, but there weren't many opportunities for this group to make an impact. It's both a credit to the defense and a demerit to the offense.
Grade: C
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
As I mentioned before, Stafford will take heat for his performance, but plenty of that blame needs to be passed to the offensive line. It couldn't keep the Cardinals from blazing a path to its signal-caller.
"LaAdrian Waddle gets smoked by Alex Okafor for a sack. Looks like he's limping.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) November 16, 2014"
Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles smartly sent multiple defenders to overwhelm Detroit's overmatched line. The result was four sacks, seven tackles for a loss and nine quarterback hits.
That all falls squarely on the boys up front.
There is reason to celebrate the 98 rushing yards against a top-tier rushing defense. However, the praise needs to be tempered by the constant presence of Cardinals in the backfield, forcing Bell to break a tackle before picking up positive yardage.
Grade: D
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The defensive line didn't quite get there on numerous occasions. Just take a look at the box score. Detroit failed to register a single sack.
That doesn't mean the Lions' best positional unit turned in a poor effort. The Cardinals were limited to 46 yards rushing, and Drew Stanton did take five hits.
"TE screen works to perfection for the Cardinals. Ziggy Ansah hit Stanton again.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) November 16, 2014"
The difference was the Cardinals found the right blocking schemes to keep the pass rush at bay. There were some questionable no-calls in the trenches, but Arizona neutralized Ndamukong Suh, who had a single tackle for a loss and a quarterback hit.
Andre Fluellen, C.J. Mosley and Ansah were the most productive linemen with three tackles apiece, while Darryl Tapp added a single tackle.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Again, the defense limited the Cardinals to just 1.8 yards per rush. That doesn't mean everything went well.
"Topic for later discussion: DeAndre Levy slumping. Badly, in pass coverage.
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) November 16, 2014"
The linebackers were picked on in coverage. DeAndre Levy seemed to fall victim to it more often than most, and his open-field miss on Andre Ellington will leave a bad taste in his mouth, regardless of Ellington's premier speed and agility.
Levy still finished with 10 tackles, but none occurred behind the line of scrimmage. In fact, it's hard to remember one impact play from the All-Pro candidate.
Meanwhile, Josh Bynes continued to earn more snaps with his solid day.
"Josh Bynes was a midseason pickup. Already was named captain for a week. Made a big impression on coaching staff, huge play there.
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) November 16, 2014"
In addition to his red-zone interception (the huge play), he finished with four tackles and a pass defensed.
Rookie Kyle Van Noy added a tackle for a loss, while Tahir Whitehead chipped in with three tackles and a pass defensed.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
A backup quarterback threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns, culminating in a 91.4 passer rating.
That simply isn't good enough.
"Slay just wagged his finger at the crowd. Maybe he forgot he gave up a touchdown about 45 minutes ago.
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) November 16, 2014"
There were, however, big plays that kept the game within striking distance. Most notable was Cassius Vaughn snagging a Stanton pass that set up the offense with great field position.
Vaughn had been bullied for most of the day, so his interception helped him regain some confidence. James Ihedigbo needed no such remedy. He continued his playmaking ways against the Cardinals.
"James Ihedigbo out of nowhere to break up a deep shot to John Brown, who was open against Quin.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) November 16, 2014"
The veteran battled through injuries to post five tackles and two passes defensed. Rashean Mathis added another four tackles while Isa Abdul-Quddus racked up three more.
The raw numbers weren't great, and the secondary failed to make the final play on Larry Fitzgerald's third-down conversion. Still, the effort wasn't nearly as bad as it looked on paper.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
The day got off to a rough start, but all's well that ends well for kicker Matt Prater.
"Matt Prater kicks 50-yd field goal, clanging ball off upright to get #Lions on board. Cardinals up 14-3. #DETvsAZ
— Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) November 16, 2014"
He tacked on another one from 28 yards in the second quarter to finish the scoring for the day.
Punter Sam Martin continued to handle his duties. He averaged 41.5 yards per punt, downing half of his attempts inside the 20.
The coverage teams generally operated under the radar—which means they performed adequately—with one notable exception.
"Julian Stanford, your game captain, called for taunting after flexing to a Cardinals player after the punt. #Lions
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) November 17, 2014"
That penalty occurred late in the fourth quarter with Detroit trying to mount a comeback. That's worth a full letter grade drop.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
Accountability and an even keel.
That's what head coach Jim Caldwell was selling in the preseason. So far, he's delivered on the latter, with no trace of the former.
The Lions were flagged before the snap, during the play and after the whistle.
"Lions penalty total: 9 accepted, 12 total.
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) November 17, 2014"
Those nine penalties followed up the 10 accepted fouls a week ago. This is a problem.
Additionally, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi did little to save himself from the fire.
"If I'm Joe Lombardi, I run a shotgun hand off to Riddick. Because I'm a bad OC.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) November 16, 2014"
The tweet refers to a 3rd-and-short when the Lions did exactly what Kent Lee Platte described. There is a lack of creativity that has led to predictability.
For instance, when Caldwell pulled the trigger on fourth down around midfield, everyone knew Calvin Johnson was running a quick out as soon as he motioned across the field. The better call would have been to use the world's best receiver as a decoy since his route was so obvious.
Conversely, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin's unit lowered its point-allowed average (was just under 16). Arizona head coach Bruce Arians landed a few early punches, but Austin countered by smothering the Cardinals after Michael Floyd's second touchdown in the first quarter.
Grade: C
Final Grades
10 of 10
QB: C+
RB: B+
WR/TE: C
OL: D
DL: B
LB: B
Secondary: B
ST: B
Coaching: C
Cumulative Grade: C
For a while now, the theme here has been a win is a win. That obviously no longer applies.
The defense played well enough to get the victory. Every time the Cardinals threatened to put the game away, Austin's guys stepped up and shut Arizona down.
But it wasn't enough to overcome a six-point effort from the offense. The entire unit—from the coordinator to the offensive line—needs to go back to the drawing board and find its identity.
Yet a loss is still just one loss. Detroit shares first place in the NFC North, and despite a couple road games against New England and Green Bay, the schedule is very manageable.
That means there's still time to restore the playoff roar.
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