Lions vs. Cardinals: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 Regular Season

Drew Stanton was a fearless leader who came out firing for the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, proving early he was not intimidated by the tall task of replacing injured starting quarterback Carson Palmer.   

Against an elite Detroit Lions defense, Stanton tossed two touchdowns to Michael Floyd on the team's first two possessions. That proved enough to steer Arizona to a 14-6 victory and an NFL-best 9-1 record. SportsCenter provided some significant stats Arizona achieved with this win:

ESPN Stats & Info alluded to how Stanton and Floyd had struggled to sync up before Sunday:

Both defenses played at a high level for the majority of this marquee Week 11 game, though, as Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports noted:

After the initial shock of Stanton's scalding, stunning start sunk in, it seemed Detroit figured out how to disguise its coverages and force errors. Two of the next three times the Cardinals had the ball following the first two scores, the drives ended abruptly on Stanton interceptions.

Bleacher Report's Cian Fahey and Sports Illustrated's Aaron Nagler were critical of the mistakes and how Stanton fared overall for most of the day at University of Phoenix Stadium:

"

That's the second time Drew Stanton hasn't seen the underneath defender. Lack of poise.

— Cian O'Fathaigh (@Cianaf) November 16, 2014"

But Stanton made a critical throw late, hitting star receiver Larry Fitzgerald to convert a 3rd-and-11 just before the two-minute warning.

NFL Network's Albert Breer praised Stanton's key play:

Mike Sando of ESPN.com felt Stanton played rather well overall—and with how difficult the opponent was, that certainly makes sense:

The Cardinals secondary deserves credit for holding firm, despite entering Week 11 ranked 30th in the league against the pass.

Part of the problems that plagued Detroit's passing game was the constant duress quarterback Matthew Stafford was under. The cannon-armed Lions signal-caller was harassed by a pass rush that's struggled to generate pressure all year.

DetroitLions.com's Tim Twentyman referenced just how off the Lions were:

The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre panned Detroit's men in the trenches for their lackluster pass protection:

Lions superstar receiver Calvin Johnson had just five catches for 59 yards on 12 targets, while Golden Tate managed a mere two receptions for 41 yards.

The Cardinals' ability to shut down Stafford and Co. in the fourth quarter, in the context of the gunslinger's penchant for comebacks, was all the more special in light of this statistic from the Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett:

Morale had to be low for Arizona after losing Palmer to a torn ACL last week. This win is another testament to the coaching job Bruce Arians is doing in the desert.

Arians is also evidently confident in his ability to mentor QBs. Even with a career backup in Stanton under center, the ultimate goals don't change in Arians' mind, as relayed by The MMQB's Peter King:

The rest of the NFC West promises to be a challenge, with the Seattle Seahawks still lurking as defending Super Bowl champions and the San Francisco 49ers continuing to gut out wins. Even St. Louis is no easy foe, as it proved in defeating the only team the Cardinals have lost to all year, the Denver Broncos.

That loss to Denver is Stanton's only defeat as a starter this season, so perhaps Arians is correct with his bold words. Time will tell, and a road trip to Seattle in Week 12 will be telling as well.

Detroit has to fend off the Green Bay Packers and their amazing offense for the remainder of the year as they and the Lions are now tied at the top in the NFC North at 7-3.

The second of two road games sees Detroit travel to take on the New England Patriots next Sunday, which will be another stiff test for the top-flight defense whose slow start to Week 11 was costly.