3 Matchups Detroit Lions Must Exploit to Notch First Win over Arizona Cardinals

Does Ford Field count as a "matchup advantage?"

The Detroit Lions generally do well at home, coming within a kicker of going undefeated at Ford Field in 2014. Plus, this year's Sunday night game against the Denver Broncos was a two-point game midway through the fourth quarter.

No? Fine, but it's not easy finding too many deciding factors that lean Detroit's way.

There are a few, however, although the right to get creative is reserved for use below.

Right Side of the Arizona OL on Passing Downs...

The Cardinals have received a lot of love for their offense and rightfully so. Carson Palmer makes them dangerous as proven by his 106.4 passer rating this season (fourth among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts) and his recent record:

"

Carson Palmer’s last 18 games: 64.4%, 4,962 yards, 36:14 TD-to-INT, 8.0 YPA, 99.2 passer rating. Cardinals' record is 16-2.

— Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) September 28, 2015"

Palmer, much like Philip Rivers did in the season opener, is capable of tearing through a secondary with precision. And again like Rivers, Palmer has been doing a lot with shorter and quicker throws (8.62 YPA for Palmer to Rivers' 8.91).

That means Detroit needs to get after Palmer in a hurry.

Arizona has spent some money to shore up the right side of the line with Jared Veldheer and Mike Iupati. However, the Cardinals are vulnerable from the center to either Bobby Massie at right tackle or Earl Watfield, both of whom have played.

Here, you can see third-year guard Jonathan Cooper looks a bit confused before the play, signaling back and forth with his hand. The linebacker then darts outside shortly after the snap, taking Cooper so far to his right that he can't recover when Chris Long crosses his face for the easy sack.

NFL Game Pass

Just a few plays prior, the aforementioned Massie was taken for a ride by defensive end William Hayes. The latter got inside the former's chest with a bull rush, helping to pin in Palmer for St. Louis' first sack of the day.

Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has adjusted to the talent on hand. He can keep Arizona's offensive line on its heels with various defensive back and linebacker blitzes.

Once that line starts leaning back, Jason Jones and Devin Taylor are both capable of bull-rushing and twisting to create further chaos. 

...And on Rushing Downs, too

Yes, this counts as a second matchup. It's too important to be overlooked.

Detroit has regained its stoutness against the run, making opponents work for everything. After the Vikings went off for 199 yards in Week 2, the Lions limited the Broncos and Seahawks to a combined average of three yards per carry.

Yet the Cardinals have a high success rate on running plays (4.4 YPC, tied for third in the league). And most of their destruction has been concentrated on one side as 42 percent of their 487 yards have come to the outside of the right guard, per Pro Football Focus.

"

Nice burst for @ChrisJohnson28 on this 21-yard gain. #STLvsAZ pic.twitter.com/fJTQFtC06V

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) October 4, 2015"

Chris Johnson has been the main weapon. Almost half of his 302 yards have sprung from this sweet spot, partly because he's forced 13 missed tackles on just 68 carries this year.

It's imperative that the same two defensive ends featured above, likely with a smattering of Darryl Tapp as well, set the edge and hold the contain.

Tackling will obviously be of equal importance. Luckily for Detroit, this trio has combined to miss two tackles and should benefit from the return of a friendly face.

"

Lions injury report Thursday. DeAndre Levy was a full participant for the second straight day. pic.twitter.com/GE0xoTtlZF

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) October 8, 2015"

Attack Anyone Not Named Calais Campbell

Detroit is going to have a tough time moving the ball through the air. Golden Tate struggles against physical secondaries, which is exactly what Arizona has, meaning the Cardinals will have more free bodies to smother Calvin Johnson.

That's going to put even more pressure on the league's worst ground game.

Arizona's defense has a fearsome reputation, but the stats show a mediocre rushing defense. Its 4.2-yards allowed average is 20th across the league, despite three games against terrible teams (Saints, Bears and 49ers).

The lone exception along the front has been Calais Campbell. He's a one-man wrecking crew that must be avoided at all costs.

"

Calais Campbell is going to be the defensive version of Philip Rivers when we look back at this NFL era. pic.twitter.com/osFSDFRAUH

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) October 8, 2015"

The Lions have struggled to create any creases in the defensive line, much less running lanes. Their use of slow-developing plays won't work with Campbell on the field because he can blow up an outside-zone run from the backside.

However, if Detroit attacks the other defenders, yards will come. The remaining defensive linemen combined fall two short of Campell's 14 stops (plays that constitute an offensive failure), and Kevin Minter is the only Cardinal with more (18).

This has been the story all season. Detroit has been capable of beating every team it's played and has a few avenues it can take toward success this week. Now we have to see if the Lions are as asleep at the wheel as their head coach looks on the sideline.

All advanced statistics, grades and positional rankings are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter @BrandonAlisoglu.