Takeaways From Cardinals Loss to Lions

The Arizona Cardinals were sent back to reality by the Detroit Lions.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins (84) runs past Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Sep 22, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

To call this loss frustrating would be an understatement after the Arizona Cardinals failed to take advantage of a bad game from the Detroit Lions and dropped to 1-2 on the season. It was a very winnable game, but the Cards simply couldn’t capitalize off of Detroit’s mistakes and couldn’t sustain drives.

The questions surrounding this team heading into the season are still looming, although we have some positive trends to make things a bit easier to swallow with a losing record.

Following this loss, these are the key takeaways for the Cardinals after their heartbreak to the Lions.

Kyler Murray is mortal

Murray’s MVP start to the season hit a road bump against Dan Campbell’s Lions. Murray finished the day 21/34 (~61.8%) for 207 yards (~6.1 YPA) with one touchdown against one interception – his first of the year.

Detroit’s defense had a great plan for Murray and they were able to make him quite uncomfortable despite only recording a single sack of the Pro Bow QB, who managed a team high 45 rushing yards on five carries.

With Murray contained for the majority of he game, the Cardinals offense struggled t get much going, resulting in just 13 points after scoring 28 and 41 in the first two games of the season respectively.

To put it simply…

The offense looked sloppy

… the offense comes and goes with the success of Murray, and it was on full display in the loss. The Cards went three-and-out three times and punted two more times after four plays. The inability to make the most of their drives in a low-scoring game was a big difference-maker in this game.

The Cardinals’ decision to abandon the run was understandable… but these are the results you see more often than not when you decide to do that. The Lions defense played tough, but the Cardinals had plenty of missed opportunities… and when it mattered most, the offense simply couldn’t get it done.

It was a sloppy game for both offenses to be fair, but we’re here to talk about the Cardinals.

The Cards’ defense will exceed expectations

At some point we’re expecting this Cardinals’ defense to get absolutely worked by a high-powered offense, of which the team has played each of their first three games this season. And yet, they simply aren’t performing at the level we expected them to be. And I say that in the best way possible.

Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis have this defense playing with its hair on fire the way they swarm to the ball and make plays. The Cards were cheated of a pick-six that could’ve changed the entirety of the game, but that’s a rant for another time… the point here being that the defense is opportunistic and shouldn’t be overlooked moving forward.

It’s been a pleasant surprise and perhaps the biggest surprise of the young season, but after three weeks we need to give the defense its flowers. They’re playing well right now and certainly much better than anyone else was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for.

Cardinals are right where they're supposed to be

Being 1-2 sucks. It sucks even more because you could have a winning record if a few things went your way. However, that’s how football works and that’s why the Cardinals are where they are through three weeks.

However, I don’t say that as a negative thing. Quite the contrary.

This Cardinals team was solid against Josh Allen’s Bills, although there was certainly a lot to work on. Then they crushed a Rams team that was considered to be one of the better rosters in the NFC. And now you lost a tight game to the NFC runners-up from last season.

If nothing else, this team should be definitively 0-3 with huge losses based off the expectations they had heading into the year. Instead, they are exactly what we’ve been saying all offseason – They’re fun to watch and will be a tough out for anybody.

The Cardinals are exactly where they’re supposed to be right now. For a rebuilding franchise to be competitive in year two is all you can ask for.