3 Reasons Why Lions' Offense Was Improved against Arizona

Read more on why the Detroit Lions' offense was more productive in Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Lions' offense looked much improved against the Cardinals, in Detroit's convincing and surprising 30-12 victory at home last Sunday.  

What were the keys to the improvement? Let's explore. 

1.) Jared Goff looked like a different quarterback 

Goff played within himself against the Cardinals. Goff took what the defense gave him, as he mostly worked the short game and managed to keep Detroit out of third-and-longs (I only counted one third-and-long situation). 

Goff had the best timing he has had with his receivers all season, and for the first time, he looked like he was in control of the game from start to finish. After a season of flashing here and there and looking more like a roller-coaster ride than a starting NFL QB, Goff made this his team.  

It started with the opening drive. Goff and the Lions' offense set the tone from the beginning. The opening drive resulted in a field goal, but took 15 plays and went 63 yards. Most importantly, it took 8:50 off the clock.  

During that opening drive, it struck me how much more relaxed Detroit's offense felt watching the game. The offensive attack was completely in sync. There was a rare togetherness with the unit that jumped off the television screen.  

Detroit was in control of the tempo of the game, and it sent a real message to Arizona's sideline. The Cardinals did not see the ball until there was just 6:09 left to play in the first quarter. 

The Cardinals' offense responded to Detroit's offensive output by looking out of sorts, as Kyler Murray & Co. promptly went three-and-out, chewing up only 2:28 of the game clock.  

Goff and Detroit's offense marched back on to the field and methodically put together an eight-play drive that went 93 yards. It resulted in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Goff to rookie wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, putting the Lions up, 10-0.  

The 27-year-old signal-caller finished the contest a near perfect 21-of-26 for 216 yards and three touchdowns.  

Over his last four games, he's looked like an entirely different quarterback. He's thrown for nine touchdowns and just two interceptions, while recording a passer rating of 105.1 (the fourth-best passer rating in that span).  

And, he's a large reason why the offense put together its best performance of the season in Week 15. 

2.) The run game was ultra productive 

As they say, "Football is a game that is won or lost from the neck up," and there was just something about those first two drives, which featured a variety of run plays with unsung hero Craig Reynolds, that completely demoralized Arizona. For all intents and purposes, the game was over after the first 15:00. 

Detroit's offense was on the same page. It was more physical than Arizona's, too. 

Detroit was not only beating Arizona on the scoreboard. It was flat-out giving Arizona a beatdown in the trenches, as it ran the football down the Cardinals' throats.  

It was head coach Dan Campbell's finest hour in Detroit, in an effort that echoed his introduction speech. 

"Here's what I do know," Campbell said last January. "This team is going to take on the identity of this city, and this city has been down and it found a way to get up. It's found a way to overcome adversity, right? So, this team is going to be built on, we're going to kick you in the teeth, right? And when you punch us back, we're going to smile at you. And when you knock us down, we're going to get up, and on the way up, we're going to bite a kneecap off. All right? And we're going to stand up, and it's going to take two more shots to knock us down. And, on the way up, we're going to take your other kneecap, and we're going to get up. And it's going to take three shots to get us down. And, when we do, we're going to take another hunk out of you. Before long, we're going to be the last one standing. That's going to be the mentality."  

Raj Mehta, USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of Reynolds, he continued to be the perfect addition to this offense, with his second-effort running style. And, the team fed off his energy and raw determination. 

Next to the Pittsburgh game (39 team carries), which ended in a 16-16 tie, Detroit ran the football the second-most times it has all season. Behind Reynolds, the offense ran 34 times against the Cardinals. 

Running the football 30-plus times in a game fits the DNA of this offensive attack.  

Reynolds, meanwhile, recorded a 100-plus-yard game on the ground in just his second game with the Lions. He finished with 112 yards on 26 carries. 

3.) The emergence of St. Brown

Something clicked with this offense on Sunday, and it wasn't just because of the run game. 

Another reason why: The growing connection between Goff and St. Brown through the air. 

With each passing week, the rookie wideout has increasingly become Goff's most reliable receiving option, and that should continue to be the case -- and now even more with T.J. Hockenson out -- the rest of the way this season. 

The USC product, a fourth-round draft pick of the Lions in 2021 (No. 112 overall), finished with eight receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown, on 11 targets, in Detroit's upset win against Murray & Co. 

He's impressed the Lions' coaching staff with his play so far this season, and Detroit offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn went so far as recently comparing St. Brown to former Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Hines Ward. 

"He’s his own kind of guy, but there are also other players that he reminds me of. I’m just trying to think of my man in Pittsburgh right now -- Hines Ward," Lynn said. "Oh my goodness, just the way he blocks, and Hines was so crafty with his footwork. And, Saint (St. Brown) is learning when to be crafty and when not to be. So, that would be the first comparison I would make.” 

If St. Brown becomes anything like Ward, the Lions will have an ultra reliable receiver on their hands for many years to come.