Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images In the Lions’ Week 3 win against the Cardinals, there were plenty of winners and only a few losers for Detroit. Here’s who made the cut. Coming off a disappointing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, the Detroit Lions had to go on the road against an underrated Arizona Cardinals in Week 3. The Cardinals were coming off a big win over the Los Angeles Rams, a team Detroit beat in Week 1, and Arizona had an easier time than Detroit. Unfortunately for Arizona, they had to play the Lions this week and it didn’t end well for them. The Lions' red zone offense did a 180 from last week, the defense came up big by limiting the Cardinals' offense and even special teams made an impact with the leg of punter Jack Fox. Detroit didn’t come away unscathed though, as injuries piled up and Detroit had to grind it out in the end to walk away with the victory. Check out my winners and losers in the 20-13 win against the Cardinals. Winners Red Zone Offense After struggling against the Bucs in the red zone, the Lions’ offense overcame their woes with a great performance. Inside the 20, Detroit was two-for-two, with a rushing and passing touchdown. The Lions needed to improve in the red zone as field goals alone can’t win you many games in the NFL, and with kicker being a question mark somewhat, Detroit must finish drives in the end zone. Unlike last week, Detroit had some struggles with moving the ball to the red zone. Thankfully, when it came time to punch the ball in the end zone when the team was fewer than 20 yards away, Detroit came away with scores. Jared Goff What a rebound game for Lions quarterback Jared Goff. So far this season, Goff has been inconsistent with his passing attack. Goff has made some excellent throws, but his rough outing against the Bucs was another issue with the Lion's offensive woes. This week though, Goff was excellent and on point, going 18-for-23 for 198 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Goff’s throws were on point, mostly risk-free, and effective. Goff looked like his old self in the game and showed up when needed. Last week, he was asked to do too much, and this week it was a different game plan that suited Goff better. Goff isn’t the type of quarterback who needs to be the hero and throw the ball 40 or more times. He just needs to be a game manager who can move the ball with ease and help balance the running game. His interception was his worst through of the game, and thankfully it didn’t end up costing Detroit in the end. Ground Attack Running the ball is back on the menu in Detroit. The Lions’ offensive line came to play as it helped both running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery move down the field. Montgomery started the game with a strong drive and finished with a touchdown, and 23 carries for 106 yards. Gibbs wasn’t ignored though, he had 16 carries for 83 yards, and a 20-yard “catch“ for a touchdown in that hook and ladder play. The Lions leaned on their running game and it was the biggest difference between the two teams in the end. Detroit ran 43 times for 188 yards and a touchdown, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The Cardinals had 18 carries for 77 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. With Murray leading the Cardinals in rushing yards on scrambles, the Cardinal’s actual running backs had a rough time as they were held to a combined 32 yards on 13 carries. Ben Johnson’s playcalling Last week, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s game plan was not helpful. He wanted a pass-heavy offense, which is understandable going up against a banged-up Bucs secondary, but he forgot the best offensive line in the NFL is in Detroit and left the running game behind. This week, he got them more involved, rushing the ball 43 times compared to the 23 passing attempts. He also drew up a nifty touchdown pass for Detroit to go up 20-7 in the second quarter. Little hook n ladder shenanigans for the score #DETvsAZ | FOX pic.twitter.com/EBUcoJeBn5— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 22, 2024 As I mentioned earlier, the red zone did better this week as well and he was a reason for that. His calls inside that area were just what Detroit needed and his creative mind was helpful on the touchdown by Gibbs. While the playcalling wasn’t as effective in the second half, it did its job in the first to help Detroit walk out with a win. Kerby Joseph Regarding the secondary, safety Kerby Joseph is having a strong start to the season. Against Arizona, Joseph finished with three tackles, two pass deflections, and had a big interception in the third quarter. He was helping cover Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and simply was a center fielder as Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw it deep and Joseph just had to jump up and snag it. Joseph has had a strong start to the season and when the team needs a turnover, he seems to come up big for them. Joseph is the veteran in the safety room, which is odd since he has only been in the league for three years, but he is playing like a veteran and helping the secondary big. QB Contain My thoughts on slowing down the Cardinals was to just cover Harrison and force Murray to find another wide receiver to throw to. The next thing was to contain Murray inside the pocket. When it came to containing Murray, I think the defense did a great job. They held Murray to 45 yards on just five carries and forced him to throw the ball more than he wanted to. The Lions even got to Murray once as defensive end Aidan Hutchinson kept his hot start to the season alive. With the offense helping the defense with a 10-point lead, Arizona was forced to throw the ball more, and Murray couldn’t run out of the pocket to move down the field. It was a smarter option to throw the ball, but with the Cardinals needing a third and fourth-string offensive tackle to play, it certainly limited the time Murray had in the pocket. Jack Fox When the offense sputtered, Fox did his job very well to help the defense. Fox punted the ball five times for 247 yards as only one was a touchback, with the other four landing inside the 20-yard line. Fox was the best special teams player today and gave the defense an easier time against the Cardinal's offense Losers Injuries Heading into the game, Detroit was only down one starter in linebacker Alex Anzalone due to a concussion, but the injuries piled up during the game. It started with offensive tackle Dan Skipper going down early, but he would return and finish the game. Later, the defense started losing players left and right. First, it was cornerback Terrion Arnold, who left with a knee injury and would return and finish the game. Defensive tackle Alim McNeil left with a shoulder injury in the second half and didn’t return. Linebacker Derrick Barnes left the game with a knee injury and also didn’t come back. He left on a cart as well, which isn’t a positive sign. Tight end Sam LaPorta left with an ankle injury as well and did return but was limited in his action. Luckily, Detroit hasn’t had to deal with anything major on the injury front so far this season, but adding a lot of minor injuries isn’t a good thing. On the positive side, Detroit’s next game is on a Monday Night, so that extra day of rest could come in well. Penalties Detroit played a sloppy game when it came to penalties. They had nine for 79 yards, the most they have had all season. The Lions have averaged five penalties a game this season, and they about doubled it on Sunday, which kept the Cardinals in the game. If Detroit was able to limit their penalties, they could have possibly scored more than 20 points. If Detroit was playing against a more difficult opponent, those flags could have had an even bigger impact on the game. With the Cardinals having some struggles, it certainly gave the Lions a break from their miscues.