Key Takeaways From Detroit Lions 45-21 Victory Over Arizona Cardinals

The Detroit Lions entered Week 5 looking to get some much-needed momentum moving in their direction.

After a crushing loss to the Carolina Panthers evened their record at 2-2, the Lions traveled to State Farm Stadium looking to jump over the .500 mark ahead of their Week 6 bye.

Moving into their Week 5 matchup with Arizona, the Lions emphasized consistency after their performance fluctuated throughout the first four weeks.

"Yeah, any time you have a loss, you can't wait to get back to work and get back to the next game to get that taste out of your mouth," head coach Dan Campbell said in a pregame interview with Lions flagship radio. "At the end of the day, you've got to keep in mind that everything is about improvement, man. As much as you'd like to take these giant leaps, that's not how it works. The most important thing is the steady climb, and that's what we haven't done. We've done this teeter, this kind of roller-coaster. We've got to get out of that and begin to slowly climb every week and get better and better. It starts with Arizona."

Though they started slow, an emphatic second quarter resulted in a dominant 45-21 win for the Lions heading into the bye week. Here are takeaways from the team's win over Arizona.

First quarter struggles continue

The Lions elected to take the ball to start the game, but it was a non-ideal start. They went three-and-out, with the drive ending after Budda Baker blitzed untouched and sacked Goff on third-down.

Detroit's defense looked to have the Cardinals neutralized on their opening drive, forcing them into a third-and-11. However, Jacoby Brissett hit Kendrick Bourne for 22 yards to kickstart the drive.

Again, the Lions would force the Cardinals into a crucial situation as Brissett and company would face a fourth-and-1 from Detroit's 9-yard line. Rather than kick a field goal, Arizona dialed up some trickery as wide receiver Michael Wilson tossed the ball to Brissett after a reverse to pick up seven and a first-down.

Arizona would score on the next play, with Brissett hitting Teagan Quitoriano for a 2-yard touchdown to cap off the 14-play, 73-yard drive.

Detroit would go three-and-out on its ensuing drive, with former Lion Roy Lopez putting Detroit behind the sticks immediately with a sack of Jared Goff. They finished the first quarter with three three-and-outs, totaling negative-nine yards of offense in that timeframe.

Finding a groove

While the Lions' offense struggled, the defense picked them up by forcing two straight punts to preserve the deficit at 7-0 through the end of the first quarter. After the second, the offense started to pick up steam.

Their momentum was sparked by a fourth-down conversion, as Goff hit Sam LaPorta for 12 yards and an additional 15 was tacked on thanks to a personal foul. After Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 15 yards with the help of his blockers, the Lions would call his number two more times and he reached paydirt to tie the game at 7-7 with 12:22 to go in the first half.

After stopping the Cardinals once again, the Lions caught a break when they were able to fall on a fumbled punt return by Amon-Ra St. Brown. Once again, they found themselves in a fourth-and-short after an unsuccessful challenge by Dan Campbell.

Once again, the Lions converted as Goff hit Sam LaPorta for a 38-yard touchdown. After a play-action fake, LaPorta snuck out wide open up the right sideline and strolled into the end zone to give the Lions the lead.

The defense came up big once again, forcing a three-and-out, and the Lions took advantage offensively. Once again, the Lions converted a pivotal fourth-down as they capped off their third scoring drive with a touchdown from Goff to Jameson Williams on fourth-and-4 from Arizona's 8-yard line.

Defensively, the Lions forced five-straight three-and-outs with D.J. Wonnum putting the exclamation point on the stretch with a third-down sack of Brissett. The Lions would tack on a 46-yard field goal from Jake Bates to take a 24-7 lead late in the first half.

Arizona was able to record a first-down on its final drive of the half, but another sack from Wonnum and the first career interception for Keith Abney II ended the half.

Wonnum with the third-down SACK pic.twitter.com/buiBiRTf7z
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 11, 2026

The rout is on

The Cardinals moved the ball quickly into Lions territory on their first drive of the second half, with Brissett connecting with Elijah Higgins for a 38-yard gain. However, Alim McNeill and Skyler Gill-Howard teamed up for a sack, and Chad Ryland's 53-yard field goal was no good.

Detroit's offense picked up right where they left off on the ensuing drive. Gibbs had a 10-yard run for a first-down, and then Tate Ratledge made a clutch fumble recovery after St. Brown lost the ball on a reception.

Facing a third-down, Goff dialed up a shot and connected with Jameson Williams on a 39-yard touchdown.

Jameson Williams TD!
Second of day pic.twitter.com/lM0yP26n2E
— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) October 11, 2026

Arizona would rally for their first points since their opening drive. Brissett rolled right and found Quitoriano for a 13-yard score, his second of the day, to make it 31-14 with 4:22 remaining in the third quarter.

However, the Lions snuffed out any momentum the Cardinals may have had by driving 74 yards in eight plays. They finished the drive out with yet another fourth-down conversion, this time a Jared Goff 1-yard quarterback sneak for a score. It was Goff's first rushing touchdown since the 2023 season.

Making history

The Lions have several players who logged significant accomplishments on Sunday. Most notably, running back Jahmyr Gibbs set an NFL record for the most touchdowns by a player under the age of 25 with his second rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

On a second-and-goal, Gibbs bounced off a tackle and reversed field, racing three yards into the end zone for the record-setting score. It capped off a 13-play, 79-yard drive and gave the Lions a 45-14 lead with five minutes remaining.

The Cardinals would punch in a late touchdown as Brissett hit Trey McBride, who made a terriffic juggling catch.

Briefly

1.) Detroit Tigers play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti filled in as the Lions' play-by-play voice on the radio for Sunday's game. Dan Miller did not call the game after the passing of his wife, Cynthia.

"Our thoughts are with Dan right now, all weekend, and for the future, with the loss of his wife of 33 years, Cindy, a couple of days ago," Benetti said on Sunday's broadcast. "Dan is one of the most remarkable people I have met in my time in Detroit. One of the most sincere human beings you can possibly dream of. A fantastic voice of the Lions for more than two decades."

2.) Linebacker Devin White and wide receiver Tom Kennedy both suffered injuries in the first half. Both players did not return to the game. Amon-Ra St. Brown filled in for Tom Kennedy on punt return duties.

3.) Amon-Ra St. Brown made history on Sunday, passing Minnesota's Justin Jefferson for the most receiving yards in the first six seasons of a career.

4.) The 24 points the Lions scored in the second quarter were the most they've scored in a quarter since 2013.

5.) Wonnum set a new personal best with at least one sack in three-straight games.

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