Detroit, MI

6 takeaways from the Detroit Lions’ victory over the Arizona Cardinals

Published

2 years ago

September 22, 2024

6 takeaways from the Detroit Lions’ victory over the Arizona Cardinals

The Detroit Lions took a gut punch last week, but they dusted themselves off and returned to their winning ways.

Coming off their first loss of the season, the Lions were faced with a red-hot Arizona Cardinals team that had just walloped the opposing Los Angeles Rams by a score of 41-10. If Detroit wanted to prove themselves as a team capable of making a deep playoff run, this was their moment. The litmus test went well, but there are still growing pains and literal pains to address for the coming weeks.

Let us examine some takeaways from the Lions’ 20-13 win over the Cardinals.

Early season wounds

Back in May, I talked about the concerning trend of the Lions having the earliest bye weeks on average in the entire league. Yet after all of these early injuries to kick off the 2024 season, a Week 5 bye is suddenly looking like a welcome break.

Already missing Ifeatu Melifonwu, Alex Anzalone, and Ennis Rakestraw, the Lions picked up even more wounds against the Cardinals. Terrion Arnold was briefly knocked out of the game with a knee injury. Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill, two key components of the defensive front, were both down at some point, with McNeill (shoulder) being ruled out early in the third quarter. Derrick Barnes (knee), the lone proven SAM linebacker on the roster, was carted to the locker room early and did not return. Sam LaPorta (ankle) got rolled up on the Lions’ hook-and-ladder touchdown, also requiring a cart-assisted locker room trip. Marcus Davenport got looked at on the sideline in the third quarter, already coming off a missed Week 2 game. Dan Skipper was shaken up early in the game. Brian Branch (neck) got hurt on a torpedo of a tackle late in the game.

A team is only as good as its depth, and the Lions have already had to reach into their backup pool for help. This does not even account for players already on the Injured Reserve like Brodric Martin, Emmanuel Moseley, or John Cominsky, nor does it include minor dings to ironmen like Penei Sewell or Graham Glasgow.

Lions lack the finishing blow

The Lions’ defense is playing incredibly well given all of the injuries they have sustained so far this season. Detroit is 2-1 largely due to their defensive efforts, and if their offensive counterpart could step up, we might be looking at a 3-0 record to start the year.

On paper, the Lions offense was productive. Jared Goff was efficient with a pair of touchdowns, while David Montgomery went over 100 yards on the ground. Yet much like last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the yards have not translated into points. Detroit recorded 463 total yards on offense last week, but only turned it into 16 points. Against the Cardinals, Detroit amassed 373 total yards, but their final score was just 20 (three touchdowns due to a missed extra point). All three of those scores came in the first half as Detroit failed to muster a single point in the second half.

It did not end up costing them thanks to the defensive effort, but certainly could have. It is another example of a disturbing trend through three games. The offense is fierce early on, but they have sputtered late in games. The Lions had plenty of opportunities to put a nail in the Cardinals’ coffin, but it never came until the very final drive. If Detroit wants to be a Super Bowl team, they need to be able to close out games instead of allowing their opponents to hang around.

It is difficult to say what the solution is, and there likely is not a singular one. Amon-Ra St. Brown was once again productive, further putting his Week 1 disappointment behind him. Jameson Williams was largely a ghost on Sunday, but the Cardinals were paying special attention to the speedster, such as on his end-around loss of seven yards. The biggest name not yet clicking is Sam LaPorta, who had a pair of catches for 36 yards but suffered another injury. The Lions are clearly not playing to their potential, and you have to wonder if LaPorta is the key missing cog right now.

A modest outing from Hutchinson, but for good reason

Some will look at the stat sheet and be disappointed with Aidan Hutchinson registering just one sack against the Cardinals, yet another team fielding a backup offensive tackle. After notching himself a 4.5-sack performance against the Buccaneers last week, this is a major decrease in production, no?

Well, it is not that simple. The Cardinals were honing in on Hutchinson throughout the game, rarely giving him a clean one-on-one matchup. Arizona’s tight ends (Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins) finished the day with just four catches for 36 yards, largely a byproduct of frequently chipping Hutchinson. Without McBride playing a larger role in the passing offense, Kyler Murray’s was largely limited to Marvin Harrison Jr. downfield, and the Lions did a decent job of keeping him in check. That is just one example of Hutchinson impacting the entire game with his pass rushing.

Hutchinson had his share of pressures, forcing the elusive Murray out of the pocket or into difficult throws. When the Cardinals were in catch-up mode late in the fourth quarter, Hutchinson pulled out his devastating spin move to record himself the lone Lion sack of the game. The end result of Hutchinson’s pressure might not always amount to a sack, but Hutchinson is nonetheless one of the premier pass rushers right now—the Cardinals certainly treated him like one.

SAM I am not

I mentioned last week how important Derrick Barnes has been to the Lions’ defense, so losing him for an extended period could be problematic down the road. Already missing Alex Anzalone with a concussion, Barnes left the game with a knee injury, a further blow to their linebacking corps. The trio of Jack Campbell, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin is more than capable of stepping in and stepping up at linebacker, but the Lions might be without a true SAM.

After failing to find success with James Houston, Matthieu Betts, and Mitchell Agude at SAM linebacker, the depth chart was largely just Barnes. With his injury, the Lions turned to Reeves-Maybin and Ben Niemann, but the coaching staff has a tough decision to make for the future. If Barnes is out for a while, who will fill the void—if they fill it at all? Does Houston, a frequent inactive to start the season, get another chance? Do they roll with Niemann, whom they turned to in a pinch? Could they give the recently re-acquired Trevor Nowaske an extended look at SAM, a position he played in college? Could Mitchell Agude or Isaac Ukwu get called up from the practice squad? Or would they simply consider scrapping the position and using pass rushers like Marcus Davenport in a more traditional role?

Penalties aplenty

With Detroit playing close games on a weekly basis, they cannot afford to give up free yards. Nine penalties for 79 yards was the final total for the Lions on Sunday, far from their cleanest performance. Terrion Arnold was once again hit with a pass interference penalty, Carlton Davis was flagged for one of his own, Josh Paschal had a (fairly weak) roughing the passer penalty, while Jalen Reeves-Maybin added a careless unnecessary roughness penalty. The Lions also added four uncharacteristic false start penalties, even for a road environment.

Arnold in particular has now been flagged five times this season, but there is some optimism to be had. Figuring out what officials will and will not call is part of the learning curve of the NFL. Arnold’s coverage has been tight and he is putting himself into positions to break up plays. He merely needs to clean up his approach to coverage, such as turning his head in anticipation or maintaining better control of his arm position. Those types of errors will hopefully get corrected as he grows and gains experience.

The NFC North is looking fierce… aside from Chicago

The road to the NFC North title was never going to be a cakewalk, but after Sunday’s slate of games, there is some worry about Detroit’s competition.

The Chicago Bears are spinning their tires and are irrelevant to this conversation, but the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers have stood out early in the season. Green Bay has a pair of wins with Malik Willis substituting in for an injured Jordan Love thanks to excellent coaching and defense. The Vikings, also missing their young quarterback, look dangerous with Sam Darnold at the helm. They are one of the few undefeated teams still in the league, fresh off a stomping of the touted Houston Texans. The 34-7 score illustrates what is working for Minnesota right now: a stellar defense and an explosive offense.

The Lions have arguably the best roster in the division when healthy, but through three games, they have not looked like the dominant favorites they were billed as. It could be tough sledding down the stretch, but not an unwinnable situation. If the offense can come alive and the defense can hold firm, few teams in the NFL would outclass the Lions.

Source link

Click to comment

Detroit, MI

Cade Cunningham joins Pistons on bench for 1st time since injury

Published

8 hours ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

Cade Cunningham joins Pistons on bench for 1st time since injury

Cade Cunningham made his first public appearance since suffering a collapsed lung, sitting on the bench in street clothes during the Detroit Pistons’ home game on Tuesday, March 31, for a 127-116 win over the Toronto Raptors.

The All-Star guard hadn’t been with the team during a game since he went down with a left lung pneumothorax on the road against the Washington Wizards on March 17.

He was spotted briefly at the team’s Midtown practice facility March 25 during their morning shootaround, working with trainers in the weight room.

The team announced March 19 that Cunningham will be reevaluted in two weeks, which falls on Thursday, presumably before they host the Minnesota Timberwolves. With six regular-season games remaining for the Pistons (55-21), he is five games short of achieving end-of-season award eligibility; this season he is averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game.

“He’s been around, he’s been vocal and his presence has always been there since he went down,” temmate Jalen Duren said Tuesday. “I know the fans probably haven’t seen him at a game, but he hasn’t went anywhere. He’s still been with us, he’s still been communicating every game, every practice. We’ve still been able to see him at the facility. It was just another day for us.”

Watch our podcast, “The Pistons Pulse,” discuss the Cade Cunningham injury fallout, the playoff chase and more:

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.

Source link

Detroit, MI

Sheffield sets focus on key issues in first State of City speech. How to watch

Published

20 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Sheffield sets focus on key issues in first State of City speech. How to watch

Detroit ― Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield is set to deliver her first State of the City speech Tuesday night as she is expected to focus on her plans to improve the city’s neighborhoods and crack down on smaller crimes such as property theft.

Sheffield is expected to unveil more details on how she aims to boost neighborhood spending and investment and her plan to crack down on “smaller crimes,” such as larcenies as well as breaking and entering into homes and cars, that many residents say is a major concern, Deputy Mayor Brian White told The Detroit News on Monday.

Sheffield is making her speech at Samuel C. Mumford High School on the city’s west side at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The address will be livestreamed on the City of Detroit’s official YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn, with streaming beginning at 6:30 p.m. About 800 invited guests are expected to attend the event in person.

How to watch State of the City speech

Viewers can watch and listen to Sheffield’s speech across a variety of platforms that will start streaming at 6:30 p.m., about a half-hour before the speech is scheduled to begin:

Why Sheffield chose the high school as the site of her speech

The mayor chose Mumford High School for her first State of the City address to reinforce the theme that “she’s going to be a neighborhood-focused mayor,” White said.

“The high school is a prime example of what can happen when we put our lives together and rebuild,” White said. “Her leadership style has always been about inspiring people to dream big and go further into the neighborhoods with development.”

She will tout the executive orders and other changes in policies and initiatives she’s already enacted, the deputy mayor said.

Some of those policies include expanding a nonprofit program into Detroit that gives cash to every new and expectant mother; creating both the Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety and the Human, Homeless, and Family Services Department; implementing a new compliance program for senior citizen housing facilities; and amping up safeguards of home demolition sites, among other measures.

New mayor sets first in Detroit’s 324-year history

The former city councilwoman is the first female mayor, along with the first Black woman mayor, in Detroit’s 324-year history. She succeeded Mike Duggan, who in his three terms and 12 years in office is widely credited with stabilizing the city’s finances after the city entered Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy in July 2013 and exited it at the end of 2014.

Sheffield was the council president before being elected in November. She won in a landslide, nabbing 77% of the vote over the Rev. Solomon Kinloch. She’s also a fourth-generation Detroiter.

laguilar@detroitnews.com

asnabes@detroitnews.com

Source link

Detroit, MI

Depleted Detroit Pistons drag West-best Thunder into OT before falling

Published

1 day ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Depleted Detroit Pistons drag West-best Thunder into OT before falling

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Detroit Pistons nearly took down the defending champs in their own arena without four starters. An MVP-caliber performance by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to escape.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points, and knocked down 21 of his 25 free throws, to put away the Pistons in overtime, 114-110, on Monday, March 30. Three free throws from Gilgeous-Alexander with 48.3 seconds left in overtime extended the Thunder’s lead to five, 111-106. He then split a trip with 13.3 seconds left, with Ron Holland fouling out, to extend the lead back to four to secure the win for Oklahoma City (after Paul Reed cut it to two with a pair of free throws).

After a hot second half, the Pistons went cold in OT, shooting 3-for-11 in the final five minutes. They were without Ausar Thompson (eight points, seven rebounds and five assists) in the extra period, after he fouled out late in the fourth quarter.

With less than 24 seconds left and a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter, Daniss Jenkins turned the ball over with a bad pass. Gilgeous-Alexander nearly made the Pistons pay, sinking a 3-pointer with four seconds left and the game tied at 101. However, the bucket didn’t count because he pushed off. Jenkins’ 3-pointer at the buzzer missed, leading to overtime.

With the loss, the Pistons (54-21) missed out on a chance to clinch the Central Division, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, eight games back with eight games to play entering Monday, also winning. Still, the Pistons are seven games up with seven to play, with a tiebreaker (division record) yet to be decided. Even with the loss, the Pistons – who’ve locked up a playoff spot and homecourt in the first round – edged closer to clinching the top spot in the East, as the Boston Celtics, who entered four games back of the Pistons, lost to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. That dropped the Pistons’ “magic number” (any combo of Pistons wins and Celtics losses) to lock up the East down to three.

Next up for the Pistons

It’s a super-short turnaround for the Pistons, who jet back to Detroit to host the Toronto Raptors (42-32) on Tuesday (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra/MMYD-TV 20). Toronto is tied with Atlanta in the fifth and sixth spots in the Eastern Conference.

Detroit Pistons walking wounded

The Pistons were severely shorthanded, with Jalen Duren (right ankle injury management), Tobias Harris (left hip) and Duncan Robinson (right hip) all missing the game, along with the previously ruled-out Cade Cunningham (left lung pneumothorax) and Isaiah Stewart (left calf strain). They leaned on their depth, with two-way big Tolu Smith and 2025 second-round pick Chaz Lanier rounding out coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation.

Several players stepped up, with Reed (21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks) leading the way. Javonte Green finished with 19 points and knocked down a season-high five 3-pointers. Kevin Huerter (17 points, six assists, six rebounds), Jenkins (15 points, six assists), Marcus Sasser (12 points, four assists) and Caris LeVert (10 points) also scored in double figures.

Gilgeous-Alexander led all players with 47 points.

Second-half rally for the Pistons

With four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, two big offensive rebounds by Smith allowed the Pistons to take their biggest lead of the night.

The possession ended with a 3-pointer by Jenkins, giving the Pistons a 97-90 lead. But the defending champions battled back, with Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way. He went on a personal 6-0 run, and a corner 3-pointer by Thunder center Jaylin Williams later tied the game at 99 with 1:35 to play.

The Pistons trailed by as many as 15 in the first half but outscored the Thunder in the second half, 58-48. The Pistons made nine of their 17 3-point attempts through the final two quarters and shot 60% overall, while holding the Thunder to 44%. Through the first four periods, they scored 22 points off of 17 Thunder turnovers. The Pistons also owned the offensive glass, grabbing 15 to the Thunder’s six. It allowed them a 16-4 lead in second chance points.

Javonte Green delivers season-best performance

The veteran guard has been an unsung contributor all season. His perimeter defense and 3-point shooting, particularly from the corners, has made him a key glue guy with the second unit. As a starter on Monday, he stepped up and gave one of his best performances in a Pistons uniform.

His five 3-pointers marked a season-high, and all five were timely. His fifth came midway through the fourth period and gave the Pistons the lead during their fourth-quarter push, 90-89. He led an all-around hot night from beyond the arc, and did so while also picking up Gilgeous-Alexander defensively throughout the night.

Defense, outside shooting clicks after first quarter

Trailing by 15 points with under nine minutes left in the second quarter, the Pistons nearly let the game get away. But they responded by locking down defensively and heating up from the arc, which sparked a run and enabled them to take control of the game in the second half.

They held the Thunder to 36.4% shooting (8-for-22) in the second quarter after allowing them to shoot 61.1% (11-for-18) in the first. The Pistons caught fire from the arc in the second half after shooting 30% (6-for-20) in the first half, making four of six attempts in the third period and five of 10 in the fourth.

Watch our podcast, “The Pistons Pulse,” discuss the Cade Cunningham injury fallout, the playoff chase and more:

Source link