The Setup
Cardinals were 2 & 0 and heralded as this year's "it" footbaall team. Lions were 0 & 2, and Lions followers were calling for Patricia's scalp.
Lede
"FG at 0:04 in 4Q wins it for Lions."
The Bottom Line:
From the very start, it looked like the Cards were on the cusp of blowing the game wide open; but the combination of ugly mistakes and lethargic 2H play allowed the Lions to hang around long enough to mount a last minute scoring drive that endedwith a 39 yard Matt Prater tie-breaking FG wiith 0:04 teft in the game
The 800 lb Gorilla in the contest was a missed XP by Gonzalez, which kept the Lions within FG range throughout the game and shifting the pressure from the next Stafford TD to 3 pt chip shots by Prater.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Detroit - Prater 37 yd FG- Detroit 3 Cards 0
Arizona - Isabella - 13 yd pass from Murray (Gonzalez Kick) - Cards 7 - Detroit 3
2nd Quarter
Detroit - James - 5 yd pass from Stafford (Prater Kick) - Detroit 10 - Cards 7
Arizona - Murray - 1 yd run (Kick Failed) - Cards 13 - Detroit 10
Detroit - Golladay - 15 yd pass from Stafford (Prater Kick) - Detroit 17 - Cards 13
3rd Quarter
Arizona - Gonzalez 54 Yd FG - Lions 17 - Cards 16
Detroit - Prater - 24 Yd FG - Lions 20 - Cards 16
Arizona - Isabella - 4 Yd Pass fr Murray - (Gonzalez Kick) - Cards 23 - Lions 20
4th Quarter
Detroit - Prater - 35 Yd FG - Wash 23 - Cards 23
Detroit - Prater 39 Yd FG- Wash 26- Cards 23
- First Downs Cards 22 - Wash 28
- Passing: Murray 23 for 35, 270 Yds 1 TD, 1 Int 88.3
................Stafford 22 for 31 Yds 2 TDs, 0 Ints, 119.0
Sacked By: Cards 4 - Detroit 1
Rushing: Cards - Drake 18 for 73 (4.06 ypc)...Murray 5 for 29 (5.80) 1 TD
.................Detroit - Peterson 22 for 75 (3.41 ypc)
Receiving: Golladay - 6 otf 9 for 57 yds, 1 TD...Hockenson - 4 of 7 for 53 yds, 1 TD
..................
Hopkins 10 of 12 for 137 yds...Isabella 4 of 7 for 53 yds, 2 TDs.
Tackles - T Walker 12...Okudah 6...Collins 6
................Baker 8 ...Campbell 6 ...Kirkpatrick 6
Interceptions By - Cards - 0... Detroit - 3 (Okudah, L Collins, Harmon)
Fumbles Lost - Cards 0 of 0...-Detroit 0 of 0
Penalties - Cards 7 fpr 48 - Detroit 7 for 4
Time of Possession: Cards 27:10 - Detroit 32:50
Last Word:
On papwelcome to Overreaction Monday - Lots of finger-pointing and "fire the coach, gm or owner" (that's not going to happen) commentary. Doom and gloom - How will we ever win another game?" "That's what you get for playing a rookie" yada yada.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are the "They're young...cut 'em a break overreactors.
I come down pretty much down the middle. We opened the season with several questions: "How much will Murray have improved with another off-season (albeit a weird one) under his bel? How much have our new guys (especially on defense) upgraded our roster? What about our division rivals (Niners, Rams, Seahawks)? Will the Cards be a smart, seasoned football team? Or will they continue to suffer from an overabundance of rookie "yips?"
Inconsistency rules the day - we don't know which Cardinal team will come running out of the lockerroom - will they be sparkling with talent? or will they be spackled with rookie-style flashes of brilliance offset by terminal dumbness?
Short answer: We don't know (All signs seem to point to an inoconsistent team that can charm you on one day but break your heart the next. How good (or bad) is this Cardinal team? way too early to tell.
These weird times call for instant opinion-making and pressure to make changes on a dime. Maybe the Cards will rebound/maybe they won't. Suggest we all chill.
