The Detroit Lions secured a much-needed win over the Arizona Cardinals, securing a 3-2 record headed into their bye week and prior to their hugely important Week 7 game against the Green Bay Packers.
They were dominant for much of the game on both sides of the field, with the defense finally getting stops with regularity and the offense putting up 45 points against a pretty tough Arizona pass rush. It seemed like everyone and anyone could score for Detroit after a very quiet first quarter, while their pass rush and pass defense held things down.
There were plenty of winners from this game, and just a few unfortunate losers amid the victory.
6 winners and 2 losers from Lions' big win against Cardinals
Winner: Jared Goff
Let's start with the obvious winner. Goff has been lights-out this season, helming a ship that continues to undergo numerous changes within a Super Bowl contention window. That is no easy feat, and yet, he now leads the league in passing yards (1,485), in addition to having 12 passing touchdowns and no interceptions.
He's been unbelievably reliable in a time where that's what the Lions have needed - reliable quarterback play. It's something you simply cannot take for granted.
Goff piloted the Lions to a 45 point outing, and rewarded himself with a rushing touchdown of his own. Eat your heart out, Jahmyr Gibbs!
Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs
Just kidding! Gibbs needs some major love here, too, especially after passing Barry Sanders for the most rushing touchdowns by a player 25 years old or younger with 58 total scores. On the day, he had 151 rushing yards, 56 receiving yards, and two rushing tuddies. He looked like himself from his Week 1 performance against the New Orleans Saints.
Gibbs looked great taking advantage of some much-improved run blocking by the Lions' offensive line in this game. You have to imagine things are going to get even better with Cade Mays returning.
Winner: Roger McCreary
McCreary was one of several Lions defenders under a microscope in this game with how badly the team's secondary has played. He stepped up in a huge way - and potentially helped to save Kelvin Sheppard's job - with six pass breakups on the day. A lot of this success came as a result of the Lions leaning back into a man coverage scheme, and McCreary was killing his matchups.
Hopefully, with Brian Branch returning soon, his impact can be felt even more behind him and some better safety play. You play a bit freer when you know you're covered up top.
Loser: Blake Miller
One of the things that head coach Dan Campbell emphasized as an area in need of improvement were limiting pre-snap penalties. The Lions were actually really good on the penalty front in this contest - only four on the afternoon - but Miller had a false start cost the Lions a nice 4th down conversion attempt.
Miller has been dealing with some penalty issues the last few games, which are such a tell-tale marker of a rookie. He has to clean things up here, as these penalties consistently cost Detroit ideal field positioning.
Winner: The Lions' defensive line
Alim McNeill, Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Wonnum, and Skyler Gill-Howard continue to be absolute menaces along the line. The Lions combined for five sacks on the day, with Hutchinson picking up a clutch third-down sack on Jacoby Brissett to kill one of their drives in the second-half.
They are a huge part of why the Lions' defense still feels like a force. They are much-improved from 2025, and if they can simply figure out their secondary, this team can go from pretenders to contenders expeditiously.
Winner: Kelvin Sheppard
As mentioned regarding McCreary, the Lions were leaning back on their man coverage scheme in this contest. It was a total change from how they've played in the last few games, and it led to numerous key stops by Detroit's secondary against Arizona.
Sheppard had been very adamant about his play-calling in his most recent press conference prior to this game, specifically regarding his blitzing. His flexibility with his play-calling shows that he's open to trying something else if one thing isn't working, and that's the sign of a good coordinator. We've just got to hope this continues.
Loser: The Lions' linebacker unit
Not only did the Lions potentially lose Devin White long-term, but the linebacker unit failed to contain the Cardinals' tight end unit. Like, at all. To the point where someone who hadn't had a reception since 2023 had two receiving touchdowns on the day.
Jack Campbell can only do so much in coverage, and they don't really have the personnel for more athletic tight ends like Trey McBride. It's an ongoing issue, and the only solution is hoping that someone like Jimmy Rolder, Malcolm Rodriguez, Campbell, or Derrick Barnes can actually step up in this regard.
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