The Detroit Lions can take nothing for granted after they were knocked around at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2. While the Arizona Cardinals may have one of the worst defenses in the league, the resurrection of Kyler Murray has them looking like a formidable offense.
While Jared Goff was moving the ball well against Arizona, he was intercepted right as the two minute warning hit, and the Cardinals managed to run it back for a touchdown. The Lions may have received one of the biggest lucky breaks they will get all season long, as the play was blown dead on account of the two-minute warning.
When one goes back to rewatch the play in slow motion, it's clear that the ball was snapped before the clock hit two minutes. That should have been a live ball and a Cardinals touchdown, which would have really thrown Dan Campbell's plans out of whack.
Oh the Cardinals just got SCREWED!!
— Sam Monson (@SamMonsonNFL) September 22, 2024
Pick 6 off pressure, officials claimed the 2 minute warning hit first.
Ball clearly snapped before it hit 2.00 pic.twitter.com/l3RcPmyac2
Lions bailed out after Jared Goff pick-six waived off by refs
Detroit seems to be moving the ball much better than they did against Tampa Bay. Goff completed all 12 of his first-half passes, negated pick-six not included, while throwing two touchdowns. One of them, however, needs to be credited to the banged-up Amon-Ra St. Brown, as he flipped a short-yardage catch to running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
As good as the offense looks, negated plays like this underscore the main weakness of Detroit's offensive structure. When Goff isn't protected well, his lack of mobility and often sped-up internal clock can lead to a few bonehead plays like that one. Luckily, the Lions were bailed out.
Detroit managed to use their new lease on life quite well, at least initially. They went into halftime with a 20-10 advantage over Arizona, and their first series of the second half ended with Murray throwing an interception in the end zone. Goff was later intercepted by Dennis Gardeck.
The Lions will need to clean these things up if they want to reassert themselves as a postseason contender, as they won't always be the benefit of officiating goofs that manage to give them new life.