Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett grades the Detroit Lions in their 30-12 win over the Arizona Cardinals:
Quarterback
The numbers weren’t eye-popping, but Jared Goff played his best game of the season Sunday. Goff completed 21 of 26 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns. He was pinpoint on his TD throw to Josh Reynolds, and poised in the face of pressure on his scoring toss to Amon-Ra St. Brown. I counted two bad throws all game, one after Goff got his left leg rolled up on late in the second quarter and one when he and St. Brown might have gotten crossed up on a route. This was a vintage performance by Goff, who withstood three roughing-the-passer penalties. Grade: A
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Running backs
Craig Reynolds is another reminder why it makes no sense to pay big money to a running back in the NFL. Reynolds shined in a workhorse role Sunday, running for 112 yards on 26 carries in his first career start. He ran hard between the tackles and set the tone on the opening series when he escaped a Markus Golden tackle in the backfield on his first run and showed good vision bouncing outside for a first down on third-and-5. Fullback Jason Cabinda caught his first career touchdown on a well-designed play, when the Lions essentially used a nine-man line and Goff play-action faked a handoff to Reynolds, and contributed as a blocker. On the downside, Godwin Igwebuike had two 0-yard carries and lost a fumble for the second straight week. Grade: B-plus
Receivers/tight ends
The Lions pass game has improved steadily since the bye, a function of Dan Campbell calling plays, Ben Johnson coordinating the passing game and the addition of Josh Reynolds (six catches, 68 yards), who made a nice catch in traffic on his 22-yard touchdown grab just before halftime. St. Brown had another strong game with eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown, though he said he has to sell his run-block longer on his TD route. St. Brown did miss a block on one Craig Reynolds carry that went for a 3-yard loss, but his versatility has become a weapon for the Lions. Tight end Brock Wright had a costly false start penalty when the Lions tried quick-snapping on fourth-and-2. He also was flagged for holding and missed a block on Chandler Jones on an Igwebuike run on the final drive of the first half, but like Cabinda, he was an important cog in the Lions’ big rushing day. Grade: A-minus
Offensive line
The Lions leaned heavily on their offensive line to control the game Sunday, running 34 times on 62 offensive plays and deploying plenty of heavy sets to exert its physicality. Tackles Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell kept a good pass-rushing duo of Golden and Chandler Jones largely at bay; Golden’s lone sack came against Decker in the fourth quarter, when he chased Goff down on a bootleg from the backside. Decker also had a false start, the only penalty on the unit. Tommy Kraemer played well at left guard in his second career start, but right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai struggled at times with Rashard Lawrence. Lawrence tossed Vaitai aside on a 0-yard Reynolds run in the second series, and again when he stopped Reynolds for a 1-yard loss on the next Lions possession. Vaitai did have a nice pulling block Reynolds’ 16-yard run in the fourth quarter, but he missed pulling blocks on Jones and Golden on Reynolds runs that went for negative or no yards. Grade: A-minus
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Defensive line
Campbell praised his pass rush’s selfless play Sunday. The Lions sacked Kyler Murray twice and were disciplined with their rush lanes, keeping him in the pocket and taking away running lanes. Charles Harris had a Player of the Week-type game. Harris strung out a Murray keeper for no gain on Arizona’s first play from scrimmage, made a third-down tackle on the shifty Rondale Moore after dropping into coverage on the same drive and ended Arizona’s second possession with a sack he split with Jessie Lemonier. Harris had a second sack when he came unblocked off right end in the second quarter and finished with a whopping 12 tackles. Nearly half of Arizona’s 105 yards rushing came on two third-quarter runs when the Lions missed tackles in their back seven. Grade: A
Linebackers
Jalen Reeves-Maybin had a big hand in the Lions’ defensive success Sunday. Reeves-Maybin had five tackles, two pass deflections and harassed Murray with an assortment of blitzes. He was late reacting on one 15-yard pass to James Conner, but he broke up a third-and-goal pass to Zach Ertz early in the third quarter when the Cardinals settled for a field goal. Alex Anzalone and Josh Woods left with injuries, leaving the Lions shorthanded at the position. Derrick Barnes left a gaping hole in the middle of the field when he misdiagnosed a play on Chase Edmonds’ 23-yard run, and Lemonier collided with Will Harris on a coverage drop on Arizona’s second series, leaving Christian Kirk wide open over the middle of the field, though Murray did not see his receiver. Grade: A-minus
Defensive backs
Amani Oruwariye made the play of the game, a diving interception two plays after Igwebuike’s fumble that turned momentum back in the Lions’ favor. Oruwariye did give up a 20-yard scramble drill pass when Murray evaded two sacks in the backfield, and he missed tackles on A.J. Green and Conner in the second half. Harris made a surprise start at the second cornerback spot and played as well as could be expected for a safety. Harris was called for one pass interference penalty, but did not seem out of place in the least. C.J. Moore also missed tackles on big plays by Conner, Green and Edmonds, but the secondary keyed an important goal line stand. Harris and Moore played a bubble screen well that went for no gain and Oruwariye and A.J. Parker had pass breakups in the end zone on third and fourth down. Grade: B-plus
Special teams
Riley Patterson improved to 7-for-7 on field goals this season with makes of 37, 45 and 47 yards on Sunday, and the Lions got another solid all-around game on special teams. Saivion Smith made a big hit on Rondale Moore in kick coverage and Josh Reynolds recovered Arizona’s late onside kick. Smith did have an illegal formation penalty when the Lions tried a surprise onside kick in the first quarter, and the Cardinals did have a pair of 31-yard kick returns. Grade: B-plus
Coaching
Give Campbell and his staff credit for coming up with the kind of game plan they needed to totally dominate one of the NFL’s best teams. The Lions controlled play offensively with the run and play-action passing game, flustered Murray defensively with their blitz packages, and showed the kind of determination losing teams often lack late in the season. I thought Campbell should have taken a timeout when his defense was scrambling with a personnel change late in the first half and Arizona took advantage for a 24-yard gain, and I wasn’t a fan of the onside kick. But I thought Campbell was right to take points and reward his offense after a nearly nine-minute opening drive even though the analytics said they should have passed on the field goal. Grade: A
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.