Locker room buzz: How Lions approached getting back on brand and optimism amidst slew of injuries
Glendale, Ariz. — Without question, the story from Sunday’s game between the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals was the Lions’ ability to exert their will over an opponent.
After a shaky offensive performance last week against Tampa Bay, lowlighted by a 1-for-7 showing in the red zone, plus a lopsided run/pass balance, the Lions came out driven to punish the upstart Cardinals with a smashmouth brand of football.
Going over the opening plan the night before the game, left tackle Taylor Decker said offensive coordinator Ben Johnson told the group the ability to stick to the early script would hinge on gaining at least 4 yards on the first handoff to running back David Montgomery.
That carry netted 11 yards and led to 15 runs between Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs across the first two drives, with both possessions finishing in the end zone.
"We had a plan going into this game that we were going to run the ball," Montgomery said. "We kind of got away from it a bit last week, so Ben was big on we were going to run the ball and kind of show the world what we can do. Being able to start the game running the ball, it felt good. Being able to punch it in on the first drive felt good, too.”
The Lions had also programmed in some deep throws off the ground game’s success, but the Cardinals managed to keep most of those windows closed. Still, the Lions loved the way quarterback Jared Goff operated throughout the first half, when he posted a perfect passer rating while completing all 12 of his throws.
“It opens everything else, certainly,” Goff said. “It opens up the play-action game. I think it lets the other team know what we are here to do. Run the ball like that and you will win a lot of games.”
This style of play seems to epitomize Detroit’s offensive identity, but captain Penei Sewell wasn’t ready to make that declaration.
“To be honest, I think we're still finding who we are,” Sewell said. “It's a new team compared to last year and we're still early on (in the season). We just finished Week 3 and I think we're still in that phase of trying to figure out who we are. After today, we kind of get a glimpse of who we can be.”
Immovable object stops unstoppable force
Detroit also dictated the tone in the opposite trench, particularly with the way they handled Arizona’s ground game.