The Arizona Cardinals (1-1) will look to ride momentum to pick up their second-straight win Sunday afternoon against a gritty Detroit Lions (1-1) team.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Lions have surprisingly beaten the Cardinals in four of their last five meetings, and the other one of these matchups was a 27-27 tie back in 2019. These two NFC foes have not played each other since Dec. 19, 2021, when Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes to lead Detroit to a 30-12 blowout victory at home. This was one of three wins the Lions had back in 2021, while the Cardinals finished that season 11-6 and were blown out by the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card game.
This time around, Arizona has home-field advantage and is coming off one of its best regular-season games ever, a 41-10 dismantling of the Rams (0-2) in their home opener in Week 2. Kyler Murray had a perfect passer rating in the game, completing 17-of-21 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns and rushing five times for 59 yards, while Marvin Harrison Jr. got rolling with four catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona’s ground attack was lethal as well, as James Conner rushed 21 times for 122 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinals defense had 12 tackles for loss as a team and five sacks.
Arizona outgained Los Angeles 489-245 in total yards, scoring a touchdown on each of its first three drives while not letting the Rams pick up a single first down during this span.
The Lions fell to 1-1 this same day with a 20-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0), despite outgaining the Bucs 463-216 in total yards, running 83 offensive plays compared to 47 for Tampa Bay and converting 7-of-17 third downs. What ended up doing Detroit in was only scoring one touchdown in seven trips to the red zone. Aidan Hutchinson had 4.5 sacks in the game for the Lions, while Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 11 passes for 119 yards.
Among all NFL teams, the Cardinals were notably second in points per game (34.5), tied for fourth in rushing yards (355), first in tackles for loss (17) and tied for third in sacks (7) after Week 2.
The Lions gained the second-most yards (826) and passing yards (524) in the NFL through two weeks, and were also tied with Arizona with seven sacks.
Arizona listed three players questionable for Week 3: RT Kelvin Beachum (hamstring), WR Greg Dortch (hamstring, expected to play) and DL Dante Stills (shoulder).
The Lions will be missing a couple players in their secondary, as they ruled out safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle) and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw (hamstring). Detroit also listed four other players as questionable: LB Alex Anzalone (concussion), CB Terrion Arnold (illness), G Graham Glasgow (knee) and WR Isaiah Williams (abdomen).
Local Game Information
Start Time: 1:25 p.m. MST
Location: State Farm Stadium
TV Channel: FOX
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM
Spread: Lions -3
Over/Under: 51.5
Here are the Burn City Sports team’s predictions for Sunday’s Week 3 matchup:
Brendan Mau (@Brendan_Mau/ X) – Suns and Cardinals Reporter (2-0 on predictions)
Cardinals win 31-24
Arizona found something offensively in Week 2 that it should be able to carry over against a depleted Lions secondary. The biggest question offensively is how the Cardinals will fare if Beachum is unable to go and how their offensive line will be able to stop a dynamic pass rush led by Hutchinson. Defensively, the Cardinals secondary will face a tough test against Goff and the Lions’ diversified air attack, so we will see just how good they are. The defensive line will also be challenged against one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Even so, I predict the Cardinals are able to ride the momentum of their offense to a second-straight victory in a back-and-forth game, while the defense struggles at times, but forces multiple turnovers against the Lions.
Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcDMLB/ X) – Diamondbacks and Cardinals Reporter (1-1)
Lions win 34-27
The Cardinals do not match up well against the Lions in this game, especially against their offense. They have a physical rushing attack, anchored by a strong offensive and the desire to gash opponents. Arizona’s depleted front 7 will be hard-pressed to slow down David Montgomery between the tackles. Their young secondary will have a lot to cover between Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Cardinals’ offense will decide how this game goes, as the time of possession will be crucial. Both teams are built to run the ball out of multiple tight end sets, with the Cardinals carrying the second-highest rate of 3 tight end personnel. Out of that grouping, they had a lot of success with the Rams, including both of Marvin Harrison Jr.’s touchdown receptions. I also like the idea of using Kyler Murray’s ability to roll and run as a counter against the Lions’ ferocious pass rush and try to get them on their heels.
It will be important for Arizona to score first and try to maintain a lead going in, because once they get down by more than eight points they face an uphill battle.
Alec Cipollini (@AlecCipollini/ X) – Mercury and Arizona State Reporter (1-1)
Lions win 28-24
The Lions are 4-0-1 in the last five games against the Cardinals and their offense is well-equipped to take advantage of Arizona’s defense. St. Brown is one of the premier wide receivers in the league and after being underutilized in the season opener against the Rams with three targets, Goff went to him vs. the Buccaneers and St. Brown produced 119 receiving yards last week. Not only do the Cardinals have to look out for Williams, LaPorta and Gibbs, but Montgomery is a running back who can exploit any pocket of space and burn past anyone who stands in front of him with his speed.
This score prediction can flip from one side to the other, with the Cardinals crushing the Rams last week. Los Angeles’ offense has been severely depleted by injuries while the defense just doesn’t look the same without Aaron Donald, and the Cardinals picked their deficiencies apart. Arizona has had three good halves to start the season and a putrid one, the second half vs. Buffalo. Still, the offense seems to be clicking. The defense, on the other hand, was annihilated by the Bills in the second half and didn’t face too many challenges against a Rams team without Puka Nucua and Cooper Kupp. Facing the stacked Lions offense, we’ll have to wait and see how the Cardinals can keep Detriot under control.
With the combination of the Lions’ elite offensive line with all the weapons at Goff’s disposal, they should win given the mismatch on paper but I am cautious of the prediction because Detroit has looked dodgy to start the season.
Jacob Hardin (@JacobHardin/ X)– Diamondbacks and Suns Reporter (1-1)
Cardinals win 30-23
If the Cardinals can replicate their performance from last Sunday, they will come away with a win against the Lions. Despite entering the season with high expectations, the Lions have struggled to find their footing. After narrowly escaping with a win over the Rams in Week 1, they fell short at home against the Buccaneers, losing by four points.
One area where the Lions have excelled, however, is their run defense. Last week, they held Buccaneers running back Rachaad White to just 18 yards on 10 carries. If Detroit can stifle Arizona’s rushing attack early, it will put pressure on Kyler Murray to air it out more frequently than he has in the opening games of the season.
This scenario might actually play to the Cardinals’ advantage. When Murray was forced to throw in the early quarters against the Rams, the offense was firing on all cylinders, moving the ball efficiently and creating scoring opportunities.
Let us know your Week 3 prediction.
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