Lions-Cardinals preview: Arizona coming off of biggest win in years

Marvin Harrison Jr.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) celebrates his touchdown catch against the Los Angeles Rams with Cardinals wide receivers Greg Dortch (4) and Zach Pascal (0) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won 41-10. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)AP

A bigger win than the franchise has had in years. A quarterback fresh off of a perfect passer rating. An emerging rookie receiver.

The Lions’ trip to the desert looks a bit tougher now than it did before the season.

Detroit heads to Arizona for a Week 3 matchup to face a Cardinals team fresh off of an eye-opening Week 2 win.

Here’s a look at what the Lions will be facing this Sunday:

A sizable win

One of the most surprising Week 2 results of the season came from Glendale, where the Cardinals topped the Rams, 41-10.

A 31-point win over a playoff team gave plenty of reason for excitement for a franchise that went 4-13 a season ago. The Cardinals hadn’t won a game by 31 points or more since 2017.

There’s a caveat here: the Rams were without wide receiver Puka Nacua and lost wideout Cooper Kupp during the game, robbing Matthew Stafford of his two best receiving options. Without those two, they looked little like the playoff team from a year ago.

But this was still a resounding performance for a franchise that’s been one of the NFL’s worst in recent years.

Marvin Harrison Jr.s breakout game

Former Ohio State wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. did something on Sunday that nobody has done since his dad did it decades ago.

Harrison had four catches for two touchdowns in the first quarter alone of the Cardinals’ Week 2 win over the Rams. In doing so, he became the first NFL rookie to record multiple touchdowns in the same quarter since his father did so back in 1996 with the Colts.

Harrison didn’t add anything to those four catches for 130 yards for the rest of the game, but what he did in the first quarter of his second NFL game got him plenty of attention as a young wideout to watch.

Kyler Murray nearly perfect

You can’t post a better passer rating than the one Kyler Murray did on Sunday.

Against the Rams, Murray went 17-for-21 for 266 yards and three touchdowns, resulting in a 158.3 passer rating.

Murray became the second quarterback in Cardinals history post a perfect passer rating and first since Kurt Warner to do so.

He became the first to do so with at least 250 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in 49 years, since Cincinnati’s Ken Anderson in 1974.

This will mark the second straight week that the Lions have faced a quarterback coming off a best-in-the-NFL week, after Baker Mayfield posted the league’s top passer rating in Week 1.

  • BETTING: Check out our guide to the best Michigan sportsbooks, where our team of sports betting experts has reviewed the experience, payout speed, parlay options and quality of odds for multiple sportsbooks.

      

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.