Favored to win by more than 10 points, the Arizona Cardinals were embarrassed on Sunday in a Week 15 loss to a terrible Detroit Lions team.
Of the four games left on their 2021 schedule, Sunday’s matchup against the Detroit Lions was supposed to be the easiest for the Arizona Cardinals. Instead, the Cardinals delivered a forgettable performance and it resulted in an embarrassing 30-12 loss to the Lions.
With the unexpected loss, Arizona’s record now drops to 10-4 and their grasp on the lead in the NFC West continues to slip out of their hands. If the Los Angeles Rams are able to get a win on Tuesday, they will also have a 10-4 record with three games to go in the season.
If the Cardinals are still serious about competing for a championship this year, they need to get things back on track, and quickly.
Detroit Lions had no trouble with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday
When watching what took place inside Ford Field on Sunday, it was hard to believe that Arizona entered this week’s matchup with nine more wins than Detroit.
The Cardinals just couldn’t get anything going on offense all day long, and when the Lions jumped out to a 17-0 lead heading into halftime, it didn’t feel like Arizona was going to be able to overcome that deficit in the second half.
The Cardinals were able to find the end zone near the end of the fourth quarter, but it was a score that was way too late to make any sort of impact as it only cut Detroit’s lead to 15 points.
Can Arizona blame their lackluster performance on the absence of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins? Slightly, but guys like Kyler Murray, A.J. Green, and James Conner are supposed to step up when someone like Hopkins goes down with a significant injury. That didn’t happen on Sunday against the Lions.
After starting the season with seven straight victories, the Cardinals are now 3-4 in their last seven games. The dominance that Arizona displayed out on the field earlier this year seems to have vanished and their playoff chances could potentially be in jeopardy if they aren’t able to get at least one win during the final three matchups left on their schedule.
The Cardinals’ next attempt to clinch a spot in the postseason will take place next Saturday, on Christmas night, inside State Farm Stadium against the Indianapolis Colts who are coming off a big 27-17 win over the New England Patriots.