Behind Enemy Lines: Lions provide chance for Cardinals to win at home

With two more home games on the Arizona Cardinals’ 2018 schedule, the Week 14 matchup against the Detroit Lions might be the Cardinals’ best chance to pick up another win at State Farm Stadium.

The Lions have struggled to a 4-8 record this season and have lost five of their last six games. However, the combined record of those five opponents is 40-19-1.

Detroit sits a half-game behind the Green Bay Packers for last place in the NFC North and unloaded receiver Golden Tate at the trade deadline to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Tate was traded five games ago but still ranks second on the team in receiving yards.

Although playoff aspirations for both teams are all but dashed, there is still a lot for them to play for with two first-year head coaches who have plenty yet to prove.

Here’s more of what’s happening in Motown as Matt Patricia and the Lions prepare for Steve Wilks and the Cardinals for a Week 14 tilt in the desert.

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Saturday, December 8

• Detroit Lions’ Devon Kennard returns to Arizona, home of pass rushers (Detroit Free Press)

Lions’ linebacker Devon Kennard went to Desert Vista High School and returns home Sunday. He’s among the several pass rushers from the Valley of the Sun to make a mark in the NFL. The Saints’ Cam Jordan, the Bills’ Trent Murphy and the Seahawks’ Dion Jordan have combined for 20.5 sacks this season and 111.5 sacks this season.

• Matt Patricia on Cardinals’ Chandler Jones: ‘He’s like my son’ (ESPN)

It was Detroit Lions’ coach Matt Patricia who wanted to draft Chandler Jones. The year was 2012, Jones was a top prospect coming out of Syracuse and Patricia was in his first season as the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.

Patricia and the Patriots selected Jones 21st overall, a decision that Jones said helped shape his NFL career.

Said Jones: “Where am I now without Matt Patricia? I’m another NFL football player. I’m not sure.”

• Defense showing improvement as season enters final quarter (Detroit Lions)

Supposedly, the Lions are playing better defense this days. It’s hard to tell from the results, though.

The Lions have given up 30 points or more twice in their past four games, including 30 against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday.

Detroit will have a chance to flex its defensive muscles against the subpar Cardinals’ offense, which will miss rookie receiver Christian Kirk.

“I think that there are some things in there defensively from a technique standpoint that I’ve seen, maybe over the last couple weeks or maybe the last four weeks, that have definitely improved, especially in some of our fundamentals up front, playing with our hands, playing with good pad level,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said.

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Friday, December 7

• Even Matthew Stafford supporters can’t make excuses anymore (Detroit Free Press)

For all the hand wringing about being elite and making millions of dollars and signing the biggest contract in the game in 2017, Stafford has to be better. He has to play well enough so there isn’t a debate. He has to play well enough so people can’t point to his record against teams with winning records.

• Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford not thinking his tenure, just Cardinals (Detroit Free Press)

As Matthew Stafford prepares to wrap up his 10th NFL season, he is guaranteed to post his sixth season without a winning record as the Detroit Lions’ quarterback.

The Lions are 0-3 in the postseason with Stafford. They are likely to miss the playoffs for a second straight year and for the third time in four years.

With little to show a decade into Stafford’s tenure, criticism has mounted and talk of trading Stafford has become a popular subject among fans and media.

• Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford questionable vs. Arizona with back injury (Detroit Free Press)

Stafford has started 124 consecutive games, the third longest streak among active NFL quarterbacks, and should be able to extend that streak Sunday.

But the 10th-year quarterback was limited in practice for the third straight day Friday and wasn’t himself after aggravating the injury in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

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Thursday, December 6

• Lions Put LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin On IR, Add DE Eric Lee (CBS Detroit)

The Detroit Lions have placed linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin on injured reserve with a neck injury.

Detroit promoted defensive end Eric Lee from the practice squad to fill the roster spot Wednesday.

Reeves-Maybin is tied for the team lead with six tackles on special teams and he had seven tackles on defense this season.

• Matt Patricia or Matthew Stafford: Who deserves more blame for this season? (SideLion Report)

The clock is ticking down on the Detroit Lions season despite the assurances that they are still mathematically alive for the playoffs at the moment.

But let’s be honest, the season is over, there will be no playoffs and the tired old refrain of wait until next year is already ringing throughout Detroit and wherever else Lions fans may be licking their wounds.

• Detroit Lions’ new team strength: Dominant interior defensive line (Detroit Free Press)

It’s amazing how quickly a strength can become a weakness in the NFL, and vice versa.

When the Detroit Lions broke training camp a little more than three months ago, they did so with a receiving corps that looked ready to take the NFL by storm. Marvin Jones and Golden Tate were coming off 1,000-yard seasons, Kenny Golladay was an emerging star, and the trio had a trusted quarterback in Matthew Stafford throwing them the football.

Now Jones is on injured reserve, Tate is in Philadelphia and Golladay is the lone weapon left on an offense that’s among the most anemic in the league.

But while the Lions’ passing game has fizzled, they head into Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals having found an unexpected bright spot on the other side of the ball.

• Darnold, Rosen, Allen — rookie QBs present unique challenge to Lions (Detroit Free Press)

The Detroit Lions’ first run-in with a rookie quarterback didn’t go so well. With any luck, their next two meetings will be much better.

The Lions face the second of three rookie signal callers on their schedule Sunday when they visit Josh Rosen and the Arizona Cardinals.

They lost to Sam Darnold and the New York Jets in Week 1, when Darnold threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns. And next week, the Lions visit Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

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Wednesday, December 5

• The merits of Detroit Lions shutting down Kerryon Johnson for season (Detroit Free Press)

We still don’t know the full extent of Kerryon Johnson’s knee injury, or how realistic it is the rookie running back will see the field again this year. But Johnson’s comeback is starting to feel a little bit like what Stafford went through eight years ago.

Johnson, who was injured in the second half of a Nov. 18 win over the Carolina Panthers, missed practice again Wednesday and seems unlikely to play in Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.

• Matthew Stafford limited, Devon Kennard out at Detroit Lions practice (Detroit Free Press)

The Detroit Lions have new concerns with their inconsistent pass rush as linebacker Devon Kennard was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday’s practice report.

Kennard, who leads the Lions with six sacks, left Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams with a hip injury in the first half and did not return.

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Tuesday, December 4

• Where has Matthew Stafford’s fourth-quarter magic gone for Detroit Lions? (Detroit Free Press)

Matthew Stafford has led 33 game-winning fourth quarter drives in his career and leads the NFL with 21 such drives since 2014. This season, however, the QB has struggled in the fourth quarter committing eight fourth quarter turnovers and four in his last two games.

• Lions back to losing ways in Matt Patricia’s first season (CBS Detroit)

Like the Cardinals, the Lions are experiencing life with a first-year head coach. Matt Patricia took over for Jim Caldwell at the start of this season and is in danger of finishing with a worse winning percentage than any of Caldwell’s four seasons in Detroit.

The Lions went had two playoff berths and three winning seasons during Caldwell’s tenure. They finished .500 or below in 12 of the previous 13 seasons before Caldwell was hired and must win out to avoid that fate this season.

• Detroit Lions: Offensive firepower running on empty (SideLion Report)

The Lions offense struggled to generate much of a threat to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13 and failing to generate offense is becoming a trend for the Lions as of late.

Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter might be on the hot seat and if the Cardinals defense gives Detroit some trouble, the Cardinals could be responsible for a fired coach in back-to-back weeks.

• Lions LT Taylor Decker trying to recover first TD ball (ESPN.com)

Offensive tackle Taylor Decker caught a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford against the Rams last week and launched the ball into the crowd in celebration.

Later, Decker would regret tossing the ball and reached out on social media to get the ball back. It would appear he might get lucky.

• Ex-Lions GM Matt Millen needs heart transplant ‘fairly soon’ (ESPN.com)

Former Lions general manager Matt Millen has been suffering from amyloidosis and has been waiting for a heart transplant for 68 days. He will have to wait in the hospital until he receives a new heart.

Millen played linebacker in the NFL for 12 seasons.

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