It was a football game. Detroit got their fifth win of the season during a lifeless day in the desert. Here are a few things we learned:
Jarrad Davis loves to play against the Cardinals
Last season, then-rookie Jarrad Davis had an amazing start to his NFL career. It seemed like he was everywhere as he blanketed Cardinals star running back David Johnson as Detroit got a win to start the 2017 season. Lions fans were excited that their newest linebacker was a hit and would be the fix the unit desperately needed.
It would soon be obvious that he was not the star he looked like in that game. It seems like he has a knack for playing well against the Cardinals, though. Davis is on the small list of players who actually impressed in this game. He did well getting from sideline to sideline, stuffed Johnson running between the tackles and even put pressure on quarterback Josh Rosen. It was another gem of a day for the young player as he is still trying to put it all together.
Health might be a concern down the stretch
Detroit got beat up in this game. It felt like another Lions player was getting up slowly on every other snap. While the team does not have any meaningful football to be played this season, the volume of injuries the team suffered is still a concern.
My injury list was too long to tweet out. Here it is: pic.twitter.com/MKbXcbCMGk
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) December 9, 2018
Ezekiel Ansah re-injured the shoulder that kept him out for nearly all of the first half of the season. Rookie Da’Shawn Hand suffered a knee injury early in the game that ended his day. Bruce Ellington, a bright spot during the doldrums on the Lions season, also left early with a hamstring.
Detroit will hope that none of the injuries suffered today are serious enough to have long-term effects on the players’ health. Ansah may have played his final game in a Lions uniform. With only three games to go Detroit will just be hoping to avoid injury disaster at this point.
The Lions are boring
This game sucked. It was 3-0 until the latter stages of the third quarter. Arizona plays awful games every week, because they are a really bad team. Detroit should be better, but they were not. Boring play calling combined with limited offensive talent stagnated the Lions on offense. A similar case for the Arizona offense stagnated them as well.
Detroit plays against a floundering Buffalo Bills team next week so do not hold your breath if you want exciting Lions football anytime soon.