Last-place Lions stun Cardinals with 30-12 win
]Jared Goff #16 of the Detroit Lions looks on during a break in game action against the Arizona Cardinals in the first half at Ford Field on December 19, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. Emilee Chinn/Getty Images/AFP
Jared Goff passed for 216 yards and three touchdowns, and the host Detroit Lions upset the Arizona Cardinals 30-12 on Sunday.
Amon-Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 90 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (2-11-1), who entered the week with the worst record in the NFL. Josh Reynolds had six receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown, while Craig Reynolds rushed for 112 yards on 26 carries.
Article continues after this advertisementThree touchdowns and a passer rating of 139.7.
Re-live @JaredGoff16's highlights from today's WUp next for us: #DETvsATL | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/CHWS178zYu
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 20, 2021
Arizona’s Kyler Murray passed for 257 yards with one touchdown and was intercepted once. Christian Kirk had nine catches for 94 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals (10-4). Arizona has lost four of its past seven games after a 7-0 start.
Detroit jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Lions drove 63 yards on 15 plays to start the game and settled for Riley Patterson’s 37-yard field goal.
On the first play of the second quarter, St. Brown got behind the defense on the left side and gathered in Goff’s toss for a 37-yard score. Reynolds had a 27-yard run on the eight-play, 93-yard drive.
Arizona drove inside the Lions 5-yard line but came up empty, as Murray threw an incompletion on fourth and goal from the 3-yard-line.
The Lions then drove 97 yards in nine plays. Goff completed three passes to St. Brown during the drive, then found Reynolds from 22 yards out for the score.
Matt Prater kicked a 29-yard field goal early in the second half to put the Cardinals on the board.
Later in the quarter, Murray was picked off by Amani Oruwariye and the cornerback returned it 50 yards to the Arizona 6-yard line. Goff connected with fullback Jason Cabinda on the next play for the touchdown.
Prater’s second 29-yard field goal of the game made the score 24-6. Patterson drilled a 47-yard field goal with 13:21 remaining to reestablish a 21-point advantage for the Lions.
Murray connected with Kirk on a 26-yard scoring pass with 4:46 left. Murray threw an incompletion on the two-point conversion attempt.
Patterson added a 45-yard field goal with 2:51 remaining.
The Cardinals could have clinched a playoff berth with a win or tie.
