Lions, Cardinals both trying to shake early season problems when they meet in the desert

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions are two teams that aren't particularly happy with the way they're playing these days.

Considering it's just four games into the season, there's plenty of time to get back on the right track, but neither team can afford to wait much longer to see needed improvement.

The Lions (2-2) — who have one of the NFL's worst defenses — travel to face the Cardinals (1-3) on Sunday. Arizona is on a three-game losing streak after winning its opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“I think the way the last three weeks have ended has definitely created another sense of urgency, but obviously not a sense of panic,” Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett said. “You can’t panic. The urgency can be there and it’s like how can we steady the ship without everybody trying to jump off the ship.”

Detroit's biggest problems reside mostly on its defense, which is giving up nearly 32 points per game. The Lions lost to the Carolina Panthers 32-26 last weekend after allowing quarterback Bryce Young, running back Chuba Hubbard and receiver Tetairoa McMillan to have huge games.

“It’s no secret — we've got to do a better job of taking away whoever their number one guy is,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We can do a much better job of that by how we go about it once we get into the game plan, but also doing our job and using our help.”

The Cardinals are also having some problems on the defensive end. Arizona lost to the New York Giants 36-24 on Sunday despite the fact that the Giants had backup quarterback Jameis Winston under center.

Cardinals first-year coach Mike LaFleur said the team's defensive problems are more about executing in crucial situations rather than a systemwide failure.

“I thought we did some good stuff (against the Giants),” LaFleur said. "We had three turnovers. We sacked (Winston) four times. We were around him a number of other times. Then we had them in some third-and-long situations and we can’t let them convert right there. It kind of changed the flow of the game in some aspects.”

Detroit (2-2) at Arizona (1-3).

When/where to watch: Sunday, 4:25 EDT, Fox

Latest odds: Lions by 5 1/2.

Against the spread: Lions 0-3-1; Cardinals 2-2.

Last week: Lions lost to Panthers 32-26; Cardinals lost to Giants 36-24

Last meeting: Lions beat Cardinals 20-13 on Sept. 22, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona.

Series record: Lions lead 36-28-6

Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett and Detroit’s defense are off to rough starts. Brissett is barely averaging more than 200 yards passing per game with six touchdown passes and four interceptions, including a career-high three interceptions last week. The Lions are allowing 31.8 points a game, ranking No. 31 in the NFL. They’re giving up a league-high 423.8 yards a game — 31.5 yards more than the next-worst defense — and 304 yards passing per game — 23.7 yards more than the next-worst team — under embattled coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.

— The Lions are 11-10 since offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (Chicago) and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) left to lead other teams.

— Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown has 578 catches and is two away from passing Justin Jefferson for the most receptions by an NFL player in his first six seasons.

— Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs was held to season lows in yards rushing (46) and yards per carry (3.1) at Carolina last week.

— Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love leads all NFL rookies with 223 yards rushing and is third with 259 yards from scrimmage. He's also scored two touchdowns.

— Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett has thrown at least one TD pass in all 16 games he's started for the team. Despite that production, Arizona has a 2-14 record in those games.

— Cardinals RB Tyler Allgeier has 708 rushing attempts without a fumble. That's the longest active streak in the NFL.

— Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing returns to Arizona. Petzing was the Cardinals' offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025 under coach Jonathan Gannon.

AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this story.

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