Lions needed clutch 4th-down conversions to spark their blowout of the Cardinals

DETROIT (AP) — When an NFL team wins a game 45-21, there’s not usually one play that serves as an obvious turning point.

That wasn’t the case for the Lions’ rout of the Arizona Cardinals, though, and Dan Campbell knew it.

“It really started with the fourth-and-3,” Detroit’s coach said Monday. “That’s a huge catch on a big throw.”

The first quarter had been an offensive nightmare for the Lions (3-2). They had the ball three times and went three-and-out each time. Jared Goff had been sacked three times and completed two of four pass attempts for 7 yards. Jahmyr Gibbs had two carries for 5 yards.

That left them with a first quarter of nine plays for minus-8 yards, and they trailed 7-0.

The second quarter started the same way. After Tom Kennedy returned a punt to the Lions 46, Gibbs ran for 7 yards on first down, but Goff followed with two incomplete passes.

Instead of punting for a fourth time, Campbell left his offense on the field. Goff threw a 12-yard pass to tight end Sam LaPorta and the Lions got 15 more yards from an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Cardinals. Detroit suddenly had a first down on the Arizona 20 and only needed three more plays to tie the game at 7-all.

“We took a shot on fourth down and we ended up with 27 yards off of it,” Campbell said. “And then he did it again on the next drive.”

After a Cardinals punt, the Lions were facing third-and-12 at the Arizona 49. Goff threw a quick pass to LaPorta, who broke a tackle and got within inches of the first-down marker.

Detroit went for it again, and with the Cardinals focused on a potential Gibbs run, LaPorta got open and caught a pass from Goff, taking it 38 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

“He makes the catch on third-and-long and gets us a fourth-and-1,” Campbell said. “And then he gets the next catch and takes it to the house. After that, we never really looked back.”

The Lions, who trailed 7-0 after one quarter, were up 24-7 at halftime and 45-14 before the Cardinals scored a meaningless, late touchdown.

What’s working

The Lions put a heavy load on Gibbs yet again — he had 30 touches for 207 yards and two touchdowns — but it’s tough to give him the ball fewer times when he’s performing at this level. For the season, he has 132 touches for 747 yards and nine touchdowns.

Gibbs has 58 touchdowns in 54 career games — breaking Barry Sanders’ NFL record of 57 before his 25th birthday. Gibbs also set a record with 49 touchdowns before his 24th birthday.

What needs help

The Lions had a great day returning punts, but it came at a significant cost. Kennedy had two returns for 33 yards, but sustained a season-ending knee injury on the second one. Amon-Ra St. Brown was even better, bringing back two punts for 36 yards, but Campbell doesn’t want to use one of his most important offensive players as a return man.

With a bye this week, the Lions have plenty of time to find a punt returner on the roster or in free agency.

Stock up

D.J. Reed finished the day with seven solo tackles, including three for losses, and broke up a pass.

Stock down

The Lions could take some of the workload off Gibbs if they had a reliable No. 2 back, but Sione Vaki hasn’t come close to filling the shoes of David Montgomery, who departed in free agency in the offseason. On Sunday, Vaki only carried the ball once in the first half for minus-2 yards, before adding five carries for 13 yards after the game was decided.

Injuries

Along with Kennedy, the Lions lost linebacker Devin White to a broken forearm. He will need surgery, but Campbell said Monday that he could return this season.

Key number

13 — The number of days the Lions have before they return from their bye to play the Green Bay Packers.

Next steps

Get the current roster healthy and hopefully get safety Brian Branch and center Cade Mays back from injuries.

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