A 31-point unanswered run lifted Detroit past Arizona by a final score of 45-21 in Glendale, Arizona, with Jared Goff accounting for three touchdown passes and Jahmyr Gibbs contributing 151 yards on the ground along with two scores.
Gibbs crossed into the end zone on a 1-yard push near the goal line midway through the second quarter, then returned in the fourth with a 3-yard scoring run that saw him glance off the offensive line, shift direction, and locate open space.
Tallying 58 touchdowns before turning 25, the player — a three-time Pro Bowl selection — moved past the previous league mark of 57 set by Lions standout Barry Sanders. Two touchdown receptions — one covering 8 yards, another stretching 39 — gave Williams his first multi-score receiving outing as Detroit moved to 3-2.
Arizona, now 1-4 on the season, has dropped nine consecutive games at home, a skid that dates back more than a year. A trade sending wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Houston Texans was completed by the Cardinals before the first quarter had run its course.
Harrison was among the five players listed as inactive for the game against the Lions and did not appear at the venue that day. Four games into the current season, the wide receiver taken fourth overall in the 2024 draft — out of Ohio State — had recorded five receptions totalling 85 yards, with one touchdown.
Arizona held a 7-0 advantage on the strength of a 2-yard scoring throw from Jacoby Brissett to tight end Teagan Quitoriano, though three unanswered touchdowns and a field goal put Detroit ahead 24-7 at the break. The change in the game's complexion came around the time word of the Harrison deal began circulating.
LaPorta, lined up at tight end, hauled in the second of three touchdowns on a 38-yard reception, breaking free with no defender nearby. Goff, finishing with 19 completions from 30 attempts for 279 yards, connected with Williams on a 39-yard scoring reception midway through the third quarter, and added a rushing touchdown on a 1-yard plunge into the end zone.
Over five consecutive possessions in the first half, the Cardinals netted only 12 yards, failing to move the chains on each occasion while Detroit built its lead. A Brissett interception on the team's sixth possession brought the second quarter to a close.
The Lions' defensive unit, which had been allowing an average of 31.8 points per outing heading into Sunday — a figure that placed the team 31st across the league — produced a noticeably improved showing. Brissett connected on 29 of 47 pass attempts for 292 yards, with three touchdown throws against a single interception. Of the 17 games he started after stepping in for Kyler Murray, only two ended in victories.
Two touchdown receptions were recorded by Quitoriano, including a 13-yard grab midway through the third quarter. McBride found the end zone for the Cardinals on a 9-yard touchdown reception as the fourth quarter drew toward its close.
Linebacker Devin White was sidelined with a forearm injury for Detroit, while returner Tom Kennedy departed due to a knee problem; neither player returned to the field. Safety Wydett Williams Jr. left the Cardinals' lineup with a concussion sustained near the end of the opening half.
Detroit's next game is scheduled for October 25 at home against Green Bay. The Cardinals are set to face the Los Angeles Rams on the road the following Sunday.
