Cardinals can clinch playoff berth with win over lowly Lions
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The Arizona Cardinals seem set up for success this week.
The NFC-West leading Cardinals are on the road, where they're 7-0 this season, and they're playing the lowly Detroit Lions.
The Cardinals (10-3) will also be very motivated against Detroit (1-11-1) on Sunday in Ford Field because they have a lot at stake.
Arizona can clinch a playoff spot with a win, which would also keep at least a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Rams in the division. A victory would also allow Arizona to keep pace with the other 10-win teams in the conference -- Tampa Bay and Green Bay -- for postseason positioning.
While the NFL shares playoff scenarios publicly, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury insisted after losing to the Rams on Monday night that he does not discuss the topic with his team privately.
"That's kind of outside this building," he said. "We're getting ready for Detroit."
The Lions are relegated to playing for pride -- as usual -- over the last month, saying they're trying to represent themselves and the team well as coach Dan Campbell closes his first season.
"You're playing for who you are as a person and what your character is," quarterback Jared Goff said. "At the same time, Dan kind of talked about this a couple weeks ago, being spoiler sometimes is fun.
"You don't hope you have to be that way, but that's kind of the role we're in now."
HOPKINS HURT
The Cardinals are expected to be without three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins on Sunday and possibly longer.
Kingsbury said earlier in the week that Hopkins hurt his leg and was getting an MRI on it along with a second opinion. The 29-year-old Hopkins played the previous two weeks after missing three games with a hamstring injury. He has 42 catches for 572 yards and eight touchdowns this season
TAKING ADVANTAGE
The Lions put enhanced protocols in place last week before the NFL instructed the team to do so, hoping to rein in an outbreak that put several players on the COVID-19 reserve list and affected many more with the flu.
A day before playing at Denver last week, running back Craig Reynolds was promoted from the practice squad because Jamaal Williams landed on the COVID-19 reserve list and D'Andre Swift was scratched from a second straight game because of a shoulder injury.
Reynolds made the most of his opportunity, running for 83 yards on 11 carries and catching two passes against the Broncos. Previously, the third-year pro from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania had one carry for 4 yards for Jacksonville late last season.
"He showed he's worthy of continuing down this road with us," Campbell said.
ARIZONA (10-3) at DETROIT (1-11-1), Sunday, noon, Fox
SERIES RECORD: Lions lead 34-28-6.
LAST MEETING: Lions beat Cardinals 26-23 on Sept. 27, 2020 at Arizona.
LAST WEEK: Cardinals lost to Rams 30-23; Lions lost to Broncos 38-10.
CARDINALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (T12), PASS (19), SCORING (T4).
CARDINALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (5), RUSH (16), PASS (5), SCORING (4).
LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (26), RUSH (17), PASS (27), SCORING (30).
LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (28), RUSH (28), PASS (17), SCORING (T28).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Cardinals plus-10; Lions minus-4.
CARDINALS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR A.J. Green. With WR DeAndre Hopkins' knee injury, Green will have more passes coming his way. Green had a strong performance against Los Angeles on Monday night, making a season-high seven receptions and surpassing 100 yards receiving for the second time this year.
LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. The rookie had a team-high eight receptions for 73 yards against Denver last week. In the previous game, he had career highs with 10 catches for 86 yards and made the winning TD reception for his first score in the last-play victory over Minnesota.
KEY MATCHUP: QB Kyler Murray against Detroit's defense. Murray threw for 383 yards, ran for a season-high 61 yards and had a career-high 444 yards of offense against the Rams. He did not throw a touchdown and did have two interceptions in the setback. The Lions will boost their slim chances at pulling off an upset if they can force Murray to turn it over often.
Season ends for Lions star TE
ALLEN PARK -- Detroit Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson has had season-ending thumb surgery, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke Thursday night on condition of anonymity because the team had not made an announcement regarding Hockenson. He was on the team's injury report after not practicing for a second straight day because of a hand injury, an ailment that kept him out of Sunday's loss at Denver.
He had 61 receptions for 583 yards and four touchdowns this season. The third-year pro has 160 catches for 1,673 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Detroit drafted the former Iowa star with the No. 8 overall pick in 2019. He earned Pro Bowl recognition last season after he set career highs with 67 receptions, 723 yards receiving and six touchdowns.