Kyler Murray was chased to the sideline on his first snap of the game and never caught his breath. Fitting that it was Charles Harris in pursuit. Fitting that Murray went nowhere. Fitting that the Cardinals went three and out on a day their potent offense was dismantled by Detroit.
Aaron Glenn and the Lions knocked Murray off his pedestal Sunday in a stunning 30-12 victory over one of the favorites -- or are they? -- to win the NFC. It was the latest example of Glenn putting his severely undermanned defense in position to succeed.
"Going to be hard for me to find the right words to speak of AG," said Dan Campbell, who brought Glenn with him from New Orleans to Detroit. "Got a ton of respect for him, but he once again put together a great game plan. We knew what we had to do. We needed to hit this guy, we needed to bottle him up, we needed to be aggressive on these receivers, and those guys did it.
"But AG, once again, he knows, he understands what we have to do every week. And his staff, too. I think we have a hell of a staff defensively and those players know exactly what’s expected and what’s going to give them the best odds to shut down an offense and give us a chance to win. They did it.”
They Lions are desperate for more talent on defense. But Glenn is getting the most out of the talent they have. They haven't had their top two pass rushers for the past several weeks. They haven't had their top cornerback since Week 1. They lost another starting cornerback last week. They lost their top safety shortly before kickoff Sunday. They lost their top linebacker midway through the game. They never lost their fire. They kept coming after Murray, who was sacked a season-high four times and completed a season-low percentage of his passes. He threw zero touchdowns and two picks.
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said the Lions had a "tremendous plan." He said "they outcoached us, outplayed us." Glenn brought pressure all day long. Kingsbury said it was "fearless." Campbell said it was the only choice the Lions had.
"Throw caution to the wind," he said. "That’s one of those you either win or you lose by 50. Fortunately, it worked in our favor. But we knew we needed to be aggressive. You know you can’t go timid against these guys and you had to force them to play your game. If you play their game, you’re going to be in trouble."
Murray, if he's being honest, was caught off guard. He wasn't expecting such a hair-on-fire performance from a defense that ranks among the NFL's worst in just about every category, including sacks. But the stats don't always tell the story. Apparently neither does the film. Murray said he didn't realize Detroit's defense plays so physically.
"Man, Aaron Glenn, he’s a great DC. They played hard today. They played hard. It was a physical game. I wish we knew it was going to be. Like I said, I don’t know what happened today. We just didn’t come ready to play," Murray said.
The Cardinals were 10-3 when the day began, with a chance to clinch a playoff berth. The Lions were 1-11-1 and playing for nothing but pride. For Arizona, Murray said it was "a game where you feel like you come in and win."
"But this is the NFL," he said. "It’s not easy. If you don’t come prepared and you don’t give respect to who you’re playing, you get beat. Hats off to them.”
Hats off to Harris, a menace from the start who finished with 1.5 sacks and 12 total tackles. Hats off to Amani Oruwariye, a growing playmaker who made the play of the game with a diving interception in the third quarter one play after the Lions had given the ball away on offense. One play after that, Detroit was in the end zone. Hats off to Will Harris, the beleaguered safety who played well in a shift to nickel. Hats off to AJ Parker, the rookie corner who made his return to the lineup and produced a clutch fourth-down pass break-up in the end zone. Hats off to the big boys up front who contained Arizona's rushing attack for most of the game.
Hats off to the whole damn defense. Hats off to Aaron Glenn.
"We have a job to do," said Oruwariye. "We’re not just going to lay down like the season’s over. I know everybody’s always talking about the draft. Man, when you’re on the field, you’re competing. We’re grown men. We work our tails off. We’ve got to compete against them, and that’s what we did.”
Nobody gave the Lions a chance on Sunday. They were double-digit underdogs, for good reason. They were missing several key players from a defense that was lacking talent to begin with. But this is why you play the games, as Murray can attest.
"That’s the best part," said Oruwariye. "When your backs against the wall and they don’t give you a chance anyway, what other choice do you have but to ball? Just trust the coaches that they’re going to put the team in a position to execute. That’s it.”