The story of Terrion Arnold's second NFL season could be told by a handful of plays in his fifth game.
With the Lions leading the Bengals 14-0 in the second quarter Sunday, Arnold was flagged for holding star receiver Ja'Marr Chase, which wiped out a safety on a sack in the end zone by Aidan Hutchinson. With similar technique on the next play, Arnold broke up a pass intended for Tee Higgins. He nearly had his first career pick on each of the two plays after that, first sticking with Chase on a scramble throw toward the sideline where Chase became the defender, then covering him on a deep ball that Kerby Joseph swooped in and stole.
Asked if Joseph owes him, Arnold said, "Nah, gotta high-point the ball." In the third quarter, Arnold left the game with a shoulder injury and did not return.
"Right now, it’s hurting really, really bad," Arnold said after the Lions' 37-24 win. "But I wouldn’t trade the world for anything to be out there with my teammates, so I’m gonna give my all to this team, whether it’s me going out there with a half a shoulder, hurting. At the end of the day I’m gonna go out there and sacrifice everything and lay it all on the line for my guys."
Sunday looked like a step forward for Arnold, until the shoulder forced him to the sidelines. It was a little reminiscent of Week 1 against the Packers when a groin injury hindered Arnold after a strong first quarter and eventually ended his day, or Week 4 against the Browns when he first injured the shoulder and missed the rest of the game. Physically, Arnold said he's playing at about "75 percent."
With No. 1 corner DJ Reed already sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Lions missed Arnold when he departed Sunday's game. Cincinnati's passing attack came alive in the fourth quarter, with Chase catching two touchdowns and Higgins catching another.
Yes, Arnold was flagged twice against Chase for being too handsy, a problem that goes back to his rookie season. But the difference in Detroit's coverage with him on the field and off was real. Asked about the Chase matchup, "Just cut on the tape," Arnold said. "Look at what happened when I was out there."
Chase had two catches for 13 yards while covered by Arnold, albeit with Jake Browning throwing him the ball. The pass interference call, which came when Chase gained a step on Arnold on a short crossing route, only cost the Lions a couple yards. Overall, Arnold allowed three catches on six targets for 28 yards, his best performance of the season.
"I get up for games like that, because I have a lot of respect for that dude," he said. "Just watching his pedigree, what he does out there, and then just even somebody who talks back, like, during the game, y’all can see us, we were just going at it, the whole game."
The coverage penalties on Arnold brought his total to six on the season, a year after he had 10 of the same variety. He was indeed holding Chase by the shoulders on the first one Sunday, though Chase may have initiated contact by thrusting his hands in Arnold's face in an effort to get free -- similar to a sequence between Arnold and DeAndre Hopkins in Week 3 that resulted in pass interference.
Arnold felt like he "strapped the route" against Chase, and said "the reaction on the (Lions) sideline" to the flag told the same story: "Everybody was like, 'What!?'" Arnold was just as aggressive on Higgins on the ensuing pass that he broke up, but played the ball enough to get away with it.
Arnold's reputation as a handsy corner can cost him, especially in matchups with proven receivers. And with "the NFL getting used to how I play, I’m very, very sticky," he said. "So stuff like that, you just gotta keep playing."
Critics will say Detroit's defense is better off with Arnold off the field. That was clearly not the case against the Bengals when the Lions also lost Rock Ya-Sin to an injury in the second half and had to turn to newly-signed cornerback Tre Flowers, who looked overwhelmed. Arnold heard the Bengals say the Lions were "going to play a lot more zone against us" without Reed, who'd spent the prior two games traveling with the opposition's top receiver.
"Nah," he said. "We’re going to go out there and do what we do every week. We’re a man-to-man team."
The frustration for Arnold is real. He wants to prove that the strides he made in training camp were real, that defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard was right when he said that Arnold was "looking like a CB1." His coaches met with him last week and encouraged him to continue playing with confidence, in an effort to channel the player they saw this summer.
We saw signs of him Sunday, before another physical setback. Arnold won't bend his own standards. His internal battle is trying to play up to them at less than peak capacity.
"I would say right now, it’s more mental than anything, and just getting better at even, like, learning how to play smarter than harder," Arnold said. "I got a good group of guys, even being in the film room with guys like DJ and Amik (Robertson), and just learning how to play more like a vet."
The Lions do need Arnold on the field in the next two games before their bye, with matchups against Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield. Arnold plans to focus on "getting the best treatment I can get during the week, and then go out there and let the chips fall where they may."
The NFL is unforgiving to young cornerbacks, especially those who play lots of man coverage. And a large segment of the Lions' fanbase is increasingly unforgiving to Arnold because of his early track record. Arnold knows he can be better, and needs to be better. He was better on Sunday, even if the two flags will draw most of the attention. It was a step forward that might have looked like a step back.
The step that matters now is his next one.