The Arizona Cardinals came into Sunday with a 10-3 record, tied for first place in the NFC and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
The Detroit Lions came into Sunday with a 1-11-1 record locked in a battle with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the No, 1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Naturally, the Lions easily defeated the Cardinals, 30-12.
The stunning score came courtesy of a Detroit offense that played with the kind of intensity we haven’t seen out of them very often, if at all, this season. Jared Goff threw for 216 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions while Craig Reynolds racked up 112 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Jason Cabinda scored the first touchdown of his career and the defense found a way to bend but rarely break against Kyler Murray and the Arizona offense that out-gained Detroit on the day.
Perhaps the only way we should have known this was coming was when we realized Gus Johnson was on the call for Fox.
We should have known as soon as we heard Gus Johnson was the announcer, this would be a wild one. https://t.co/0Vnz0v1sd6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 19, 2021
The loss stings for the Cardinals, who could now find themselves in fourth place in the NFC if the Cowboys, Packers, and Buccaneers keep winning. Not to mention the Los Angeles Rams are right on their tail at 9-4 on the season. There wasn’t a worse time for Arizona to lose and there literally wasn’t a worse team to lose to.
As you can imagine, the NFL world was stunned on social media by the outcome.
Quick check on the Cards/Lions and… WHAT?!?! pic.twitter.com/5z4NpELEMu
— NFL on CBS
(@NFLonCBS) December 19, 2021
Apparently, the last team you want to face right now if you’re an NFL playoff contender is the Detroit Lions. Who knew.