The Lions had us there for a minute. Three straight three-and-outs, with a sack allowed on each short possession while trailing 7-0 in Glendale, felt like the team was on the brink of its lowest point in the last two seasons. Then they triumphantly responded with a 31-0 run, including 24 points in the second quarter, and a total of seven straight scoring drives.
It was the definition of a get-right game and a desert demolition of a team they should be dropping scoring at will against on the road. Dan Campbell’s team didn’t quite play a complete game, but it was chock-full of complementary football, just as he had challenged them to play throughout the week leading up to it
It was a step in the right direction heading into the bye, before their first slate of divisional games immediately afterward. With that, the Week 5 stock report has its fair share of stock-ups as opposed to stock-downs.
**Stock up: Sam LaPorta, TE**
LaPorta, a key offensive cornerstone in a contract year, sure looked like the break-in-case-of-emergency player for the offense. Jared Goff called him the catalyst for everything and illuminated how his key plays changed the landscape of the game.
LaPorta revved the team’s engine with a vital fourth-and-3 catch to move the chains for the first time all day on Detroit’s fourth possession, making a tight-window grab over the middle as he was clobbered by Mack Wilson Sr. It continued on the next drive, Detroit’s second touchdown drive, when he made rookie Wydett Williams Jr. miss to turn upfield on third-and-long and get to fourth-and-inches. He then set himself up on the very next play for a wide-open 38-yard gallivant into the end zone to pull ahead for the first time and for good.
He also pulled off a twisting, diving grab down the seam for a first down in the fourth quarter and finished with five catches on five targets for a season-high 88 receiving yards, half of which came after the catch, while adding a few pivotal run blocks on the edge. It was a good reminder of why the offense’s consistency fell off after LaPorta’s injury last season.
**Stock up: Penei Sewell, LT**
In a game where the Lions got their groove back and dropped a forty-burger, it’s important to highlight their prize steer. Sewell, the best player on the team and one of the best players in the NFL, took a few lumps switching to Goff’s blind side but is quickly looking more natural with every snap he takes.
For the second time in three games, Sewell didn’t allow a single pressure, this time on 34 dropbacks. Most fans wouldn’t have known Josh Sweat had even played, with Sewell clipping his pass-rush wings while also completely washing Zaven Collins and Jordan Burch on a handful of pass-protection reps.
Sewell also continually put defenders on skates, driving them back, often on double teams with his new partner in crime, Christian Mahogany. He sealed the edge well and climbed to the linebackers to give Jahmyr Gibbs great running room to the left side, all while blocking through the whistle.
A rare impact player at the position.
**Stock up: DJ Reed and Roger McCreary, CBs**
The Lions’ secondary has been the most criticized position group this season, having been questioned throughout the offseason, with seemingly none of the cornerbacks finding their comfort level or bearings in the first month of the season.
Chief among the criticism as of late was 2025 high-priced free agent DJ Reed. Not without reason, as he hadn’t looked composed in man coverage or competent in zone coverage, and had struggled in the red zone and on deep passes. But Reed responded with vigor in possibly his best game as a Lion, and definitively his best of this season. I’ve questioned Reed’s run support, as he hadn’t reached the bar of what I believed he was capable of, but he was laying the wood against Arizona, including three tackles for loss on Jeremiyah Love.
In coverage, Reed locked down Michael Wilson, with some safety help, allowing only four completions for 30 receiving yards, two first downs, just three yards after the catch, and a 67.6 passer rating on seven targets (all against Wilson).
On the other side, McCreary made his third start for the Lions in his Amik Robertson-esque role as the second outside cornerback who shifts into the slot in nickel, and delivered his best performance as a Lion. With Detroit’s defensive approach focused on making the Cardinals play left-handed, shutting down the run, and allocating additional resources to Michael Wilson and Trey McBride, McCreary was tasked with covering all shapes and sizes of Arizona’s secondary receiving options. He was targeted an astounding 18 times but kept battling, producing a career-high six pass deflections while allowing seven first downs, including shutting out Jalen Brooks on five targets.
With the Lions defense getting back to a little more man coverage, having their top two corners playing with confidence rather than being liabilities will go a long way toward getting this defense closer to the middle of the pack and giving the team a chance to maintain its title-contending aspirations. The real challenge will be the bombs away Packers offense in Week 7.
**Stock up: Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs, QB & RB**
One of the best backfield duos in all of football, Goff and Gibbs are both off to tremendous starts to the season, with each having the potential to enter the MVP or Offensive Player of the Year conversations, respectively, especially with the best supporting cast around them in the Dan Campbell era.
Goff was aggressively heaving the ball with conviction, completing six passes of 10-plus air yards for a whopping 152 passing yards (25.3 yards per completion) and three touchdowns. He spread the ball evenly among his weapons while also quickly delivering catchable, YAC-friendly passes in what was Drew Petzing’s best-designed screen game of the season.
Meanwhile, Gibbs was the other half of the two-headed monster that stirs the Lions’ drink, recording just the third 200-plus-yard game from scrimmage of his career and helping Detroit matriculate the ball downfield through both the ground and the air. Gibbs posted season highs in yards after contact (93, third-highest of his career), yards after contact per attempt (3.7), and rushing yards over expected (+49), while breaking off six runs of 10-plus yards (second-most this season). Gibbs also flashed in limited pass protection reps.
* **Christian Mahogany & Tate Ratledge, OGs:** Becoming one of the better young guard duos in football, they’re already essential in generating push up the gut for Gibbs and are continuing to improve in pass protection, insulating Goff from the kind of interior pressure he suffered through last season. The two were charged with a total of just one quarterback pressure on the afternoon.
* **Jameson Williams, WR:** Red-zone weapon and deep-ball threat. Waymo made plays.
* **Brock Wright, TE:** I can be fairly critical of Wright as TE2 at times, but he kicked Cardinals defenders’ red tails in as a run blocker. Easily his best blocking effort of the season, and his 11-yard reception was his longest of the season (thanks to Williams occupying three defenders running deep).
* **Sione Vaki, RB:** Starting to become a valuable asset as a pass blocker, which may really come in handy against Brian Flores’ defense. Also recorded three special teams tackles.
* **Aidan Hutchinson, DE:** A slightly quieter game for Hutch, but it felt like the Cardinals made a more dedicated effort than any other opponent this year to get three or four hands on him just about every play, freeing up one-on-one opportunities for others. Hutchinson’s two consecutive plays early in the fourth quarter, forcing an incompletion on third-and-1 and then a turnover-on-downs sack on fourth-and-1, were huge.
* **D.J. Wonnum, DE:** Five sacks in the last three games is more than the Lions’ front office bargained for.
* **Alim McNeill, DT:** Mac just keeps stacking games, and while he notched another sack, he was particularly stout in run defense.
* **Jack Campbell, LB:** Jack was back, fighting off blockers and flying downhill and sideline to sideline like a buzzard feasting on the Cardinals’ lightweight run game. He was also deployed as a blitzer and utilized in coverage, occasionally in the slot against Trey McBride, even running stride for stride with McBride on a deep-ball incompletion along the sideline on third down.
* **Ennis Rakestraw II, CB:** Rock-solid game from Rake, as he looked comfortable rotating in, mostly in passing situations, in his role as the third cornerback in nickel. Continues to prove he’s deserving of more playing time.
* **Chuck Clark and Keith Abney II, S:** Both were far from perfect, but the safety play improved, with Clark, a limited player at this point, more properly aligned in his strong safety role closer to the action, while Abney offered the defense range on the back end. Really impressive for Abney to make the position change on the fly in-season as a Day 3 rookie.
* **Kelvin Sheppard, DC:** His seat couldn’t have been warmer, and he responded with a game plan that was more effective against the run, deployed his players more appropriately, and had them looking more confident in their responsibilities. He also dialed back to more man coverage and even saw the team generate some coverage sacks.
* **Tay Martin, ST:** Recovered the St. Brown fumbled punt return and downed a late fourth-quarter Jack Fox punt inside the 2-yard line.
* **Juice Scruggs, C:** On the hook for the Budda Baker blitz sack on third down, as the pivot needs to properly communicate pass protection, then allowed a Roy Lopez sack on the second possession as well. Met his match, and battled, with Lopez throughout the game. Not a bad game overall.
* **Trevor Nowaske, LB:** Even with the Devin White injury, his playing time dropped to only nine snaps after struggling against the Panthers.
* **Christian Izien, S:** A worst-case-scenario game from hell against the Panthers led to him being iced out and getting no defensive snaps, even with Jalen Mills playing 22 snaps (mostly in red-zone defense).
* **Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR:** The two fumbles could’ve hindered the Lions’ ability to get rolling and build such a large lead so rapidly, but fumble luck was on their side. Tough to be overly critical of the punt return fumble, as he won’t be serving in that role long-term. It was also one of his better performances as a weapon in the screen game.
* **Blake Miller, RT:** He’s still working on his balance and staying off the ground consistently as a run blocker, and should be able to clean up the penalties, but was effective in pass protection with a clean bill of health, taking on Josh Sweat, Baron Browning, Darius Robinson, and the other Cardinals defenders.
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