Lessons learned from the Arizona Cardinals' loss to the Detroit Lions

To call this loss frustrating would be an understatement after the Arizona Cardinals failed to capitalize on a poor play by the Detroit Lions and fell to 1-2 on the season. The game could have been won, but the Cardinals just couldn't capitalize on Detroit's mistakes and couldn't sustain their offense.

The questions that plagued this team at the beginning of the season still remain, although there are some positive trends that make the losing record a little easier to bear.

These are the key takeaways for the Cardinals after their loss to the Lions.

Murray's MVP start to the season was a setback against Dan Campbell's Lions. Murray finished the day 21/34 (~61.8%) for 207 yards (~6.1 YPA) with one touchdown on one interception – his first of the year.

Detroit's defense had a great plan for Murray and managed to put him under quite a bit of pressure, despite only recording a single sack of the Pro Bow QB, who had a team-high 45 rushing yards on five carries.

With Murray held in check for most of the game, the Cardinals' offense struggled to get going, scoring just 13 points after scoring 28 and 41 points, respectively, in the first two games of the season.

To put it simply…

… the offense comes and goes with Murray's success, and that was evident in the loss. The Cards went out of bounds three times and punted twice more after four plays. The inability to make the most of their drives in a low-scoring game was a big difference in this game.

The Cardinals' decision to abandon the run was understandable…but those are the results you usually see when you decide to do that. The Lions' defense played tough, but the Cardinals had a lot of missed opportunities…and when it mattered most, the offense just couldn't get it done.

Honestly, it was a sloppy game for both offensive lines, but we're here to talk about the Cardinals.

At some point, we expect the Cardinals' defense to be completely overwhelmed by a strong offense that the team has already faced in the first three games of this season. And yet, they just aren't performing as well as we expected them to. And I say that in the best possible way.

Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis have made this defense play with fire, the way they rush the ball and make plays. The Cards were cheated out of a pick-six that could have changed the whole game, but that's a rant for another time…the point here is that the defense is opportunistic and should not be overlooked going forward.

It was a pleasant surprise and perhaps the biggest surprise of the young season, but after three weeks we need to see the defense at its best. They are playing well at the moment and certainly much better than anyone else was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

A 1-2 score sucks. It sucks even more because you could have a win if a few things went in your favor. But that's just how football works, and that's why the Cardinals are where they are after three weeks.

But I don't mean that in a negative way. Quite the opposite.

This Cardinals team was solid against Josh Allen's Bills, although they certainly had a lot of work to do. Then they destroyed a Rams team that was considered one of the better teams in the NFC. And now they've lost a close game to last season's NFC runner-up.

If nothing else, this team should definitely be 0-3 with big losses based on the expectations they had going into the year. Instead, they are exactly what we said they would be all offseason – they are fun to watch and will be tough for anyone.

The Cardinals are exactly where they need to be right now. A franchise that is currently rebuilding can only be expected to be competitive in year two.