The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Lions vs. Cardinals Week 5 matchup.
Find a breakdown of every Week 5 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Detroit | Rank | @ | Arizona | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -5.5 | Spread | 5.5 | ||
| 30.0 | Implied Total | 24.5 | ||
| 29.8 | 5 | Points/Gm | 21.8 | 17 |
| 31.8 | 31 | Points All./Gm | 29.3 | 29 |
| 66.8 | 6 | Plays/Gm | 65.8 | 7 |
| 72.0 | 32 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 57.3 | 4 |
| 5.8 | 9 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.5 | 31 |
| 5.9 | 28 | Def. Yards/Play | 6.1 | 30 |
| 36.7% | 26 | Rush% | 39.5% | 22 |
| 63.3% | 7 | Pass% | 60.5% | 11 |
| 37.5% | 3 | Opp. Rush % | 48.9% | 27 |
| 62.5% | 30 | Opp. Pass % | 51.1% | 6 |
- Detroit games are averaging a league-high 61.5 combined points per game.
- 40.5% of the drives against Detroit have resulted in a touchdown, the highest rate in the league.
- 33.3% of the drives against Arizona have resulted in a touchdown, 30th.
- 33.3% of Detroit's drives have resulted in a touchdown, 4th in the league.
- 13.3% of Arizona's plays have gained 10 or more yards, the lowest rate in the league.
- Arizona has 5 offensive plays of 20 or more yards, the fewest in the NFL.
- Detroit has allowed 25 plays of 20 or more yards, the most in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Lions vs. Cardinals Fantasy Quarterback Preview
Jared Goff (TRUST)
Goff is the fourth highest-scoring quarterback through four games.
He is the QB15 in fantasy points through the first half of games but flips to QB3 in second-half scoring since Detroit has been routinely pushed into high-scoring contests.
Goff threw a season-high 52 times on Sunday night, with 31 in the second half.
Maybe the Detroit defense gets healthier and improves as the season goes on, but this year's Lions are a fantasy carousel.
This is a strong matchup for Goff, regardless of whether this game goes like Detroit's first four.
Arizona allows the most passing points per attempt (0.71) and has surrendered QB1 games to Drew Lock (21.4 points) and Jameis Winston (18.0) in their sample.
They allow a league-high 9.1 yards per pass attempt and a league-high 10.1% touchdown rate.
The Cardinals do not get much pressure (22nd).
Without pressure, Goff has completed 75.9% of his passes for 7.7 yards per attempt with 7 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Arizona is sitting in two-high shells at the second-highest rate (73.2%) while disguising coverage pre-snap at the 29th-highest rate (21.2%).
Against two-high defenses, Goff has completed 71.8% of his passes for 8.7 Y/A.
Jacoby Brissett (TRUST)
Brissett has not been good, so we are asking for some lifting here on the Detroit side of things.
Brissett is averaging a league-low 5.4 yards per pass attempt with 6.1 air yards per pass attempt (27th).
He has not thrown for more than 5.4 Y/A in a game since Week 1.
Only 27.5% of Brissett's throws have gone 10 or more yards downfield (26th).
Only 15.9% have gone 15 or more yards downfield (28th).
But we have seen the ceiling here.
Brissett was just the QB4 (25.6 points) two weeks ago against the 49ers, who are actually a good defense.
The Lions, on the other hand…
They have allowed Tyler Shough (23.2 points), Josh Allen (40.8), Geno Smith (26.0), and Bryce Young (21.5) to deliver QB8-or-better scoring weeks.
All of those passers threw for multiple touchdowns.
The Lions are allowing a league-high 23.6 passing points per game.
Detroit is trying to adjust. They just don't have the pieces on the back end.
The Lions have significantly reduced their blitz rates over the past two weeks (13.6% and 13.3%).
They played a season-high rate of zone coverage (81.9%).
Nothing has helped to this point.
The Lions are also pushing teams to throw.
Opponents have a pass rate 7.5% over expectation against Detroit, the second-highest rate in the league.
Missing offensive line pieces did not become an issue for Carolina last week, but we do have to note that Paris Johnson will miss the rest of the season for Arizona with a biceps injury.
We saw this offensive line collapse at the end of last season.
Detroit is not a good defense, but they do have a pass rush.
They are seventh in pressure rate (41.1%) and second in the NFL in sacks (15).
When pressured, Brissett has been a disaster.
He has a 38.2 rating under pressure (25th), completing 41.7% of his passes (15 of 36) for 3.7 Y/A.
Lions vs. Cardinals Fantasy Running Back Preview
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More Week 5 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Week 5 NFL Games | Time |
|---|---|
| Bucs @ Cowboys | Thursday Night Football |
| Eagles vs. Jaguars | Sunday -- 9:30 a.m. ET |
| Giants @ Commanders | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Browns @ Jets | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Vikings @ Saints | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bengals @ Dolphins | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Raiders @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Steelers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Texans @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ Packers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Broncos @ Chargers | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Lions @ Cardinals | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| 49ers @ Seahawks | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Ravens @ Falcons | Sunday Night Football |
| Bills @ Rams | Monday Night Football |
