Detroit Lions Squander Lead in Arizona

The Detroit Lions have not left the desert with a good taste in their mouths for a long time. That taste turned even more sour following Detroit's 25-21 loss to the Cardinals, an opponent they have not beaten on the road since 1993.

They were outscored 9-0 in the fourth quarter and the offense was kept out of the end zone the entire second half. The absence of an injured Reggie Bush proved costly for Detroit, which failed to capitalize on the defense's second solid game of the young season.

After bottling up Adrian Peterson a week ago, the Lions defense held the Cardinals to just 3.5 yards per carry, forcing them to successfully attempt four field goals.

Bush left the game early in the 3rd quarter, following a bad fumble on a hand-off exchange. More alerting, however, was the lack of downfield attack even when Bush was healthy. Matthew Stafford (24 of 36, 278 yards) had three deep throw attempts, two of which were intended for Kris Durham. Calvin Johnson had a huge 72-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown in the second quarter, with a Calvin-esque jump ball score on their very next drive. He had 41 yards otherwise, including one dropped pass.

But the lack of a second big-play weapon seemed to limit Detroit the final two quarters. After Bush (69 yards on 12 touches) fumbled to open the Lion's second half, Detroit did not get a first down on three of their next four drives. DeAndre Levy's 66-yard interception return in the middle of the 3rd quarter was Detroit's only score in the game's final 32 minutes.

2013 newcomer David Akers missed two field goals and the Lions committed eight penalties for 110 yards, including one bad pass interference flag late in the game that led to Arizona's game-winning score.