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Cardinals cool off mistake-prone Lions

Nov 12, 2007 - 2:43 AM By Bob Huhn PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) - The Detroit Lions' road to the playoffs hit a detour.

Kurt Warner passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns as the Arizona Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 31-21 victory over the Lions on Sunday.

Arizona limited Detroit to minus-18 yards rushing and dropped the Lions (6-3) two games behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North.

"A lot of people thought we weren't tough enough after last week," said Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, referring to Arizona's 17-10 loss at Tampa Bay.

"Some people questioned our mindset and it was nice to go out and show what kind of football team we are. We made a concerted effort to make those plays we didn't last week. We had a good plan defensively and it is nice for our defense to play like that with a lead."

Larry Fitzgerald and Leonard Pope each had two TD receptions for the Cardinals (4-5), who turned the ball over four times themselves in a sloppy affair.

"We had some turnovers and made some mistakes but everybody kept fighting and the defense bailed us out," Warner said. "Everybody fed off of one another but we have a lot of room for improvement. We could have blown this game wide open if we didn't have some issues."

Despite its mediocre record, Arizona pulled within one-half game of first-place Seattle in the NFC West. The Seahawks host San Francisco on Monday night.

Detroit took a 7-0 lead on Kevin Jones' 4-yard TD run with 10:34 remaining in the third quarter, but the Lions could not overcome five turnovers and their non-existent ground game.

Jones rushed just four times for minus-four yards before being pulled due to a sore foot.

The Lions lost three fumbles and quarterback Jon Kitna, who completed 32-of-45 passes for 294 yards, threw a pair of interceptions.

"We emphasized all week to get more turnovers," said Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby, who picked off Kitna twice. "It is November so you have to come out with everything."

After giving up the game's first score, the Cardinals dominated the first half, outgaining the Lions, 196-46. Arizona held the ball for a little more than 21 minutes.

"This was a team loss," Detroit coach Rod Marinelli said. "All areas - coaching staff, offense, defense. All areas failed today and I am usually the lead dog on that, so I failed."

Marinelli, whose teams has allowed 121 points in its three road losses, listed a litany of mistakes.

"Missed tackles, we had 11 penalties, five turnovers and the coverage unit wasn't very good," he said. "That covers the whole football team. You can't win turning the ball over. You have to protect the football."

After Neil Rackers kicked a 23-yard field goal with 2:52 left in the first quarter, Warner tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Fitzgerald to put the Cardinals ahead, 10-7.

Tim Rattay replaced Warner and tossed a 2-yard TD strike to Pope with 1:01 left in the second quarter to give Arizona a 17-7 halftime lead.

In the second half, Warner, who completed 26-of-36 passes, threw TD strikes of 16 yards to Pope and 20 yards to Fitzgerald.

"It was a case of being efficient with what we are doing," Warner said. "We were on the field a lot. When you stay on the field it allows you to make plays and score points. It is also important to spread the football around and we did that."

The Lions got a late score on Kitna's 7-yard TD pass to Roy Williams with 1:22 remaining.

"We didn't do anything in the first half - running, throwing nothing," Kitna said. "Today didn't go the way we wanted it but the bigger picture is all of our hopes and dreams are still in front of us."