Great job by secondary: Detroit’s secondary has taken their fair share of criticism over the first month of the season, but on Sunday, they deserved a lot of credit for their performance. Keith Abney II made his first start at safety and notched six tackles and an interception. Cornerback Roger McCreary had six tackles and defended six passes, which tied Bryant Westbrook (2000) for the most in a game in franchise history. Cornerback D.J. Reed had seven tackles, including three tackles for loss and a pass defended.
The players in the secondary were sticky in coverage and aggressive on the football. That was good to see as Detroit played a little bit more man coverage against the Cardinals than we’ve seen the previous four games.
Big game for Wonnum: Through five games veteran DJ Wonnum leads the team in sacks with five. He tallied two against the Cardinals to go along with three quarterback hits in the contest. Wonnum has produced at least one sack in three straight games now. He’s proven to be a savvy signing by GM Brad Holmes opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Detroit’s defense recorded 5.0 sacks in Arizona, which gives them 20.0 on the season, the most in franchise history through five games. Wonnum (5.0), Hutchinson (4.0), Alim McNeill (3.5) and Derrick Barnes (3.0) pace the Lions’ sack efforts this season.