The Detroit Lions picked up an impressive Week 5 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and I don’t care that Arizona came in at 1-3. The Cardinals brought the 12th-ranked offense in the NFL according to DVOA, one spot behind a Carolina Panthers offense that gave this Lions defense fits a week ago.

If Detroit had laid another egg like it did against Carolina, New York, or New Orleans, the narrative would have been simple. It’s over, and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard should be fired. I led that charge last week. Sheppard isn’t completely absolved, but the Lions dropped a 40-burger on Arizona and really held the Cardinals to 14 points. The 21 on the scoreboard includes a garbage-time touchdown at the end.

One thing to file away: Both of Arizona’s first two touchdowns came on the same exact play to the same exact tight end. That matters with Tucker Kraft and the Green Bay Packers waiting in Week 7 after the bye.

Here are my eight winners and three losers.

Lions winners on defense

D.J. Reed

D.J. Reed earned some flowers. He has had a rough season, but he finished as Detroit’s highest-graded defensive player at 79.8, per Pro Football Focus. He allowed four catches for 30 yards and a 78.5 passer rating. This was the Reed we saw in Seattle, in New York, and early last year. It’s notable that the Lions went back to their bread-and-butter man coverage, and it worked.

Roger McCreary

Roger McCreary wasn’t great, but he was good considering the circumstances. Arizona clearly came in planning to attack him. He was targeted 16 times and allowed eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. However, 22 of those yards came on one big play, and 35 came after the catch. He also had two pass breakups. I still think the Lions need to trade for a cornerback, with McCreary better suited for the slot. Even so, I came away impressed.

Jack Campbell

Jack Campbell finally looked like himself. He posted a 78.5 PFF grade and an 85.8 tackling grade. The big one is a 78.5 coverage grade after sitting in the 30s and 40s all season. He allowed one catch on two targets, and that was Trey McBride’s freak touchdown late. This is the version of Campbell that earned Pro Bowl honors and a big contract.

Keith Abney

Keith Abney played a career-high 58 snaps with a 68.5 overall grade, a 72 run grade, a 62.8 coverage grade, and an 84.4 tackling grade. He allowed three catches on four targets for 25 yards. He also grabbed his first career interception. Yes, it came on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half, but an interception is an interception. Even more important, 48 of his snaps came at free safety. I’ve been calling him Diet Brian Branch for weeks. A safety duo of Abney and Branch? I’m open to seeing where that goes.

D.J. Wonnum

D.J. Wonnum is already paying dividends on a cheap deal. Fans wanted a bigger name. But when Wonnum had Danielle Hunter across from him in Minnesota, he ate. Now Aidan Hutchinson is creating one-on-ones for him. He had two sacks, including a beautiful effort where he got pushed aside, disengaged, and came back around for Jacoby Brissett. That was a coverage sack, something I didn’t think this defense could produce this season.

Alim McNeill

Alim McNeill is back. He’s getting pressure, getting sacks, and stopping the run. McNeill has said publicly that he came back too early last year and should have taken his recovery more seriously. Right now, he looks like the guy who earned that big extension.

Jared Goff gets surgical

Somebody tweeted at me during the game that Jared Goff sucks. I have no idea how anyone watches this team and thinks that. Goff went 19 of 30 for 271 yards and three touchdown passes with a 125.8 passer rating. He also ran one in.

This was his best game of the season. Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, and Amon-Ra St. Brown all got theirs. It reminded me of Denzel Washington in Training Day: “How you want it, Jake? I could be surgical.”

Kelvin Sheppard

Yes, the guy whose job I called for on Monday is a winner. He’s not off the hook, and he needs consistency with the Packers and Minnesota Vikings coming up. But Sheppard called a good game. He went back to his roots instead of getting too creative and put his players in the right spots. That’s why Reed, McCreary, and Abney all looked better.

Lions losers

Remember, “losers” is just the name of the exercise.

Blake Miller

Blake Miller was solid in pass protection but posted a 53.1 run-blocking grade on 32 run-block snaps. This was his fifth career game. We’re on a completely different planet from the word “bust.” I just want to see one game where he’s good at both.

Devin White

Devin White returned from two straight healthy scratches and played well. He finished as Detroit’s second-highest-graded defender at 78.7 on 16 snaps. Then he hurt his forearm. Reports already have him walking around the locker room in a sling, which isn’t good. The Lions dressed seven linebackers, so they’re comfortable with the other six. It might be time to throw Jimmy Rolder into the deep end against Green Bay. Derrick Moore played 20 defensive snaps, but Rolder didn’t play a single one.

Chuck Clark

Chuck Clark had a rough day with a 46.6 grade on 72 snaps. He allowed five catches on five targets for 73 yards. He wasn’t credited on either touchdown to Cardinals tight end Teagan Quintarino, but he looked out of place on both. Clark has been one of the brighter spots in the secondary, so let’s see how he bounces back.

Tom Kennedy was also on crutches in the locker room, which could open the punt return job for Dominic Lovett. Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp told me at training camp that the team prefers someone a little bigger in that spot because returners take more hits. One thing is certain. You can’t use St. Brown every week.

The good news is that Brian Branch is expected back coming out of the bye to face Green Bay. If that happens, it’s huge for this defense. We’ll see.

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