Cardinals vs. Lions 2015 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online

The Arizona Cardinals are coming off their first loss of the season. Can the Detroit Lions capitalize?

Oct 11, 2015, 1:30 PM UTC

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions have gone in opposite directions this season, with the former looking dominant for much of the season and the latter being completely unable to find a way to win football games.

The Cardinals have been more dominant than the Lions have been helpless -- Detroit has made multiple games close. But the Lions have been unable to finish games, and against a well-balanced Cardinals team, that's going to be a big problem. The Lions -- despite having Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate -- just cannot get their offense going. The offensive line is playing poorly and Stafford is rarely comfortable in the pocket. Said offensive line is also doing a poor job of run blocking, giving rookie Ameer Abdullah little chance to actually make something big happen.

Arizona put up 31 points on the New Orleans Saints, 48 on the Chicago Bears and 47 on the San Francisco 49ers. Detroit's defense has been solid at times this year, but Carson Palmer and the Cardinals are likely eyeing another big day after a down game against the NFC West rival St. Louis Rams.

Against the Rams, Palmer threw for 352 yards and a touchdown, but he also had an interception and the Rams simply made more of their opportunities. Nick Foles threw for three touchdowns and rookie first-round pick Todd Gurley rumbled for 146 yards. It was a close game, but it was one the Cardinals were expected to dominate, and they did not do that.

On the season, Palmer has completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,155 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. The loss against the Rams was his first in 10 starts. Coming into this season, the Cardinals’ primary task was simple: keep Palmer upright, keep him protected and he will go out there and win games. Palmer was 6-0 in the games he played with the Cardinals last season.

Arizona has kept him protected for much of this season, all the way up until the Rams game. He was sacked just once in the first three games, but the Rams brought him down four times and hit him more than that, and that was the biggest factor in their victory. They didn’t make mistakes, got to Palmer and put the Cardinals in an uncomfortable position.

Detroit will need to get to Palmer if it wants to win. The Lions have 10 sacks on the season, good for eighth in the league. They’ve been getting to quarterbacks this year, and they can probably get to Palmer. But on offense, Stafford, Johnson and Tate will need to move the ball like they’re expected. Stafford has just five touchdowns against five interceptions on the season, Abdullah has just 115 yards rushing and Johnson, at 255 yards and a touchdown, is on course for a pedestrian year by his obviously high standards.

It’s not going to be easy for the Lions, but the Rams showed that a mistake-free offense and an aggressive defense can beat the Cardinals. It’s up to the execution now.