SportsDirect Inc. staff
Dec 16, 2012
Cardinals 38, Lions 10: Beanie Wells rushed for three touchdowns and the Arizona defense forced four key turnovers as the host Cardinals snapped a nine-game slide.
Rashad Johnson ran an interception back 53 yards for a touchdown and Greg Toler took a pick back 102 yards for a score as the Cardinals (5-9) overcame an offense that totaled only 196 yards.
Matthew Stafford went 24-of-50 for 246 yards and three interceptions for Detroit (4-10), which dropped its sixth straight game.
Arizona could not put together a drive of over 42 yards in the entire game but benefited from a muffed punt at the Lions 5-yard line in the second quarter that led to Wells’ 5-yard touchdown run and a 7-7 tie. Stafford was intercepted by Patrick Peterson deep in his own territory, leading to a 1-yard touchdown run by Wells, and Johnson picked off Stafford with 41 seconds left in the second and raced back the other way to make it a 21-7 lead at the break.
Toler’s 102-yard score came with 5:07 left in the game and pushed it to 31-10. Stafford was sacked on fourth down on the ensuing drive, leading to Wells’ 31-yard touchdown run that put the game away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Arizona QB Ryan Lindley went 14-of-21 for 104 yards and an INT. … Lions WR Calvin Johnson (10 catches for 121 yards) tied an NFL record with his seventh straight 100-yard receiving game. … Mikel Leshoure accounted for Detroit’s lone TD, a 1-yard run with 12:51 left in the first half.