Lions, QB Jared Goff try to bounce back from frustrating loss, continue recent success vs. Cards

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Lions, QB Jared Goff try to bounce back from frustrating loss, continue recent success vs. Cards

2024-09-21 05:56 Last Updated At：06:00

Detroit (1-1) at Arizona (1-1)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, Fox

BetMGM NFL Odds: Lions by 3.

Series record: Lions lead 35-28-6.

Against the spread: Lions 1-1, Cardinals 2-0.

Last meeting: Lions defeated Cardinals 30-12 at Detroit on Dec. 19, 2021.

Last week: Lions lost to Buccaneers 20-16; Cardinals beat Rams 41-10.

Lions offense: overall (2), rush (9), pass (2), scoring (16).

Lions defense: overall (14), rush (4-T), pass (21), scoring (12-T).

Cardinals offense: overall (7), rush (4-T), pass (15), scoring (2).

Cardinals defense: overall (13), rush (9), pass (19), scoring (17-T).

Turnover differential: Lions minus-1, Cardinals even.

TE Sam LaPorta. After a record-breaking rookie season, LaPorta had a career-low 13 yards receiving and two catches to match a career low last week against Tampa Bay. He had the most receptions (86) last season by an NFL rookie.

Rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. had his breakout game in last week's blowout win over the Rams. He caught his first two career TDs in the first quarter and finished with 130 yards receiving. The No. 4 overall pick out of Ohio State is a gifted athlete and has flashed good instincts in his short professional career. On his second TD, he improvised on his route, breaking deep downfield for a 60-yard touchdown. As his familiarity with quarterback Kyler Murray grows, the production is expected to continue.

Murray vs. Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson. Murray had one of the best games of his career against the Rams, completing 17 of 21 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 59 yards. He danced all around the Los Angeles defense, evading tackles at will. Now he'll have to evade Hutchinson, who already has 5 1/2 sacks this season, including 4 1/2 against the Bucs last weekend.

CB Ennis Rakestraw (hamstring) and S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle) were ruled out for Sunday's game. LB Alex Anzalone (concussion), CB Terrion Arnold (illness), G Graham Glasgow (knee) and WR Isaiah Williams (abdomen) are all questionable. ... Cardinals DT Darius Robinson (calf) has to miss at least two more games before he's eligible to come off injured reserve. RT Jonah Williams (knee) is also on IR and out at least three more games. RT Kelvin Beachum (hamstring), WR Greg Dortch (hamstring) and DL Dante Stills (shoulder) are all questionable.

The Lions have dominated the series recently with a 4-0-1 record since 2017. The 27-27 tie came in 2019, which was also the very first game that Murray played after being the No. 1 overall pick. The Cardinals won seven straight in the series from 2006 to 2015. This is the 70th meeting in a series that goes all the way back to 1930.

Detroit has not lost consecutive games since losing five straight to start the 2022 season with a 1-6 record. ... The Lions were 1 of 7 in the red zone against the Bucs. ... QB Jared Goff threw for 307 yards on 55 attempts, had two INTs and was fortunate defenders dropped two other passes that could have been picked off last week. ... WR Jameson Williams is one of six players in league history with at least 200 yards receiving and 25 yards rushing after two games in a season, joining a list that includes Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald. ... RB David Montgomery has a rushing TD in five consecutive games. ... DE Aidan Hutchinson has an NFL-high 5 1/2 sacks, a total that more than half of the teams in the league did not reach through two games. ... James Conner ran for 122 yards against the Rams. It's the third time in four games the RB has rushed for more than 100 yards, going back to last season ... The Cardinals have converted on 14 of 24 third down attempts (58%) this season, which leads the NFL. They were 7 of 11 against the Rams. ... Arizona's defense leads the NFL with 17 tackles for a loss. ... Edge rusher Dennis Gardeck set career highs with six tackles, six solo tackles, three sacks and four tackles for a loss against the Rams. ... K Matt Prater has made 81 field goals from at least 50 yards in his career, which is easily the most in league history. The 40-year-old made a 57-yarder against the Rams last week.

The Cardinals defense has been surprisingly decent over the past few weeks after ranking near the bottom of many team categories last season. It's also very likely sitting out there on the waiver wire. Though tempting, it's probably best to hold off for a few weeks to see if this bunch is for real.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Lindsey Vonn takes a low-risk approach and places 14th in her return to World Cup skiing at age 40

2024-12-21 22:19 Last Updated At：22:21

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Lindsey Vonn was not about to put everything on the line in her first World Cup race back after more than five years of retirement.

Not with her history of crashes and injuries.

Not with her new titanium knee.

Not at age 40.

Vonn took a low-risk approach and finished 14th in a super-G on Saturday, crossing 1.18 seconds behind Austrian winner Cornelia Huetter.

“This was the perfect start,” Vonn said. “Today is just the first step and I’m not looking for more. Today I really needed to get to the finish. I wanted to have a solid result. And that’s exactly what I did.

“There’s definitely a lot that I have left to give," Vonn added. "Today was not the day to try to do anything special.”

Still, when Vonn came down, the crowd of Swiss-flag-waving fans turned silent in anticipation and all of the other top skiers watched her run on a perfectly clear day in the Alps.

“To have her back on the world stage is just fantastic,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of U.S. Ski and Snowboard. “Just the attention she’s bringing to the sport and the role model she is — it’s a big day.

“These kind of moments transcend outside of just sports. We see it with Mikaela (Shiffrin) and what she’s done recently, which is just superhuman as well, setting all those records."

Vonn lost time early in her run but nearly matched the top finishers in the middle and bottom section of the Corviglia course.

When she reached the finish and saw her time, Vonn flashed a wide smile and waved to the crowd.

“I didn’t risk anything with the line. I was a little bit conservative in some sections, but overall I skied really well. Now I just need my top section to be a little faster and I’ll be in really good shape,” said Vonn, who is planning to race another super-G in St. Moritz on Sunday.

Vonn finished less than a second off the podium, which also included Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami in second place, 0.18 behind Huetter, and Sofia Goggia in third, 0.33 back.

“I’m really close to being there," Vonn said. "I’m just not quite there yet.”

Vonn started No. 31 under a new wild card rule for former champions. But that still meant going after all of the current top-ranked skiers had raced.

“The course was a little bit bumpy when I went and so some sections I was a little bit more conservative with my line," she said. “But in some sections I was really fast.”

Vonn had to cut her career short in 2019 due to a series of crashes and injuries, but then she had knee replacement surgery in April and had two titanium pieces inserted into her right knee. Her knee feels better than it has in years, so she decided to come back.

“The last few years of my career were so much different than they are right now," Vonn said. "I’m skiing without thinking about my knee, which I really haven’t done since I first tore my ACL in 2013. So it’s been a long time that I felt this good and I’m a little bit older, but honestly, I’m a hell of a lot stronger than I once was.”

Eight-time overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher also took advantage of the wild card rule and returned this season after five years away. But then Hirscher tore his left ACL while training in giant slalom and announced earlier this month that his comeback season was done.

Vonn left the tour with 82 World Cup wins — the record for a woman at the time and within reach of the then all-time Alpine mark of 86 held by Swedish standout Ingemar Stenmark. The women’s record held by Vonn was eclipsed last year by Shiffrin, who now has an outright record 99 wins.

Shiffrin, who shares the record of five wins in St. Moritz with Vonn, isn’t racing this weekend as she recovers from abdominal surgery to clean out a puncture wound she sustained in a crash last month.

Vonn is attempting to enter unchartered territory in terms of success at an advanced age in women’s skiing.

The oldest woman to win a World Cup race was Federica Brignone, the Italian who won the giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, in October to start this season, at age 34.

“It’s super impressive,” said Vonn’s U.S. teammate Jacqueline Wiles, noting that Vonn didn’t have as much preseason preparation as other skiers. “If anybody could do it, she could. The more she gets comfortable and gets kind of back up to speed, she’s going to be right in there.”

So will Vonn charge harder on Sunday?

“Step by step,” Vonn said. “Patience.”

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing