Lions (

30) at
Cards (

25)

Published Oct 8, 2026 · 5:51 PM ET

MJBy MJohnsonBioHide

ABOUT THE WRITER

Mike Johnson has earned more than $500,000 in DFS profit across a wide range of tournament formats. He combines his background in coaching and finance with years of tournament experience to identify market inefficiencies in every matchup.

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GAME OVERVIEW ::

• Detroit’s defense has been unable to stop anyone this season, particularly through the air. The Lions are last in the league in fantasy points allowed to QBs, WRs, and TEs.
• Arizona’s defense has allowed their last three opponents to score 30+ points.
• We have two pressure sensitive quarterbacks facing two defenses that are struggling to create pressure.
• Through four weeks, every team’s final score in a Lions game has been 24 or more points with six of eight scoring 30+.
• Only two teams have scored less than 24 points in a game in Cardinals games this season: the Chargers (awful) and the Cardinals against Seattle’s elite defense.

HOW DETROIT WILL TRY TO WIN::

Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. At this point in the season, the Lions have to have absolutely zero trust in their defense. This week they are playing a dome game where they face a capable and competent offense that they are unlikely to neutralize given their current state. The Lions also have a Week 6 bye on the horizon, where changes could easily be made. It is easy for us to suggest adjustments when we watch the games, but there are a lot of dynamics that go into changing concepts and approaches mid-season that are tough to do on the fly. The bye week will provide that, but for now the Lions are just going to have to send it.

Detroit has played four games, with eight team scores so far (four for the Lions and four for Lions opponents. All eight team scores have been 24 or more points so far, six of the eight being 30 points or higher. Meanwhile, only two teams have scored less than 24 points in a game in Cardinals games this season. The first instance was the Chargers offense in Week 1 scoring only 14 points. We now know that the Chargers are inept offensively. The other was the Cardinals against Seattle’s elite defense in Week 2. Basically we know that this game is going to have points racking up from both teams. The Lions know that as well. And we know that they know.

Detroit’s offense will revolve primarily around all-world running back Jahmyr Gibbs and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Expect Gibbs to have more success on the ground this week than he did against the Panthers rejuvenated defense in Week 4. Also expect the Lions to move ARSB all over the field and use him at all levels in a similar fashion to what the Seahawks did in Week 2 en route to a massive game for Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The X-Factor’s here for the Lions are the rest of their playmakers. Jameson Williams and Isaac TeSlaa provide very real downfield threats. TeSlaa is coming off his career best game, while Williams has yet to score a touchdown this season. I would expect one of them to post a big game in this spot as the Cardinals put a lot of focus on ARSB and Gibbs, as the Cardinals just got lit up downfield by Jameis Winston and Malik Nabers. Tight end Sam LaPorta is having a nice season as well and appears recovered from last season’s back injury. He provides a complementary intermediate threat to what ARSB does. LaPorta and Williams have played at least 80% of the snaps in every game, while TeSlaa has played 68% or more of the snaps in every game but one and just played 82% against the Panthers in Week 4. The Lions will aggressively hunt points from the outset of this game and may actually be extra aggressive early after playing from behind in their two losses and playing from ahead in their two wins.

DFS+ Interpretations::

Added Oct 8, 2026 · 5:51 PM ET