Lions at Cardinals 9/8/19 - NFL Picks & Predictions

The Detroit Lions head to the desert southwest on Sunday to play the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in the opening game of the 2019 NFL regular season for both

Detroit will have Matthew Stafford under center and a new offensive coordinator in Darren Bevel. Under Bevel, look for a more conservative approach with more running the ball and more use of the tight ends both in blocking schemes and pass plays. Defensively, the Lions became a very tough until as the season wore on in 2018 and will be tough in 2019. The Lions added DE Trey Flowers and CB Justin Coleman, but lost DE Ziggy Ansah, CB Nevin Lawson and S Glover Quinn.

Arizona begins the Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray era. The offense will be up-tempo with several pass-run options available to quarterback Murray and top running back David Johnson. Veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald returns for likely his last season. The key to the Cardinals success will be the run blocking and pass protecting of the offensive line. Andy Isabella was drafted at wide receiver and is the heir-apparent of Fitzgerald. Defensively the Cardinals have completely new schemes with a new DC.

Matthew Stafford threw for 3,777 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. Kerryon Johnson is the leading rusher with 641 yards and three touchdowns in 2018. Kenny Golladay leads all returning receivers from last season with 70 receptions for 1,063 yards and five touchdowns.

Kyler Murray won the 2018 Heisman Trophy and officially begins his NFL career on Sunday as the starting quarterback for the Cardinals. David Johnson led all running backs for Arizona with 940 yards and seven touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald led the receivers corps with 69 receptions for 734 yards and six touchdowns.