Lions get clobbered
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Karlos Dansby was back, and the Arizona Cardinals were home again.
The combination was way too much for the Detroit Lions.
The linebacker intercepted 2 passes and forced a fumble to help Arizona's defense make mistake-prone Detroit look like the lowly Lions of old in the Cardinals' 31-21 victory on Sunday.
"Just blessed to be back and get the opportunity to come back and play the game that I love," Dansby said.
Two of Dansby's plays led to Arizona touchdowns in his first game since going down with a knee injury early against Carolina on Oct. 14.
"Obviously he made a big difference for us today," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "His speed, his ability to make plays in the pass game. I give him a lot of credit."
Kurt Warner, playing with a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, shook off an early interception to complete 26 of 36 passes for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 to Larry Fitzgerald. Backup Tim Rattay also had a TD pass as Arizona (4-5) snapped a three-game skid and improved to 3-1 at home in front of another loud, capacity crowd.
Tight end Leonard Pope caught 2 touchdown passes for the Cardinals.
Warner had expressed his disgust at Arizona's performance in a 17-10 loss at Tampa Bay last week.
"It comes down to each man having to be a man and be a pro and know what they're not doing," Warner said, "what they're holding back, what they're limiting this team to by not giving everything they have each and every day."
The loss dropped the Lions (6-3) 2 games behind first-place Green Bay in the NFC North. The Cardinals are just a half-game behind first-place Seattle in the weak NFC West. The Seahawks play at home against San Francisco on Monday night.
"We looked terrible today," wide receiver Roy Williams said, "real terrible."
Jon Kitna was 32 of 45 for 294 yards, including 2 touchdowns to Roy Williams, but Kitna was intercepted twice and fumbled twice, accounting for 4r of the Lions' 5 turnovers. Kitna had not been intercepted in four games. The second TD pass came with 1:15 to play, when the outcome had long been determined.
"Missed tackles, 11 penalties, five turnovers, and our coverage units weren't very good," coach Rod Marinelli said. "That covers our entire football team."