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5 Arizona Cardinals Who Must Step Up vs. Lions

By Shaun Church

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The Entire Defensive Line

Sep 27, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; The Arizona Cardinals celebrate a safety against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals won 47-7. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

OK, technically this is more than one player. But if the Cardinals are going to win, it’s going to be because the defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and halted Detroit’s rushing attack.

Rookie running back Ameer Abdullah has not gotten loose much yet this season, but if the Cardinals tackle him as poorly as they did Todd Gurley last week, it’s going to be a long afternoon in the Motor City.

"“He’s a guy that can make you miss,” head coach Bruce Arians told Jess Root of SB Nation. “We’ve got to do a great job of fundamentally tackling this guy in the running game and the passing game. “Obviously the big names [such as Johnson], but Ameer’s a guy that they’ve added since last year who can really do a lot of things—screen game and just making a guy miss and going on a long run.”"

Limiting Detroit’s run game will go a long way toward shutting down their entire offense. In his first game as a pro, Abdullah carried seven times for 50 yards (7.1 yards per carry) and a touchdown; he caught four passes for another 44 yards (11.0 yards per catch).

The Lions’ offense scored 21 points (the defense added a touchdown).

Since then, Abdullah has averaged 2.4 YPC and Detroit has averaged 12.6 points per game.

Rookie nose tackle Rodney Gunter has proved to be an asset in the run game. He and defensive end Calais Campbell will be key in handling the bulk of the beef up front to halt the Lions.

Next: Chris Johnson Should be Cardinals Feature Back

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