15* Lions/Cardinals Late-Afternoon ANNIHILATOR on Arizona +6.5

Detroit vs. Arizona, 12/16/2012 16:05 EDT, Score: 10 - 38

Point Spread: +6½/-105 Arizona

Sportsbook: Bovada

Result: Win

The Lions have lost five straight, and they have to be extremely frustrated with all of their close losses this season. Off a 20-27 loss at Green Bay in which they blew a 14-3 lead early, the Lions may not even show up this week. It’s much tougher to recover from a close loss than it is to come back from a blowout defeat.

Arizona lost on the road 58-0 at Seattle last week. I believe this line is simply an overreaction from that performance, and that these Cardinals' players will make a point of redeeming themselves this week. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s statements indicate he is not going to quit on his team and the fans.

“I apologize to our fans and everyone associated with our organization. That was embarrassing,” he said. “We owe it to them, our fans, our supports to give them a better product than we did today and going forward that’s what we’ve got to do, we’ve got to work to get better than that.”

Arizona has played pretty well defensively this season. It is giving up 22.5 points per game overall, including 19.5 points per game at home where it is a respectable 3-3 on the year. It ranks 12th in the league in total defense at 337.7 yards per game allowed.

Detroit’s strength is a passing attack that ranks 1st in the league at 307.8 yards per game. Arizona has the antidote as it ranks 5th in the league against the pass, allowing just 197.1 yards per game through the air.

Larry Fitzgerald said the Cardinals would "never" quit. "We're professionals. That will never happen," Fitzgerald said in an interview in Dial Global Radio. "We're going to continue to play. We're going to continue to practice. We're going to continue to prepare every week like we would if we had won nine games in a row. That's not going to change. We're not going to quit."

The Lions are just 4-18 ATS in their last 22 games as a road favorite of 7 points or less. They are actually losing in this spot 23.1 to 26.7 on average. Arizona is 26-13 ATS in its last 39 home games following three or more consecutive losses. Ken Whisenhunt is 8-1 ATS in home games vs. good passing teams averaging 235 or more passing yards/game in the second half of the season as the coach of Arizona. Detroit is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 road games. Take the Cardinals Sunday.