Breaking down everything that went right and wrong with new Lions OC while with the Cardinals.
With reports that former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is being hired as the next Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, everyone is scrambling to dig into Petzing’s past to analyze the decision. We’re no different here at Pride of Detroit.
But while Petzing’s coaching career spans well over a decade, in this piece, we’re just going to focus on his last three years with the Cardinals as their play-caller. We’re going to look at what he did well, what he struggled with, any sort of other factors that may have impacted the Cardinals’ offensive output, and then relate it all back to what the Lions like to do on offense.
So let’s dig into the last three years of Petzing’s offenses.
2023
Overall stats:
- 24th in points per game
- 21st in offensive DVOA
- 22nd in EPA/play
- 25th in success rate
Passing stats:
- 29th in yards per attempt
- 23rd in pass DVOA
- 27th in dropback EPA
- 27th in dropback success rate
Rushing stats:
- 2nd in yards per carry
- 9th in rush DVOA
- 7th in rush EPA
- 12th in rush success rate
Key offensive injuries:
- QB Kyler Murray (9 games missed)
- WR Hollywood Brown (3 games missed)
- WR Michael Wilson (4 games missed)
- RB James Conner (5 games missed)
- TE Zach Ertz (10 games missed)
While the Cardinals didn’t put up a ton of points in Petzing’s first season as offensive coordinator, there were certainly some positive signs. Led by a relatively healthy offensive line, the Cardinals produced a top-10 rushing offense in just about every significant statistical category, and it wasn’t overly reliant on the mobility of quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Joshua Dobbs. Despite missing five games, James Conner had the most efficient season of his career, rushing for 1,040 yards (sixth in the NFL), seven rushing touchdowns (16th), and 5.0 yards per carry (fifth).
The passing game obviously suffered from a ton of injuries. Foremost was Murray missing the first nine games of the season. He struggled upon his return, although it’s worth noting he finished the season strong, throwing for six touchdowns, one interception, and a collective 108.3 passer rating in his final three games under the new offense.
Also worth noting, with Zach Ertz out for most of the season, this was Trey McBride’s breakout season in his second year in the NFL. After posting just 29 catches for 265 yards his rookie season, McBride jumped to 81 catches for 825 yards in Petzing’s first year as offensive coordinator.
2024
Overall stats:
- 12th in points per game
- 11th in offensive DVOA
- 10th in EPA/play
- 10th in success rate
Passing stats:
- 16th in yards per attempt
- 13th in pass DVOA
- 13th in dropback EPA
- 6th in dropback success rate
Rushing stats:
- 3rd in yards per carry
- 9th in rush DVOA
- 8th in rush EPA
- 10th in rush success rate
Key offensive injuries:
- RT Jonah Williams (11 games missed)
- RG Will Hernandez (12 games missed)
Despite the right side of their offensive line being depleted for most of the season, Petzing produced a borderline top-10 offense in the NFL. It was another dominant season on the ground, with Conner finishing 11th in rushing yards (1,094) and 16th in rushing touchdowns (eighth).
More importantly, the passing offense took a pretty huge jump with Murray playing all 17 games. Sacks were down, efficiency was up, and it’s fair to credit Petzing with a lot of those improvements. His heavy reliance on play-action helped elevate the team’s overall efficiency in a big way. On play-action passes in 2024, Murray ranked:
- Second in attempts (159 — behind only Jared Goff)
- Eighth in EPA (+32.8%)
- 13th in EPA/dropback (+0.18)
- 16th in passer rating (104.0)
First-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. had an up-and-down rookie season, but still finished with a respectable 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns, while McBride posted another incredible season, totaling 111 catches for 1,146 yards. Petzing also found a way to get Conner involved, posting his best receiving stats since his rookie year: 47 catches for 414 yards—the sixth-best production from any running back that year.
2025
Overall stats:
- 23rd in points per game
- 24th in offensive DVOA
- 23rd in EPA/play
- 24th in success rate
Passing stats:
- 22nd in yards per attempt
- 24th in pass DVOA
- 20th in dropback EPA
- 19th in dropback success rate
Rushing stats:
- 19th in yards per carry
- 28th in rush DVOA
- 29th in rush EPA
- 28th in rush success rate
2025 Arizona Cardinals key offensive injuries:
- QB Kyler Murray (12 games missed)
- RB James Conner (14 games missed)
- RB Trey Benson (13 games missed)
- RB Zonovan Knight (5 games missed)
- TE Tip Reiman (13 games missed)
- WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (5 games missed)
- WR Greg Dortch (5 games missed)
- WR Zay Jones (9 games missed)
- LT Paris Johnson Jr. (5 games missed)
- LG Evan Brown (6 games missed)
- RG Will Hernandez (10 games missed)
- RT Jonah Williams (8 games missed)
Dear God. Unsurprisingly, after reading that list, the Cardinals were the most-injured team in 2025 per several metrics, and they really felt it on offense. Four of five starters missed at least five games this season, with two missing half the season. The running back room was absolutely devastated. Not a single running back had more than 100 rushing attempts in the season, but five different backs had at least 29 rushes.
The passing game was obviously impacted by Murray’s injury, a thinned receiving corps, and an offensive line decimated by injury.
Naturally, everything fell apart. The team became extremely imbalanced, finishing the season with the most passing attempts in the NFL and the fewest rushing attempts. The offensive line—which finished 26th in PFF ranking after ranking 16th in 2024—allowed the fourth-highest pressure rate and the fourth-worst adjusted line yards in the run game. Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett stepped in, took 43 sacks, threw eight interceptions, and posted a 1-11 record.
But Petzing shares some blame in the collapse. His play-calling was constantly under criticism, and part of the reason for Arizona’s failure was poor play in critical moments. After Week 2, they went 0-8 in one-score games, and the Cardinals offense converted just 42.9% of their fourth down attempts—the fourth-lowest rate in the league. That was a consistent problem, too, as they ranked 28th in conversion rate in 2024 and 27th in 2023.
Despite all those injuries and struggles, the passing offense stayed out of the bottom third of the league in most statistics. McBride, again, took another big step, leading all NFL tight ends with 1,239 receiving yards and earning himself first-team All-Pro honors. Third-year receiver Michael Wilson also had a good year, posting a 1,000-yard season for the first time in his career.
There was nothing redeeming about the run game, however, and it has led some to believe that there was one other big impact on the offense in 2025: losing offensive line coach Klayton Adams. He left to become the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator (but not play caller) and helped turn Dallas’ rushing attack into a top-10 unit. That has led to a healthy debate in Arizona over who was the true mastermind behind the Cardinals’ rushing success in 2023-24.
Of course, with Petzing reuniting with respected Lions OL coach Hank Fraley (they coached together with the Vikings), perhaps that is less of a concern in Detroit.
Charts
Overall offensive stats:
Passing offense
Running offense
Conclusion
After two seasons, it really looked like the Cardinals had made the right hire and the offense was heading in the right direction. Those two years earned him a head coaching interview for the Bears in 2025 and some respect around the league. This past season was a disaster, but there was obviously some important injury context to the team’s failures. Still, with only a small sample size to deal with, and just how bad everything fell apart last year, some skepticism is certainly warranted—particularly as a play-caller in big moments.
Schematically, this selection really seems to make a lot of sense for the Lions. Petzing wants to use heavy personnel, run the ball a ton, and utilize a bunch of play-action—all hallmarks of Detroit’s offensive success over the past four years.
In a lot of ways, this hiring checks the boxes of what a lot of Lions fans were looking for. He’s got plenty of play-calling experience, he’s an external hire, and his specialty is where the Lions offense struggled the most in 2025: running the football. It’s fair to think he may bring some fresh ideas to a running game that needs to be way more efficient in 2025.
But with only one truly good offensive coordinator season to his name and some questions about his situational play-calling, some caution is reasonable. You won’t find a lot of candidates out there with flawless resumes, but there were certainly options out there with more success stories under their belt.
Detroit seems to believe that when taking into account schematic/philosophical fit, age, and some production with lesser talent, Petzing could surprise a lot of people in 2026.
Category: General Sports
