Photos: Detroit Lions 17, Arizona Cardinals 3

Dave Birkett | Detroit Free Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. — LeGarrette Blount saw the hole and tried to bounce it outside, but the veteran running back lost his footing when he slipped on a patch of torn-up grass at State Farm Stadium — a recurring theme in the first half of the Detroit Lions’ 17-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

“Those runs, you don’t get multiple looks of those kind, blocked-up runs,” Blount said. “I missed that one and I didn’t get it again.”

Blount said he went to the sideline after the play, a run that ended in no gain midway through the first quarter of what was then a scoreless game, and immediately changed his cleats, something players on both teams did Sunday in order to combat what several players said were some of the worst field conditions they’ve ever seen.

Rick Scuteri, AP

“The field was awful,” Lions cornerback Nevin Lawson said. “I don’t understand how we got an indoor (stadium) and the field is terrible. The field was awful.”

The grass at State Farm Stadium, a natural turf grown in moveable tracks, was especially chewed up between the 20-yard lines.

Lions coach Matt Patricia said the team noticed while preparing for Sunday’s game, though both he and Cardinals coach Steve Wilks downplayed the conditions.

“Everybody had to play on the (same) field, both teams,” Patricia said.

But the slippery surface was especially noticeable in the first half, when Blount, cornerback Darius Slay, and receiver Bruce Ellington were among the players who lost their footing during plays.

“They got to get on that field cause that field is so high tech, taking it outside, watering it, doing everything to it, damn near gardening it, and then we come to an NFL game and we’re tearing it up that easy,” defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois said. “You pay too much money for a stadium like this to have grass that bad. I’m just saying, if you’re going to spend billions you might as well cover everything.”

Jean Francois, who wore his regular molded cleats for the game, compared the conditions to playing in snow, and said Patricia’s decision to practice outside in inclement weather in November paid dividends Sunday.

“I will always learn just from Matty P, everything he do, there’s a method to his madness,” Jean Francois said. “It might not show then, but eventually it’s going to show. It’s going to eventually come up why he has you doing something. Most people want to find out right now. People don’t want to wait. Let’s figure out why he’s making us do this and it always end up showing later on or either at that point.”

Injury report

Eight different Lions suffered injuries Sunday and did not return to the game, and Jean Francois said the field conditions may have been a contributing factor.

Matt Kartozian, USA TODAY Sports

Ziggy Ansah appeared to suffer the most serious injury, when he was carted to the locker room in the first half with a right shoulder injury that left him wriggling on the ground in pain.

Ansah, who missed six games with an injury to the same shoulder earlier this season, is expected to miss the rest of the year, and might have played his last game as a Lion. He will be a free agent after the season.

Defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand also was carted to the locker room with a knee injury he suffered in the first half. Hand said he felt “great” as he left the locker room with a noticeable limp after the game.

Rick Wagner (concussion), Nick Bellore (ankle), Burice Ellington (hamstring), Charles Washington (hamstring), Marcus Cooper and Tavon Wilson (undisclosed) also left with injuries and did not return.

Four other Lions — Slay, TJ Jones, Damon Harrison and Luke Willson — returned after briefly leaving the game for injury reasons.

“Injuries happen,” Patricia said. “Certainly we had a couple of them here today. … You never know when those situations are going to come up, so I was proud of those guys to go out there that had to in those situations.”

Stopping Fitz

Rob Schumacher/The Republic

Larry Fitzgerald set an NFL record Sunday for most career receptions by a player with one team, but the Lions made Fitzgerald a non-factor for most of the game.

The future Hall-of-Famer did not catch his first pass until midway through the third quarter, and finished with five catches for 55 yards.

“End of the day, he’s still one of the best receivers ever and it was fun going against him,” Lawson said. “I’ll never forget it. I just remember watching him in that Super Bowl (in 2009) like, ‘Wow, this dude’s going to be amazing.’ I was what, maybe 14, 15 years old and now I get a chance to play against him, it’s crazy.”

Fitzgerald said the Lions did a good job bracketing him and playing over-the-top coverage, especially on third downs.

“They had a good gameplan for us,” he said.

Lions report card: Defense earns high marks in win vs. Cardinals

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.