GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Drew Stanton era began with a win, which is becoming the expectation for the NFL-leading Arizona Cardinals.

In his first start since Palmer tore a knee ligament and was lost for the season last week, Stanton passed for 306 yards and two early touchdowns to wide receiver Michael Floyd, and the Cardinals won the showdown of the NFC’s top two teams, defeating the Detroit Lions 14-6 Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

With their sixth consecutive win, the Cardinals improved to 9-1. Arizona holds a stunning three-game lead in the NFC West over the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks, who lost earlier in the day to the Kansas City Chiefs, and the San Francisco 49ers, who defeated the New York Giants. Both teams are 6-4.

“To go out there and kind of get an early lead, I think it let everybody take a deep breath,” said Stanton, whose wife gave birth to a baby girl on Monday, a day after he replaced Palmer and led the Cardinals to a comeback victory over the Rams.

What does this win say about the critics who were doubting Stanton?

“They must not have watched September football, because he played damn good in September, too,” said Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, whose team has won 16 of its past 19 games. “This is not the first time he’s jumped out there. This is his fourth game. He’s 3-1 as a starter and didn’t finish the other. So, I think they should notice him.”

The Lions (7-3) saw their four-game winning streak end. Detroit was held to just 262 total yards while playing without running back Reggie Bush, sidelined due to a lingering ankle injury. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson injured his elbow in the game but said the injury isn’t serious.

After keeping the Lions out of the end zone all afternoon, the Cardinals defense has held its past five opponents to a total of 10 fourth-quarter points.

What the Lions said:

“It’s just the way it is. This league is difficult. It’s tough. The thing about it is, everything that we set out to do in terms of the season is still in front of us. It’s not like we got knocked out of contention or anything of that nature. I think it has to be balanced at some point with realism. We have to face the fact that we didn’t play well. We have to get that straightened away.” — Head coach Jim Caldwell, on the loss.

What the Cardinals said:

“It feels great. We have a long road ahead of us, but methodically every single week we’re taking care of business and that’s what we set out to do. We played a good football team, the No. 1-ranked defense, and our defense really came to the party.” — WR Larry Fitzgerald, on Arizona improving to 9-1.

What we learned about the Lions:

1. Detroit had gone the previous three games without being able to run the ball effectively at all. They were held to 59 yards against the Saints, 60 yards against the Falcons, 63 yards against the Dolphins. On Sunday, they generated 98 rushing yards without the ailing Reggie Bush. Joique Bell led the way with 85 rushing yards, but he said the Lions still need to be better. “I know we need to pick it up,” he said. “Just pick it up and start executing better. … Offensively, we have to do something.”

2. The Lions have become a far more disciplined team under coach Jim Caldwell, but there are still too many times when penalties get the best of them. It happened again on Sunday, when Detroit was flagged nine times for 80 yards. “It’s always a problem,” Caldwell said. “I don’t think there’s any question about that. We have to improve in that area.”

–WR Calvin Johnson said he received treatment during the game for an elbow problem, but said it wasn’t anything serious. He also said his ankle injury didn’t limit him at all on Sunday. “I was out there all day,” said Johnson, who was held to five catches for 59 yards.

–WR Golden Tate finished with just two receptions for 41 yards, but he wasn’t targeted once during the second half. “I know you guys probably get tired of hearing it, but it doesn’t stick. Every game is different,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “Next game he might get nine balls. One game he may not get one or two. It happens that way.”

–DLs Ndamukong Suh and Ezekiel Ansah were pretty much neutralized by the Cardinals’ offensive line. Ansah was held to just three tackles, Suh just one and nobody on the Lions defense was credited with a sack.

What we learned about the Cardinals:

1. Quarterback Drew Stanton has proved so far he can be more than just an adequate replacement for the injured Carson Palmer, who was lost for the season last week with a torn ACL. Stanton is now 4-0 in games he’s finished this season and on Sunday, he passed for 206 yards and two touchdowns against the league’s top-rated defense. “We’re confident in Drew,” receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “We feel sorry about Carson’s injury and we know he’s with us in spirit out on the field, but we’re a team. We rally around guys and we knew Drew was going to make the plays that were going to make the difference.”

2. Arizona’s defense refuses to let opposing running backs do any damage. For the 20th straight game, the Cardinals did not allow a 100-yard rusher, joining the Ravens for the longest such active streak in the NFL. “They ran the ball well and I was surprised they ran as much as they did,” defensive end Calais Campbell said. “They did a good job running when they did and it made it hard for us, but we just kept tackling them and getting them down.”

–CB Patrick Peterson drew the primary assignment on WR Calvin Johnson and he turned in his third straight impressive performance for the Arizona defense, limiting Johnson to just five catches for 59 yards. “I just wanted to be physical like I told you guys earlier in the week,” Peterson said. “I wanted to make sure I got my hands on him as much as possible, but I wanted to play within the rules, as well. Fortunately, I didn’t get (penalized) today. I thought there were a couple offensive calls that should’ve been called, but at the end of the day, I’m OK with it.”

–LB Alex Okafor had two of the Cardinals’ four sacks on QB Drew Stanton, giving him a team-leading five for the season.

–WR Michael Floyd’s touchdown receptions of 42 and 12 yards marked the first time in his career he’s had a multi-touchdown game. Though he only finished with those two catches on the day, they were big enough to make him start feeling a little better about himself. He only had a total of eight catches in his previous four games combined and had his share of dropped balls too. “I go back to the Philly game when I had chances to make a play and I fell short,” he said. “Since then, practice is where I want to do it at and make sure I do everything right to feel good on Sundays. I think this week I made a big emphasis of making sure Drew (Stanton) is comfortable with me and comfortable with all our wide receivers, too.”