ALLEN PARK — It made sense that the Detroit Lions defensive line should dominate the Arizona Cardinals’ makeshift offensive line. After all the D-line is the heart of the Lions defense.

 And the Cardinals’ quarterbacks had been sacked 51 times in the first 13 games.

  Schwartz defended the line and the defense on Monday, following the 38-10 loss on Sunday night.

 “I mean, we can certainly play better and we want to but, you know, there were a couple rushes when the quarterback escaped. One, he found a receiver for one of the only two first downs or third down conversions in the game. Another, he scrambled for a first down. So, we can do those better. 

“But, you know, you look at the game the way they played, they ran the ball and they threw real quick passes,’’ Schwartz said. “You’re not going to see a whole lot of sacks in those situations.”

 The line was missing Nick Fairley who was out with a shoulder injury. They lost Corey Williams for the season a few weeks ago. 

 Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh had the lone sack and that was late in the game. Suh also had four quarterback hits, the only other defensive lineman credited for a quarterback hit was Willie Young.

 (Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her new book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)