By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI (AP) – Matthew Stafford made a right-hand turn out of the visitors' locker room and headed into the gloomy night with yet another long offseason soon to follow. With everything on the line, the Lions came up short again.
Stafford and the Lions couldn't take advantage of a down-and-out team to stay in playoff contention Sunday. Giovani Bernard ran for 116 yards and a clinching touchdown that sent Cincinnati to a 26-17 victory, a good moment for Marvin Lewis in possibly his final home game as Bengals coach.
Nothing good for the Lions (8-7) , who ended their playoff chances in appropriate form. After rallying for a fourth-quarter lead, they self-destructed and let it all slip away.
"It's not fun when you get eliminated," said Stafford , who was only 19 of 35 for 203 yards with a touchdown and an interception. "It's not fun."
Detroit repeatedly wasted chances to move to the thick of the playoff chase during the season. It still had an opportunity to extend its hopes for one more week after Tion Green's 5-yard touchdown drive put the Lions ahead 17-16 early in the fourth quarter.
Then it all fell apart.
"We laid an egg out there today," Lions receiver Marvin Jones Jr. said .
Penalties for holding and pass interference extended Cincinnati's drive to Randy Bullock's 51-yard field goal. Given one last chance, Detroit self-destructed with a holding penalty, a false start and a short punt.
"We were not sharp in any way, shape or form," coach Jim Caldwell said.
The Bengals (6-9) then finished it off in front of a half-empty stadium. Bernard broke free for a 12-yard touchdown run with 1:54 to go, sending fans to the exits.
The erratic season raised questions about Caldwell's future after four seasons in Detroit without a playoff win. The Bengals haven't won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest stretch of postseason futility in NFL history. The Lions are right behind them in futility.
"Anytime you lose, everything's up for consideration," said Caldwell, adding that he hasn't talked to management about the future.
The focus on Lewis' future in Cincinnati has increased since a 23-20 loss to the Steelers on Monday night essentially snuffed out the Bengals' chances.
There wasn't much reaction from the small crowd when Lewis' name was announced as part of the pregame team introductions. He's finishing his contract and has been cryptic about whether he thinks he'll return for a 16th season.
Lewis didn't show any extra emotion about the game.
"Emotional?" Lewis said. "Why? Do you know something I don't know?"
The win ended Cincinnati's streak of three straight dismal losses, momentarily salving the sting of the Bengals' second straight losing season.
"We have a lot to play for, too - the logo on our jersey and name on our backs," Bernard said. "That was Marvin's message to us every day."
INJURIES
Lions: Detroit's offensive line was in flux again. Center Travis Swanson was out for the second straight game with a concussion, and guard T.J. Lang was inactive with a foot injury. Right tackle Rick Wagner missed his third game with an ankle injury.
Bengals: LB Vontaze Burfict was back after missing two games with a concussion, but hurt his right shoulder shortly before halftime. Running back Joe Mixon - who also missed the last two games with a concussion - left with an injured right ankle in the first quarter, putting the onus on Bernard.
STAFFORD'S STREAK SNAPPED
In his three previous games, Stafford completed 80 percent of his passes overall. The Lions' offense never got into a rhythm against the Bengals. His passer rating of 69.1 was his lowest in six games.
"Sometimes it's not going to be easy," Stafford said. "For some reason or another, we didn't score enough points."
DISAPPOINTING RETURN
Jones was one of the Bengals' top receivers for four seasons. He was hoping to have a big game in his return, but was limited to three catches for 50 yards. He topped 1,000 yards receiving for the season.
"It really doesn't mean anything right now," Jones said.
EMPTY SEATS
The 65,000-seat stadium was half-empty for the kickoff. The Bengals sold 47,732 tickets, though many went unused. It was their smallest announced crowd since 2011.
UP NEXT
The Lions host the eliminated Packers. They're 3-4 at home this season. Detroit won at Green Bay 30-17 on Nov. 6.
The Bengals play at Baltimore, which is in the thick of the playoff chase. The Ravens opened the season with a 20-0 win at Paul Brown Stadium.
Showing posts with label Detroit Lions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detroit Lions. Show all posts
Monday, December 25, 2017
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Lions beat Bears to keep playoff hopes alive
DETROIT – Jim Caldwell cringes at the mere mention of the playoffs. The Detroit Lions' head coach doesn't want his team to think about the postseason, even though they moved closer to a berth on Saturday.
Matthew Stafford tossed two touchdown passes and the Lions kept their playoff hopes alive with a 20-10 victory over the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. The Lions (8-6) need to defeat Cincinnati and Green Bay in the final two weeks of the regular season to have any realistic chance of reaching the postseason.
"That's not our focus. We don't talk about that stuff," he said. "Our focus is on one thing -- Cincinnati. That's it."
Stafford completed 25 of 33 passes for 237 yards, but the Lions mainly relied on their defense. They intercepted Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky three times in the second half and limited Chicago to 43 rushing yards on 15 carries.
The Bears gashed Detroit's run defense for 222 yards in their first meeting this season.
"Our defense played incredible today," Stafford said. "You go out there and get those turnovers, that's what we feed off of on offense, more chances. They got the turnovers and then just stopping that run game. That's as good a run game as we face all year. I know our guys were looking forward to the challenge and they stood up there and shut them down."
Eric Ebron caught five passes for 33 yards and a score for the Lions, while Marvin Jones caught three passes for 85 yards. Darius Slay intercepted two passes to lead the defense.
"Everybody (knows) this time of the year, every game counts in this league and they're all big," Stafford said. "There's something about December football. People know the regular season is closing down. You've got to go out there and play well."
Trubisky completed 31 of 46 passes for a career-high 314 yards and a touchdown but that was offset by the turnovers.
"We've got complete confidence in him," Bears coach John Fox said. "Sometimes quarterbacks have those days. He'll have better days. It wasn't all on him. We just didn't play well enough."
Chicago's Jordan Howard, who entered the game with 1,032 rushing yards, was limited to 37 yards on 10 carries. He also caught four passes for 26 yards for the Bears (4-10). Kendall Wright hauled in seven passes for 81 yards.
The Bears were penalized 13 times for 97 yards.
"We just didn't start fast," Fox said. "We had penalties, particularly on offense, to spot them 13 points in the first half. The guys battled and got semi-back into it but too little, too late."
Slay intercepted a Trubisky pass in the opening minute of the second half. That gave Detroit a short field and it cashed in on Stafford's 8-yard touchdown pass to Ebron for a 20-3 lead.
The Bears drove inside Detroit's 10 early in the fourth, only to have Trubisky get picked off again by safety Quandre Diggs in the end zone.
Trubisky completed a 9-yard scoring pass to Benny Cunningham with 2:32 remaining. He picked off again by Slay on Chicago's last possession.
The Lions led 13-3 at halftime.
Detroit settled for a pair of Matt Prater field goals from 48 and 31 yards out to grab the early lead.
Midway through the second quarter, Stafford rolled out and hit TJ Jones on a third-down pass from 3 yards out for the game's first touchdown. Jones' only other career touchdown came against San Francisco on Dec. 27, 2015, during his rookie season. The score was set up by Stafford's 58-yard heave to Marvin Jones.
Chicago's Tarik Cohen had an 89-yard kick return wiped out by a holding penalty. Another holding penalty pushed the Bears out of field-goal range late in the half.
The Bears would have been shut out in the half if not for Theo Riddick's fumble at his 27 in the closing seconds. Mike Nugent drilled a 41-yard field goal with two seconds left.
NOTES: The Lions were missing two starting offensive linemen, C Travis Swanson (concussion) and T Rick Wagner (ankle). G T.J. Lang departed during the game with a foot injury. ... TE Adam Shaheen (chest) and S Adrian Amos (hamstring) were among the Bears' inactives. S Chris Prosinski suffered a concussion in the first quarter. ... Detroit has won nine of the last 10 meetings. ... Lions QB Matthew Stafford became the first player to reach 34,000 passing yards before the age of 30. He needed 14 yards entering the game. ... The last time Chicago won a Saturday game was Dec. 14, 1996, against San Diego. ... Bears RB Jordan Howard has 12 100-yard games since the start of last season, tops in the NFL.
Matthew Stafford tossed two touchdown passes and the Lions kept their playoff hopes alive with a 20-10 victory over the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. The Lions (8-6) need to defeat Cincinnati and Green Bay in the final two weeks of the regular season to have any realistic chance of reaching the postseason.
"That's not our focus. We don't talk about that stuff," he said. "Our focus is on one thing -- Cincinnati. That's it."
Stafford completed 25 of 33 passes for 237 yards, but the Lions mainly relied on their defense. They intercepted Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky three times in the second half and limited Chicago to 43 rushing yards on 15 carries.
The Bears gashed Detroit's run defense for 222 yards in their first meeting this season.
"Our defense played incredible today," Stafford said. "You go out there and get those turnovers, that's what we feed off of on offense, more chances. They got the turnovers and then just stopping that run game. That's as good a run game as we face all year. I know our guys were looking forward to the challenge and they stood up there and shut them down."
Eric Ebron caught five passes for 33 yards and a score for the Lions, while Marvin Jones caught three passes for 85 yards. Darius Slay intercepted two passes to lead the defense.
"Everybody (knows) this time of the year, every game counts in this league and they're all big," Stafford said. "There's something about December football. People know the regular season is closing down. You've got to go out there and play well."
Trubisky completed 31 of 46 passes for a career-high 314 yards and a touchdown but that was offset by the turnovers.
"We've got complete confidence in him," Bears coach John Fox said. "Sometimes quarterbacks have those days. He'll have better days. It wasn't all on him. We just didn't play well enough."
Chicago's Jordan Howard, who entered the game with 1,032 rushing yards, was limited to 37 yards on 10 carries. He also caught four passes for 26 yards for the Bears (4-10). Kendall Wright hauled in seven passes for 81 yards.
The Bears were penalized 13 times for 97 yards.
"We just didn't start fast," Fox said. "We had penalties, particularly on offense, to spot them 13 points in the first half. The guys battled and got semi-back into it but too little, too late."
Slay intercepted a Trubisky pass in the opening minute of the second half. That gave Detroit a short field and it cashed in on Stafford's 8-yard touchdown pass to Ebron for a 20-3 lead.
The Bears drove inside Detroit's 10 early in the fourth, only to have Trubisky get picked off again by safety Quandre Diggs in the end zone.
Trubisky completed a 9-yard scoring pass to Benny Cunningham with 2:32 remaining. He picked off again by Slay on Chicago's last possession.
The Lions led 13-3 at halftime.
Detroit settled for a pair of Matt Prater field goals from 48 and 31 yards out to grab the early lead.
Midway through the second quarter, Stafford rolled out and hit TJ Jones on a third-down pass from 3 yards out for the game's first touchdown. Jones' only other career touchdown came against San Francisco on Dec. 27, 2015, during his rookie season. The score was set up by Stafford's 58-yard heave to Marvin Jones.
Chicago's Tarik Cohen had an 89-yard kick return wiped out by a holding penalty. Another holding penalty pushed the Bears out of field-goal range late in the half.
The Bears would have been shut out in the half if not for Theo Riddick's fumble at his 27 in the closing seconds. Mike Nugent drilled a 41-yard field goal with two seconds left.
NOTES: The Lions were missing two starting offensive linemen, C Travis Swanson (concussion) and T Rick Wagner (ankle). G T.J. Lang departed during the game with a foot injury. ... TE Adam Shaheen (chest) and S Adrian Amos (hamstring) were among the Bears' inactives. S Chris Prosinski suffered a concussion in the first quarter. ... Detroit has won nine of the last 10 meetings. ... Lions QB Matthew Stafford became the first player to reach 34,000 passing yards before the age of 30. He needed 14 yards entering the game. ... The last time Chicago won a Saturday game was Dec. 14, 1996, against San Diego. ... Bears RB Jordan Howard has 12 100-yard games since the start of last season, tops in the NFL.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Stafford leads Lions over miscue-prone Bucs
TAMPA, Fla. -- The status of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had been questionable as he recovered from an injury to his right throwing hand. But when it mattered most Sunday, especially to Stafford's teammates, there was no doubt.
"The guy is clutch," Lions receiver Kenny Golladay said.
Stafford completed all five of his pass attempts on Detroit's final drive, positioning Matt Prater for a game-winning 46-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining and allowed the Lions to keep alive their flickering NFC playoff hopes with a 24-21 victory over the turnover-plagued Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.
Stafford completed 36-of-44 passes for 381 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, running back Theo Riddick had a pair of scoring runs for the Lions (7-6).
The Bucs (4-9), who had five turnovers, rallied from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth-quarter and tied it 21-21 on Jameis Winston's 2-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end O.J. Howard, and then a 2-yard toss to tackle-eligible Leonard Wester with 8:10 remaining.
Winston completed 26-of-38 pass attempts for 285 yards.
But Stafford and the Lions had the final word. On the final drive, which covered 49 yards on nine plays, the biggest moment was a 6-yard completion to Golladay on third-and-2, when the receiver juggled the ball near the sideline, but wound up securing it as he fell to the ground.
"It was a process all week to get ready to play," Stafford said. "Our training staff did an unbelievable job. It was huge for us to win on the road. Anytime you get a road win in this league, it's big.
"We have a lot of confidence in those late-game situations. We were able to get it done."
And that wasn't particularly surprising for Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, whose team broke a two-game losing streak.
"He (Stafford) is a tough guy and he heals quickly," Caldwell said. "He's a great leader and once again, he did a tremendous job for us.
"I thought he threw the ball pretty well. He doesn't care much about anything else other than doing his job and winning the game."
Detroit's defense, meanwhile, had difficultly containing Winston and the Bucs. But it forced five turnovers, including two that led to a pair of touchdowns.
"Five turnovers, (it's) going to be tough to win with five turnovers," Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter said. "Stafford gets the ball out of his hand. But 44 pass attempts and you don't ever get him on the ground.
"The best way to stop a good passing game is with a pass rush and we're just not where we need to be in that area right now."
Winston said he was concerned the Bucs couldn't win and prevent a losing season, particularly because they gained 400 yards and accumulated 28 first downs.
"It's frustrating because they couldn't stop us," said Winston, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. "Three turnovers by me. I didn't play (well)."
On the other side, Caldwell's Lions were encouraged by forcing five turnovers.
"We were hitting and running to the ball," Caldwell said. "We gave up a few yards along the way. But with the takeaways, we were just playing like we know how to play."
"We showed that we were competing on every play," Lions cornerback Darius Slay said.
Despite committing turnovers on three consecutive first-half possessions, the Bucs trailed just 14-7 at halftime.
The Lions struck first on Stafford's 5-yard pass to Golden Tate with 7:36 remaining in the second quarter. Detroit's six-play, 46-yard scoring drive was set up by Slay's interception of Winston at Tampa Bay's 46-yard line.
Looking to equalize, the Bucs drove to Detroit's 23-yard line, but running back Doug Martin lost a fumble to Lions cornerback DJ Hayden while being dumped for a 2-yard loss on third-and-1.
The Lions scored first on Riddick's 2-yard run in the opening quarter. The Bucs answered back with Martin's 1-yard run on third-and-goal, punctuating an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
NOTES: Winston had three turnovers (two interceptions, one lost fumble), giving him 53 turnovers in 42 career NFL games. ... Stafford made his 109th consecutive NFL start. ... The Lions were without starting RT Rick Wagner (ankle) and started their eighth different offensive line combination this season. ... Bucs DT Gerald McCoy (shoulder biceps) left in the first quarter and did not return. ... Bucs CB Ryan Smith left in the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. ... Bucs inactives included CB Vernon Hargreaves (hamstring), S T.J. Ward (concussion), DT Clinton McDonald (back) and S Josh Robinson (hamstring). Meanwhile, RB Doug Martin, DE Robert Ayers and C Joe Hawley, who each missed last week's game at Green Bay, were active, but Hawley did not play.
Friday, November 24, 2017
Keenum-led Vikings beat Lions 30-23, adding to division lead
By LARRY LAGE
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Case Keenum stood in the pocket to take a hit, dipped his right shoulder to slip out of a sack and shuffled his feet in the pocket to give his receivers more time to get open.
Looking like a savvy winner, instead of a journeyman, he picked apart Detroit's defense with his arm and made plays with his legs to help the Minnesota Vikings beat the Lions 30-23 Thursday.
Keenum threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in the first half to give the Vikings a double-digit lead and they went on to win a seventh straight game.
They took a huge step toward winning the NFC North by taking a three-game lead over the second-place Lions.
Keenum, undrafted out of Houston in 2012, is suddenly 7-2 this season after going 9-15 with the Houston Texas and the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams.
"I want to be great and I have confidence in myself that I can be great," he said.
The Vikings signed him to be a backup and he has made the most of his opportunities with Sam Bradford injured and Teddy Bridgewater recovering from a knee injury.
Keenum was 21 of 30 for 282 yards with both TD passes going to Kyle Rudolph, giving the Vikings a 20-3 lead late in the second quarter.
"Case is amazing because he does so many small things to pick up first downs and keep drives alive," Rudolph said.
"Every time he finds a way to convert another third down, it means we've got three more plays to attack the defense. With the number of big-play guys we've got now, we can do a lot of damage with those three plays."
Detroit (6-5) made mistakes in every phase of the game and Minnesota took advantage. Keenum's 1-yard pass to Rudolph was made a little easier because the Lions had just 10 defenders on the field.
And, Keenum's 9-yard run came after Matthew Stafford was charged with a fumble while trying to hand off to Ameer Abdullah.
Instead of winning to pull within a game of Minnesota and having a potential tiebreaker, the Lions' loss hurts their chances of making a second straight postseason appearance.
"Don't count us out just yet," Detroit coach Jim Caldwell said. "We've got a lot of football yet to play."
FALLING SHORT
The Lions rallied to pull within four points early in the fourth quarter on Stafford's second TD pass to Marvin Jones, who leaped to beat two defensive backs for the 43-yard score as his quarterback was on the turf with an injured right ankle.
Xavier Rhodes sidetracked Detroit's comeback hopes with an interception at the Detroit 37 late in the game.
Detroit's Darius Slay blocked a field goal with 1:15 left and teammate Nevin Lawson recovered the ball and returned it 77 yards for an apparent TD, but it was negated by Slay being offside and that quieted a roaring crowd.
BY THE NUMBERS
Latavius Murray had 84 yards rushing and a 2-yard score, giving the Vikings a 27-10 lead early in the third quarter.
Minnesota's Adam Thielen had eight receptions for 89 yards and deflected credit to his quarterback.
"Case Keenum is one tough human being," he said. "When he's hanging in there — giving you time to get open — you feel like you're letting him down if you can't do it. He's willing to get crushed to make a play, and that makes us want to come though on our end."
Everson Griffen had two sacks, tying his career high with 12 on the season, for the Vikings.
Stafford struggled even before he was hurt late in the game, missing open receivers, and finished 20 of 35 for 250 yards with two TDs and an interception on fourth down with just under three minutes left. Jones had six catches for 109 yards and two TDs. The Lions were held to a total of 53 yards rushing.
INJURIES
Vikings: CB Trae Waynes left the game with an injured right shoulder, but was able to return. RT Mike Remmers was inactive with a concussion and Rashod Hill replaced him.
Lions: Stafford, with a lot of tape covering his right cleat, stayed in the game after hurting his right ankle on his second touchdown when DT Tom Johnson fell on him. S Tavon Wilson (shoulder) and C Travis Swanson (knee) left the game in the third quarter with injuries.
UP NEXT
Vikings: Play Dec. 3 at Atlanta.
Lions: Travel Dec. 3 to Baltimore.
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Case Keenum stood in the pocket to take a hit, dipped his right shoulder to slip out of a sack and shuffled his feet in the pocket to give his receivers more time to get open.
Looking like a savvy winner, instead of a journeyman, he picked apart Detroit's defense with his arm and made plays with his legs to help the Minnesota Vikings beat the Lions 30-23 Thursday.
Keenum threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in the first half to give the Vikings a double-digit lead and they went on to win a seventh straight game.
They took a huge step toward winning the NFC North by taking a three-game lead over the second-place Lions.
Keenum, undrafted out of Houston in 2012, is suddenly 7-2 this season after going 9-15 with the Houston Texas and the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams.
"I want to be great and I have confidence in myself that I can be great," he said.
The Vikings signed him to be a backup and he has made the most of his opportunities with Sam Bradford injured and Teddy Bridgewater recovering from a knee injury.
Keenum was 21 of 30 for 282 yards with both TD passes going to Kyle Rudolph, giving the Vikings a 20-3 lead late in the second quarter.
"Case is amazing because he does so many small things to pick up first downs and keep drives alive," Rudolph said.
"Every time he finds a way to convert another third down, it means we've got three more plays to attack the defense. With the number of big-play guys we've got now, we can do a lot of damage with those three plays."
Detroit (6-5) made mistakes in every phase of the game and Minnesota took advantage. Keenum's 1-yard pass to Rudolph was made a little easier because the Lions had just 10 defenders on the field.
And, Keenum's 9-yard run came after Matthew Stafford was charged with a fumble while trying to hand off to Ameer Abdullah.
Instead of winning to pull within a game of Minnesota and having a potential tiebreaker, the Lions' loss hurts their chances of making a second straight postseason appearance.
"Don't count us out just yet," Detroit coach Jim Caldwell said. "We've got a lot of football yet to play."
FALLING SHORT
The Lions rallied to pull within four points early in the fourth quarter on Stafford's second TD pass to Marvin Jones, who leaped to beat two defensive backs for the 43-yard score as his quarterback was on the turf with an injured right ankle.
Xavier Rhodes sidetracked Detroit's comeback hopes with an interception at the Detroit 37 late in the game.
Detroit's Darius Slay blocked a field goal with 1:15 left and teammate Nevin Lawson recovered the ball and returned it 77 yards for an apparent TD, but it was negated by Slay being offside and that quieted a roaring crowd.
BY THE NUMBERS
Latavius Murray had 84 yards rushing and a 2-yard score, giving the Vikings a 27-10 lead early in the third quarter.
Minnesota's Adam Thielen had eight receptions for 89 yards and deflected credit to his quarterback.
"Case Keenum is one tough human being," he said. "When he's hanging in there — giving you time to get open — you feel like you're letting him down if you can't do it. He's willing to get crushed to make a play, and that makes us want to come though on our end."
Everson Griffen had two sacks, tying his career high with 12 on the season, for the Vikings.
Stafford struggled even before he was hurt late in the game, missing open receivers, and finished 20 of 35 for 250 yards with two TDs and an interception on fourth down with just under three minutes left. Jones had six catches for 109 yards and two TDs. The Lions were held to a total of 53 yards rushing.
INJURIES
Vikings: CB Trae Waynes left the game with an injured right shoulder, but was able to return. RT Mike Remmers was inactive with a concussion and Rashod Hill replaced him.
Lions: Stafford, with a lot of tape covering his right cleat, stayed in the game after hurting his right ankle on his second touchdown when DT Tom Johnson fell on him. S Tavon Wilson (shoulder) and C Travis Swanson (knee) left the game in the third quarter with injuries.
UP NEXT
Vikings: Play Dec. 3 at Atlanta.
Lions: Travel Dec. 3 to Baltimore.
Monday, November 20, 2017
Stafford, Prater lead Lions to 27-24 win over Bears
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Matthew Stafford threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Prater kicked a 52-yard field goal with 1:35 remaining and the Detroit Lions held on to beat the Chicago Bears 27-24 on Sunday.
Detroit (6-4) took the lead after Tarik Cohen had tied it for Chicago (3-7) with a 15-yard touchdown run.
Prater booted the winner after Stafford led a 42-yard drive to the 34. The Lions escaped with their third straight win when the Bears' Connor Barth was wide right on a 46-yarder in the closing seconds.
Stafford completed 21 of 31 passes. Marvin Jones Jr. had four receptions for 85 yards and a TD.
DJ Hayden ran back a fumbled snap for a touchdown to give Detroit seven return TDs this season, tying a team record. And the Lions beat the Bears for the eighth time in nine games.
Chicago dropped its third straight even though Jordan Howard ran for 125 yards and a touchdown. Mitchell Trubisky faded after a strong start, throwing for 179 yards and a TD. His 19-yard scramble on fourth-and-13 in the final minute put the ball on the Detroit 43.
He then hit Dontrelle Inman with a 15-yard pass, giving Barth a chance to force overtime. But the Bears once again came up short after a rough loss to Green Bay that reignited the heat on coach John Fox.
Bears linebacker Leonard Floyd was taken from the field on a cart early in the fourth quarter with a knee injury he suffered trying to defend a run.
Several teammates kneeled nearby as the medical staff tended to him on the field. Cornerback Kyle Fuller was seen bleeding from his left wrist after the play, though he returned to the game.
Moments after Floyd went down, Prater kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it 24-17 with about 10 minutes left.
Stafford threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the first half to help the Lions grab a 21-17 lead.
Detroit trailed 10-0 in the first quarter and 17-7 in the second before charging ahead in the closing minutes of the half.
Stafford's 28-yard touchdown to Jones with 5:17 remaining made it a three-point game. And his 2-yarder to a wide-open Ameer Abdullah gave the Lions a 21-17 lead with 20 seconds left.
INJURIES
Lions: DE Ezekiel Ansah (back) missed his second straight game. ... RB Dwayne Washington (hip) was inactive.
Bears: WR Josh Bellamy got shaken up blocking on a pass play in the third quarter and entered the concussion protocol. ... RG Kyle Long (finger) was back in the lineup after being limited to one special-teams play last week. ... LB Danny Trevathan (calf) and TE Dion Sims (illness) were inactive for the second straight week.
UP NEXT:
Lions: Host the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday.
Bears: Visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 26.
Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Matthew Stafford threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Prater kicked a 52-yard field goal with 1:35 remaining and the Detroit Lions held on to beat the Chicago Bears 27-24 on Sunday.
Detroit (6-4) took the lead after Tarik Cohen had tied it for Chicago (3-7) with a 15-yard touchdown run.
Prater booted the winner after Stafford led a 42-yard drive to the 34. The Lions escaped with their third straight win when the Bears' Connor Barth was wide right on a 46-yarder in the closing seconds.
Stafford completed 21 of 31 passes. Marvin Jones Jr. had four receptions for 85 yards and a TD.
DJ Hayden ran back a fumbled snap for a touchdown to give Detroit seven return TDs this season, tying a team record. And the Lions beat the Bears for the eighth time in nine games.
Chicago dropped its third straight even though Jordan Howard ran for 125 yards and a touchdown. Mitchell Trubisky faded after a strong start, throwing for 179 yards and a TD. His 19-yard scramble on fourth-and-13 in the final minute put the ball on the Detroit 43.
He then hit Dontrelle Inman with a 15-yard pass, giving Barth a chance to force overtime. But the Bears once again came up short after a rough loss to Green Bay that reignited the heat on coach John Fox.
Bears linebacker Leonard Floyd was taken from the field on a cart early in the fourth quarter with a knee injury he suffered trying to defend a run.
Several teammates kneeled nearby as the medical staff tended to him on the field. Cornerback Kyle Fuller was seen bleeding from his left wrist after the play, though he returned to the game.
Moments after Floyd went down, Prater kicked a 27-yard field goal to make it 24-17 with about 10 minutes left.
Stafford threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the first half to help the Lions grab a 21-17 lead.
Detroit trailed 10-0 in the first quarter and 17-7 in the second before charging ahead in the closing minutes of the half.
Stafford's 28-yard touchdown to Jones with 5:17 remaining made it a three-point game. And his 2-yarder to a wide-open Ameer Abdullah gave the Lions a 21-17 lead with 20 seconds left.
INJURIES
Lions: DE Ezekiel Ansah (back) missed his second straight game. ... RB Dwayne Washington (hip) was inactive.
Bears: WR Josh Bellamy got shaken up blocking on a pass play in the third quarter and entered the concussion protocol. ... RG Kyle Long (finger) was back in the lineup after being limited to one special-teams play last week. ... LB Danny Trevathan (calf) and TE Dion Sims (illness) were inactive for the second straight week.
UP NEXT:
Lions: Host the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday.
Bears: Visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 26.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Lions win 30-17 as QB Matthew Stafford dissects Packers
By GENARO C. ARMAS
Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Matthew Stafford put on a quarterback clinic for the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.
Aaron Rodgers could only watch from the sideline.
Stafford passed for 361 yards and two touchdowns to Marvin Jones, and the Lions snapped a three-game losing streak with a 30-17 win on Monday night over the offensively challenged Green Bay Packers.
"Matt (made) some great throws ... I just did what I love to do — go out there and get them," Jones said.
Stafford was 26 of 33, including 12 of 14 in the first half with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jones. Ameer Abdullah added a 4-yard touchdown run for Detroit (4-4).
Green Bay (4-4) finally got in the end zone on Brett Hundley's 1-yard quarterback sneak with 9:52 left.
The Lions answered with Stafford's 11-yard touchdown pass to Jones with 8:06 remaining, putting the game out of reach with a 17-point lead. Jones had seven catches for 107 yards.
The Packers have lost three straight games. Their once-potent offense has struggled since Rodgers broke his right collarbone on Oct. 15 at Minnesota.
Hundley finished 26 of 38 for 245 yards. Cornerback Darius Slay blanketed Jordy Nelson when the Packers did try to throw long while the game was still competitive.
"With this one obviously it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. We played well," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said.
Abdullah fumbled the ball away in the third quarter, but the Packers went three-and-out on the ensuing drive. Familiar problems in the red zone popped up for the Lions when they were stopped on three plays at the Packers 1, forced to settle for a field goal for a 17-point lead with 12:25 left.
But without Rodgers, the Packers couldn't keep up with the accurate, rocket-armed Stafford.
"I believe in Brett, that's not just a press conference statement," coach Mike McCarthy said about Hundley.
THIRD DOWNS
The Lions were 8 of 13 on third-down conversions, with Stafford burning the Packers with clutch throws. The Packers were just 2 of 9 on third downs and failed to convert both of their fourth-down chances.
"They controlled the third-down battle tonight," McCarthy said. "We have work to do. That's the fact of the matter and we have to do it fast."
CRITICAL PENALTY
The Lions' opening score was set up by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Mike Daniels, after the defensive lineman appeared to head-butt Detroit center Travis Swanson. The flag negated an incompletion on third-and-15 that would have forced the Lions to punt from their own 25. Stafford connected with Jones for the touchdown pass five plays later.
MILESTONE
The first scoring strike to Jones was the 200th touchdown pass in 117 career games for Stafford, the sixth-quickest in NFL history to reach the milestone. Stafford, who turns 30 in February, is also fourth in NFL history for career touchdown passes before age 30 behind Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.
NOT SPECIAL
Special teams didn't help the Packers.
Working in their third long snapper of the season because of injuries, Green Bay had a 38-yard field goal blocked in the first quarter on a play that started with a low snap. Trevor Davis didn't get past the 22 on three kickoff returns in the first half.
STAT LINES:
Lions: WR Golden Tate joined Jones over the 100-yard mark with seven receptions for 113 yards. ... Abdullah had 21 carries for 48 yards.
Packers: The team's playmaking receivers did have more opportunities, though most came on short passes. Randall Cobb finished with 58 yards on five receptions, including a catch-and-run for a 46-yard gain that set up Hundley's TD run. Davante Adams had seven catches for 53 yards.
"This game they were giving us the underneath stuff," Hundley said. "You have to take what's given."
INJURIES
Packers S Morgan Burnett left in the third quarter with a groin injury. He had returned from a two-game absence for a hamstring injury. RT Bryan Bulaga left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
ANTHEM
It appeared that all members of both teams stood for the national anthem, with many players and coaches locking arms on their respective sidelines.
UP NEXT
Lions: Host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Packers: Visit the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
___
For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Matthew Stafford put on a quarterback clinic for the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.
Aaron Rodgers could only watch from the sideline.
Stafford passed for 361 yards and two touchdowns to Marvin Jones, and the Lions snapped a three-game losing streak with a 30-17 win on Monday night over the offensively challenged Green Bay Packers.
"Matt (made) some great throws ... I just did what I love to do — go out there and get them," Jones said.
Stafford was 26 of 33, including 12 of 14 in the first half with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jones. Ameer Abdullah added a 4-yard touchdown run for Detroit (4-4).
Green Bay (4-4) finally got in the end zone on Brett Hundley's 1-yard quarterback sneak with 9:52 left.
The Lions answered with Stafford's 11-yard touchdown pass to Jones with 8:06 remaining, putting the game out of reach with a 17-point lead. Jones had seven catches for 107 yards.
The Packers have lost three straight games. Their once-potent offense has struggled since Rodgers broke his right collarbone on Oct. 15 at Minnesota.
Hundley finished 26 of 38 for 245 yards. Cornerback Darius Slay blanketed Jordy Nelson when the Packers did try to throw long while the game was still competitive.
"With this one obviously it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. We played well," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said.
Abdullah fumbled the ball away in the third quarter, but the Packers went three-and-out on the ensuing drive. Familiar problems in the red zone popped up for the Lions when they were stopped on three plays at the Packers 1, forced to settle for a field goal for a 17-point lead with 12:25 left.
But without Rodgers, the Packers couldn't keep up with the accurate, rocket-armed Stafford.
"I believe in Brett, that's not just a press conference statement," coach Mike McCarthy said about Hundley.
THIRD DOWNS
The Lions were 8 of 13 on third-down conversions, with Stafford burning the Packers with clutch throws. The Packers were just 2 of 9 on third downs and failed to convert both of their fourth-down chances.
"They controlled the third-down battle tonight," McCarthy said. "We have work to do. That's the fact of the matter and we have to do it fast."
CRITICAL PENALTY
The Lions' opening score was set up by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Mike Daniels, after the defensive lineman appeared to head-butt Detroit center Travis Swanson. The flag negated an incompletion on third-and-15 that would have forced the Lions to punt from their own 25. Stafford connected with Jones for the touchdown pass five plays later.
MILESTONE
The first scoring strike to Jones was the 200th touchdown pass in 117 career games for Stafford, the sixth-quickest in NFL history to reach the milestone. Stafford, who turns 30 in February, is also fourth in NFL history for career touchdown passes before age 30 behind Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.
NOT SPECIAL
Special teams didn't help the Packers.
Working in their third long snapper of the season because of injuries, Green Bay had a 38-yard field goal blocked in the first quarter on a play that started with a low snap. Trevor Davis didn't get past the 22 on three kickoff returns in the first half.
STAT LINES:
Lions: WR Golden Tate joined Jones over the 100-yard mark with seven receptions for 113 yards. ... Abdullah had 21 carries for 48 yards.
Packers: The team's playmaking receivers did have more opportunities, though most came on short passes. Randall Cobb finished with 58 yards on five receptions, including a catch-and-run for a 46-yard gain that set up Hundley's TD run. Davante Adams had seven catches for 53 yards.
"This game they were giving us the underneath stuff," Hundley said. "You have to take what's given."
INJURIES
Packers S Morgan Burnett left in the third quarter with a groin injury. He had returned from a two-game absence for a hamstring injury. RT Bryan Bulaga left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
ANTHEM
It appeared that all members of both teams stood for the national anthem, with many players and coaches locking arms on their respective sidelines.
UP NEXT
Lions: Host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Packers: Visit the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
___
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Monday, October 16, 2017
Saints' big-play defense fuels wild 52-38 win over Lions
By BRETT MARTEL
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints defensive lineman Cam Jordan saw the goal post right in front him and couldn't resist the urge to rise up for a basketball-style dunk of the football over the cross bar.
Jordan had just tipped quarterback Matthew Stafford's pass to himself in the Detroit end zone — a climactic moment in a game defined by bizarre bounces, unusual plays, extraordinary momentum swings and a historical first for New Orleans' defense. Only a forbidden, fineable touchdown celebration would do.
"I realized my regular sack dance wasn't going to cut it," said Jordan, who expects to be fined and said it will have been worth it. "Fourth quarter, game was sort of tight. We had to seal that. I had been preaching: 'This is our chance to respond.' I'm glad I was the one to do it."
Running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara combined for 237 yards from scrimmage, the Saints' resurgent defense forced five turnovers and scored a franchise-record three times, and New Orleans took a 52-38 victory over the Lions on Sunday in a contest that wound up being nowhere near over after the Saints took a five-TD lead.
New Orleans (3-2), which has a winning record for the first time since its last playoff season in 2013, had to gut out a remarkable bid by Detroit (3-3) to pull off the greatest comeback in NFL history.
"It was a different one from sure," said Stafford, noting that he and Saints QB Drew Brees even brought up the strange nature of the game when they greeted each other on the field before heading to the locker room. "He came up and said, 'That was a weird one, huh?' And I said, 'Yeah, it was crazy.'"
Already renowned for leading Lions comebacks, Stafford only regretted three interceptions he described as fluky and his two fumbles.
"I'll probably be more frustrated with the fumbles than anything else," he said. "I've got to find a way to hold on to the ball."
The Lions scored four straight TDs, including one on a 74-yard punt return by Jamal Agnew and another on A'Shawn Robinson's close-range interception near the Saints goal line, in less than 15 minutes off the game clock to pull as close as 45-38 with 6:41 still left.
"We just don't give up," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "Our guys show a lot of resolve. I don't think they ever feel they are out of a game."
But after Agnew muffed a punt and barely got it out of the end zone, Jordan scored about the same way Robinson had.
Saints coach Sean Payton's voice was hoarse after a game in which Superdome crowd noise was fueled by the high-octane drama, and he forecast a long night of reviewing game video in an effort to see how dominant play for nearly three quarters nearly morphed into a collapse for the ages.
"We did a lot of dumb things, but fortunately our defense did a lot of good things," Payton said. "I'm trying to be happy today, but it's hard."
TURNOVER CENTRAL
The teams combined for eight turnovers.
The Saints' defense produced its first points on Detroit's first possession, when end Alex Okafor sacked and stripped Stafford in the end zone and safety Kenny Vaccaro recovered. In the third quarter, rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans' top draft choice last spring, made his first interception and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.
"I just love how we're coming together as a team; that was one thing we had to do," Lattimore said. "The first game, we were giving up stuff and just not communicating and right now we're doing a good job."
Vaccaro also intercepted a tipped fourth quarter pass and linebacker Craig Robertson forced and recovered Stafford's second fumble.
The Saints hadn't turned the ball over once this season before Brees was intercepted by Darius Slay, who ripped a potential catch from receiver Michael Thomas' hands. Ingram fumbled in the second half.
"Probably one of the crazier games I have been a part of," said Brees, now in his 17th season. "We have some momentum but we have to get better."
THE NUMBERS
Playing on a sore right ankle that visibly limited his mobility, Stafford was hit often, sacked five times and had about a dozen passes tipped or batted down. He finished 25 of 52 for 312 yards and touchdowns of 45 yards to Golden Tate, 22 yards each to Marvin Jones and Darren Fells.
Brees was 21 for 31 for 186 yards and touchdowns of 20 yards to Ted Ginn and 2 yards to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui.
Ingram scored two TDs on short runs and rushed for 114 yards on 25 carries in the first game since the Saints traded Adrian Peterson to Arizona.
INJURIES
Lions: Safety Glover Quin left the game to be evaluated for a head injury in the second half. Offensive tackle Greg Robinson limped off the field in the third quarter.
Saints: Linebacker Nate Stupar appeared to have a right leg injury during punt coverage in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT
Lions: Enter their bye week having lost three of four.
Saints: Play next Sunday at Green Bay, which is dealing with an injury to star QB Aaron Rodgers.
___
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Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints defensive lineman Cam Jordan saw the goal post right in front him and couldn't resist the urge to rise up for a basketball-style dunk of the football over the cross bar.
Jordan had just tipped quarterback Matthew Stafford's pass to himself in the Detroit end zone — a climactic moment in a game defined by bizarre bounces, unusual plays, extraordinary momentum swings and a historical first for New Orleans' defense. Only a forbidden, fineable touchdown celebration would do.
"I realized my regular sack dance wasn't going to cut it," said Jordan, who expects to be fined and said it will have been worth it. "Fourth quarter, game was sort of tight. We had to seal that. I had been preaching: 'This is our chance to respond.' I'm glad I was the one to do it."
Running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara combined for 237 yards from scrimmage, the Saints' resurgent defense forced five turnovers and scored a franchise-record three times, and New Orleans took a 52-38 victory over the Lions on Sunday in a contest that wound up being nowhere near over after the Saints took a five-TD lead.
New Orleans (3-2), which has a winning record for the first time since its last playoff season in 2013, had to gut out a remarkable bid by Detroit (3-3) to pull off the greatest comeback in NFL history.
"It was a different one from sure," said Stafford, noting that he and Saints QB Drew Brees even brought up the strange nature of the game when they greeted each other on the field before heading to the locker room. "He came up and said, 'That was a weird one, huh?' And I said, 'Yeah, it was crazy.'"
Already renowned for leading Lions comebacks, Stafford only regretted three interceptions he described as fluky and his two fumbles.
"I'll probably be more frustrated with the fumbles than anything else," he said. "I've got to find a way to hold on to the ball."
The Lions scored four straight TDs, including one on a 74-yard punt return by Jamal Agnew and another on A'Shawn Robinson's close-range interception near the Saints goal line, in less than 15 minutes off the game clock to pull as close as 45-38 with 6:41 still left.
"We just don't give up," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "Our guys show a lot of resolve. I don't think they ever feel they are out of a game."
But after Agnew muffed a punt and barely got it out of the end zone, Jordan scored about the same way Robinson had.
Saints coach Sean Payton's voice was hoarse after a game in which Superdome crowd noise was fueled by the high-octane drama, and he forecast a long night of reviewing game video in an effort to see how dominant play for nearly three quarters nearly morphed into a collapse for the ages.
"We did a lot of dumb things, but fortunately our defense did a lot of good things," Payton said. "I'm trying to be happy today, but it's hard."
TURNOVER CENTRAL
The teams combined for eight turnovers.
The Saints' defense produced its first points on Detroit's first possession, when end Alex Okafor sacked and stripped Stafford in the end zone and safety Kenny Vaccaro recovered. In the third quarter, rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans' top draft choice last spring, made his first interception and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.
"I just love how we're coming together as a team; that was one thing we had to do," Lattimore said. "The first game, we were giving up stuff and just not communicating and right now we're doing a good job."
Vaccaro also intercepted a tipped fourth quarter pass and linebacker Craig Robertson forced and recovered Stafford's second fumble.
The Saints hadn't turned the ball over once this season before Brees was intercepted by Darius Slay, who ripped a potential catch from receiver Michael Thomas' hands. Ingram fumbled in the second half.
"Probably one of the crazier games I have been a part of," said Brees, now in his 17th season. "We have some momentum but we have to get better."
THE NUMBERS
Playing on a sore right ankle that visibly limited his mobility, Stafford was hit often, sacked five times and had about a dozen passes tipped or batted down. He finished 25 of 52 for 312 yards and touchdowns of 45 yards to Golden Tate, 22 yards each to Marvin Jones and Darren Fells.
Brees was 21 for 31 for 186 yards and touchdowns of 20 yards to Ted Ginn and 2 yards to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui.
Ingram scored two TDs on short runs and rushed for 114 yards on 25 carries in the first game since the Saints traded Adrian Peterson to Arizona.
INJURIES
Lions: Safety Glover Quin left the game to be evaluated for a head injury in the second half. Offensive tackle Greg Robinson limped off the field in the third quarter.
Saints: Linebacker Nate Stupar appeared to have a right leg injury during punt coverage in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT
Lions: Enter their bye week having lost three of four.
Saints: Play next Sunday at Green Bay, which is dealing with an injury to star QB Aaron Rodgers.
___
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Monday, October 2, 2017
Dominant defense leads Lions to 14-7 victory over Vikings
By DAVE CAMPBELL
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With Detroit defending a seven-point lead and third-and-goal from the 3, Anthony Zettel zoomed unblocked into Minnesota's backfield to sack Case Keenum with 2:19 remaining in the game.
The protection plan went awry for the Vikings on that particular play. Their problems against the Lions persisted all afternoon.
Zettel led a ferocious performance by Detroit's defense with two sacks, four hurries and a fumble recovery, as the Lions forced three turnovers while holding Minnesota scoreless in the second half on the way to a 14-7 victory over the Vikings on Sunday.
"We're just tough. We're gritty. We get after it," Zettel said. "This year, everybody's pulling the right direction."
The Lions turned two fumbles lost by the Vikings in the third quarter into 11 points, taking the lead on Ameer Abdullah's 1-yard touchdown run five plays after rookie Dalvin Cook fumbled at the Minnesota 29.
The Vikings (2-2) lost more than just possession. Cook limped off with an injury to his left knee , and the Vikings were bracing for a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a promising rookie season cut painfully short.
Tahir Whitehead recovered that fumble for the Lions, plus one by Adam Thielen with 1:43 left forced by Glover Quin at the Detroit 45 that ended the last-chance drive for the Vikings.
The Lions (3-1) lead the NFL in turnover margin, at plus-9. They've forced 11 turnovers, a full-schedule pace for 44. They had only 14 takeaways all of last season.
"They're really helping us win games," quarterback Matthew Stafford said.
Case Keenum started in place of the injured Sam Bradford at quarterback for the Vikings for the third straight game, going 16 for 30 for 219 yards. He took the blame for Zettel's red zone sack, with a pre-snap decision to change the protection assignments and send right tackle Mike Remmers left on a double team with right guard Joe Berger.
Keenum then didn't make the right read against the rush, going down for an 11-yard loss on Zettel's team-leading fourth sack of the season.
"I got fooled," Keenum said. "That's a huge play in the game, obviously, and that's one I want back."
Keenum's fourth down heave into the end zone sailed over Thielen's head. The Vikings had only 120 yards in the second half.
Matt Prater's second field goal of the game was made possible by a botched play that started with a direct snap to running back Jerick McKinnon, who faked an inside handoff to Cook and tried to take off on an option play before fumbling.
ALMOST THERE
Abdullah came close to ending a four-year stretch by the Lions without a 100-yard rusher, finishing with 94 yards on 20 carries before leaving the game with an injury to his right foot. Coach Jim Caldwell said Abdullah could have returned to action.
"It's a marathon, not a race. I just want solid outputs every game," Abdullah said.
THE OTHER 'D'
Stafford was sacked six times for 55 yards, but he dodged the turnover trouble that dogged the Vikings and completed 19 of 31 passes for 209 yards plus the key 2-point conversion to T.J. Jones to give the Lions a seven-point lead.
As dominant as their defense was, they still made some costly mistakes. Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr and Trae Waynes each had their hands on passes by Stafford that could've realistically been intercepted.
On the last play of the first quarter, Stafford found Marvin Jones open in a hole in the zone coverage for a leaping 38-yard completion on third-and-17 that set up the first kick by Prater.
"The defense played their hearts out today. We didn't tackle in some certain situations as well as I would've liked, but they had their backs to the wall after those first two turnovers," said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who fell to 2-5 in against the Lions, who have won nine of the past 14 meetings with their NFC North rival.
FORBATH'S FIRST
Kai Forbath's streak of 21 straight made field goals since joining the Vikings for the final seven games of last season ended with a bonk off the right goalpost at a critical time, in the final minute of the third quarter.
Prater's 59-yard field goal on the final play of the first half fell short for his first miss of the season. Prater has four makes from 50-plus yards this season.
LINEBACKERS DOWN
Lions rookie middle linebacker Jarrad Davis, the team's leading tackler through two games, sat out for the second straight time. He's recovering from a concussion, and he had a neck injury added on Friday.
Another starter, outside linebacker Paul Worrilow, limped off with a left knee injury on the defense's first play. Nick Bellore and Steve Longa filled in. Whitehead left briefly with an injury, too, but he quickly returned.
UP NEXT
The Lions host Carolina next Sunday, before traveling to New Orleans for a game on Oct. 15 that precedes their bye week.
The Vikings play at Chicago on Oct. 9, their second Monday night game in the first five weeks. They return home to host Green Bay on Oct. 15.
___
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Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With Detroit defending a seven-point lead and third-and-goal from the 3, Anthony Zettel zoomed unblocked into Minnesota's backfield to sack Case Keenum with 2:19 remaining in the game.
The protection plan went awry for the Vikings on that particular play. Their problems against the Lions persisted all afternoon.
Zettel led a ferocious performance by Detroit's defense with two sacks, four hurries and a fumble recovery, as the Lions forced three turnovers while holding Minnesota scoreless in the second half on the way to a 14-7 victory over the Vikings on Sunday.
"We're just tough. We're gritty. We get after it," Zettel said. "This year, everybody's pulling the right direction."
The Lions turned two fumbles lost by the Vikings in the third quarter into 11 points, taking the lead on Ameer Abdullah's 1-yard touchdown run five plays after rookie Dalvin Cook fumbled at the Minnesota 29.
The Vikings (2-2) lost more than just possession. Cook limped off with an injury to his left knee , and the Vikings were bracing for a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a promising rookie season cut painfully short.
Tahir Whitehead recovered that fumble for the Lions, plus one by Adam Thielen with 1:43 left forced by Glover Quin at the Detroit 45 that ended the last-chance drive for the Vikings.
The Lions (3-1) lead the NFL in turnover margin, at plus-9. They've forced 11 turnovers, a full-schedule pace for 44. They had only 14 takeaways all of last season.
"They're really helping us win games," quarterback Matthew Stafford said.
Case Keenum started in place of the injured Sam Bradford at quarterback for the Vikings for the third straight game, going 16 for 30 for 219 yards. He took the blame for Zettel's red zone sack, with a pre-snap decision to change the protection assignments and send right tackle Mike Remmers left on a double team with right guard Joe Berger.
Keenum then didn't make the right read against the rush, going down for an 11-yard loss on Zettel's team-leading fourth sack of the season.
"I got fooled," Keenum said. "That's a huge play in the game, obviously, and that's one I want back."
Keenum's fourth down heave into the end zone sailed over Thielen's head. The Vikings had only 120 yards in the second half.
Matt Prater's second field goal of the game was made possible by a botched play that started with a direct snap to running back Jerick McKinnon, who faked an inside handoff to Cook and tried to take off on an option play before fumbling.
ALMOST THERE
Abdullah came close to ending a four-year stretch by the Lions without a 100-yard rusher, finishing with 94 yards on 20 carries before leaving the game with an injury to his right foot. Coach Jim Caldwell said Abdullah could have returned to action.
"It's a marathon, not a race. I just want solid outputs every game," Abdullah said.
THE OTHER 'D'
Stafford was sacked six times for 55 yards, but he dodged the turnover trouble that dogged the Vikings and completed 19 of 31 passes for 209 yards plus the key 2-point conversion to T.J. Jones to give the Lions a seven-point lead.
As dominant as their defense was, they still made some costly mistakes. Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr and Trae Waynes each had their hands on passes by Stafford that could've realistically been intercepted.
On the last play of the first quarter, Stafford found Marvin Jones open in a hole in the zone coverage for a leaping 38-yard completion on third-and-17 that set up the first kick by Prater.
"The defense played their hearts out today. We didn't tackle in some certain situations as well as I would've liked, but they had their backs to the wall after those first two turnovers," said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who fell to 2-5 in against the Lions, who have won nine of the past 14 meetings with their NFC North rival.
FORBATH'S FIRST
Kai Forbath's streak of 21 straight made field goals since joining the Vikings for the final seven games of last season ended with a bonk off the right goalpost at a critical time, in the final minute of the third quarter.
Prater's 59-yard field goal on the final play of the first half fell short for his first miss of the season. Prater has four makes from 50-plus yards this season.
LINEBACKERS DOWN
Lions rookie middle linebacker Jarrad Davis, the team's leading tackler through two games, sat out for the second straight time. He's recovering from a concussion, and he had a neck injury added on Friday.
Another starter, outside linebacker Paul Worrilow, limped off with a left knee injury on the defense's first play. Nick Bellore and Steve Longa filled in. Whitehead left briefly with an injury, too, but he quickly returned.
UP NEXT
The Lions host Carolina next Sunday, before traveling to New Orleans for a game on Oct. 15 that precedes their bye week.
The Vikings play at Chicago on Oct. 9, their second Monday night game in the first five weeks. They return home to host Green Bay on Oct. 15.
___
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Saturday, September 9, 2017
Stafford leads Lions into opener against Cardinals
Stats, LLC
(TSX / STATS) -- Matthew Stafford agreed to the richest contract in NFL history last week. He'll start earning some of that money in the season opener Sunday at Ford Field against one of the league's premier defenses.
The Detroit Lions quarterback, who received a five-year, $135 million extension, faces an Arizona defense that has given him fits in the past. The Cardinals have won their last seven games against the Lions, a streak that dates to 2006.
Stafford was benched after throwing three interceptions in a 42-17 home loss to the Cardinals two seasons ago, the last time the teams met.
Arizona allowed the second-fewest yards and topped the league with 48 sacks last season.
"They're unique in their scheme," Stafford said. "The guys in the secondary, they're ballhawks out there. No. 21 (cornerback Patrick Peterson) and 32 (free safety Tyrann Mathieu) have done it for years and some of the other guys that are new to the team or their role are playing really well, too.
"And then they have guys who can really rush the passer up front. So they do a really nice job. Traditionally, they've been a very good defense and I don't expect to see anything different."
The Lions reshuffled their line during the offseason to provide better protection for Stafford and open more holes in the running game. They signed right tackle Rick Wagner and right guard T.J. Lang during free agency, then traded with the Los Angeles Rams for left tackle Greg Robinson when Taylor Decker suffered a shoulder injury during minicamp.
Ameer Abdullah returns as the starting running back after playing only two games last season because of a foot injury. Pass-catching specialist Theo Riddick, who was limited to 10 games because of wrist injuries, will back him up.
"When we're healthy, we're obviously better," Stafford said of the running game. "Those two guys are a big part of what we do, as are most backs in this league.
"We have talented guys that can take a handoff and go the distance and make people look pretty foolish trying to cover them in the pass game, too. The more those guys can touch the ball and we can get them in space, the better."
Stafford engineered a series of fourth-quarter comebacks last season that allowed the Lions to reach the postseason as a wild card. Seattle made their postseason stay a short one.
The Cardinals came into last season as one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl but didn't qualify for the postseason, finishing at 7-8-1.
Arizona got off to a 1-3 start last season and plays its first two games on the road this year. It heads to Indianapolis next weekend.
"We've got to get off to a good start," Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. "There's no excuses about 10 a.m. (Pacific time start) and all that (nonsense). We all know the schedule. So yeah, we've got to get off to a good start and we've got to get off to a good start in those games. You don't want to get behind on the road in a domed stadium, for sure."
Carson Palmer is back behind center, but the Cardinals' biggest weapon is running back and fantasy football darling David Johnson. He scored a combined 20 touchdowns a year ago while rushing for 1,239 yards and catching 80 passes for an additional 879 yards.
"I've always said, he's the closest thing I've been around to Marshall Faulk," Arians said. "Marshall could start at wide receiver and probably on defense as a safety or corner. They're very smart guys. If a guy isn't real smart, you overload him to where he can't play fast if you put a bunch of things on his plate. Obviously, David's very bright and it's good to see Andre (Ellington) back healthy because he can do a lot of things like that, too."
Ageless Larry Fitzgerald remains Palmer's top target.
Defensively, the Cardinals will be without linebacker Deone Bucannon, who underwent offseason ankle surgery. Rookie Haasan Reddick is expected to start in his place. Defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche is dealing with a calf injury.
Detroit's top pass rusher, Ezekiel Ansah, is expected to play despite missing the preseason with a knee injury. Rookie wide receiver Kenny Golladay has been limited in practice with an ankle issue but is also expected to play.
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Julian Edelman injured in Patriots’ 30-28 win over Lions
By LARRY LAGE
Associated Press
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The New England Patriots may have a new challenge to overcome when they begin defending their Super Bowl title in less than two weeks.
Julian Edelman, who led the team in receptions and yards receiving last year, limped off the field with an injured right knee early in New England’s 30-28 victory over the Detroit Lions on Friday night.
The preseason victory may have been costly.
Edelman was injured as he was tackled by safety Tavon Wilson, a former teammate, after having three receptions for 52 yards in a four-play stretch. He was evaluated in a blue tent behind his team’s bench briefly before being taken to the locker room on a cart and getting ruled out for the game.
Edelman was hurt on the opening possession that ended with Tom Brady throwing his first of two touchdown passes to Chris Hogan in a 30-28 victory over the Detroit Lions on Friday night.
“We’ve got great chemistry together, and he’s an incredible player,” Brady said. “But someone will have to step up.”
Brady was 12 of 15 for 174 yards with two TDs and an interception. He helped New England take a 24-0 lead late in the first quarter and the 40-year-old, five-time Super Bowl champion was in midseason form.
“He’s as good as they come,” Detroit coach Jim Caldwell said. “He gets the ball out quickly. He makes good decision. He’s an unusual guy. There hasn’t been anybody who has stopped him since he has been in this league.”
FALLING SHORT:
After Detroit receiver Golden Tate lost a fumble on his team’s first snap and the Lions were called for five penalties in the first quarter, they rallied to make the score close.
Matthew Stafford threw a 23-yard TD pass to Marvin Jones late in the first half and an 18-yard pass to Dwayne Washington for another score early in the third against New England’s backups. He finished 15 of 22 for 190 yards, two TDs and an interception that he threw into traffic over the middle.
“That’s on me,” Stafford said. “I can’t make that decision.”
Jake Rudock, Detroit’s backup quarterback, connected with Jared Abbrederis for an 11-yard score late in the third and led another drive that ended with Washington’s 1-yard run to put the Lions up 28-24 midway through the fourth.
Jimmy Garoppolo set up Stephen Gostkowski’s 25-yard field goal to pull New England within a point with 3:41 left. After the Patriots defense forced Detroit to punt, their backup QB put Gostkowski in a position to make a go-ahead, 45-yard kick with 2 seconds to go.
“We did some good things, but there’s still a long way to go,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “We have to grind out these last two weeks.”
The Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 7, opening night of the NFL season.
HURRY UP:
The Patriots went into regular season, or playoff mode, by using their no-huddle offense at times with Brady and Garoppolo.
“It’s always tough to run that on the road, so we want to get some snaps in,” Belichick said.
DUAL THREAT:
Lions running back Ameer Abdullah had 60 yards rushing on 13 carries and three receptions for 39 yards. In three preseason games, he has run for 78 yards on 18 attempts and caught five passes for 58 yards to provide the team with some hope after he was limited to two games last year because of a foot injury.
“You can see he’s got his quickness and elusiveness back,” Caldwell said. “We’re pleased with where he is.”
INJURY UPDATE:
Patriots: If Edelman has to miss any games during the regular season, New England may lean on players such as Hogan and Danny Amendola to fill his role as a slippery receiver in the slot. Edelman led the Patriots with 98 receptions and 1,106 yards receiving last season and was a key player during their championship run.
Lions: TE Cole Wick, getting a chance to play a lot with Eric Ebron out with a hamstring injury, left the game with a chest injury and LB Tahir Whitehead went out with a knee injury. RB Theo Riddick, coming off wrist surgery, made his preseason debut. He didn’t gain a yard on one carry.
“It was good to get him in there and moving around a bit,” Caldwell said.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Associated Press
Julian Edelman, who led the team in receptions and yards receiving last year, limped off the field with an injured right knee early in New England’s 30-28 victory over the Detroit Lions on Friday night.
The preseason victory may have been costly.
Edelman was injured as he was tackled by safety Tavon Wilson, a former teammate, after having three receptions for 52 yards in a four-play stretch. He was evaluated in a blue tent behind his team’s bench briefly before being taken to the locker room on a cart and getting ruled out for the game.
Edelman was hurt on the opening possession that ended with Tom Brady throwing his first of two touchdown passes to Chris Hogan in a 30-28 victory over the Detroit Lions on Friday night.
“We’ve got great chemistry together, and he’s an incredible player,” Brady said. “But someone will have to step up.”
Brady was 12 of 15 for 174 yards with two TDs and an interception. He helped New England take a 24-0 lead late in the first quarter and the 40-year-old, five-time Super Bowl champion was in midseason form.
“He’s as good as they come,” Detroit coach Jim Caldwell said. “He gets the ball out quickly. He makes good decision. He’s an unusual guy. There hasn’t been anybody who has stopped him since he has been in this league.”
FALLING SHORT:
After Detroit receiver Golden Tate lost a fumble on his team’s first snap and the Lions were called for five penalties in the first quarter, they rallied to make the score close.
Matthew Stafford threw a 23-yard TD pass to Marvin Jones late in the first half and an 18-yard pass to Dwayne Washington for another score early in the third against New England’s backups. He finished 15 of 22 for 190 yards, two TDs and an interception that he threw into traffic over the middle.
“That’s on me,” Stafford said. “I can’t make that decision.”
Jake Rudock, Detroit’s backup quarterback, connected with Jared Abbrederis for an 11-yard score late in the third and led another drive that ended with Washington’s 1-yard run to put the Lions up 28-24 midway through the fourth.
Jimmy Garoppolo set up Stephen Gostkowski’s 25-yard field goal to pull New England within a point with 3:41 left. After the Patriots defense forced Detroit to punt, their backup QB put Gostkowski in a position to make a go-ahead, 45-yard kick with 2 seconds to go.
“We did some good things, but there’s still a long way to go,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “We have to grind out these last two weeks.”
The Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 7, opening night of the NFL season.
HURRY UP:
The Patriots went into regular season, or playoff mode, by using their no-huddle offense at times with Brady and Garoppolo.
“It’s always tough to run that on the road, so we want to get some snaps in,” Belichick said.
DUAL THREAT:
Lions running back Ameer Abdullah had 60 yards rushing on 13 carries and three receptions for 39 yards. In three preseason games, he has run for 78 yards on 18 attempts and caught five passes for 58 yards to provide the team with some hope after he was limited to two games last year because of a foot injury.
“You can see he’s got his quickness and elusiveness back,” Caldwell said. “We’re pleased with where he is.”
INJURY UPDATE:
Patriots: If Edelman has to miss any games during the regular season, New England may lean on players such as Hogan and Danny Amendola to fill his role as a slippery receiver in the slot. Edelman led the Patriots with 98 receptions and 1,106 yards receiving last season and was a key player during their championship run.
Lions: TE Cole Wick, getting a chance to play a lot with Eric Ebron out with a hamstring injury, left the game with a chest injury and LB Tahir Whitehead went out with a knee injury. RB Theo Riddick, coming off wrist surgery, made his preseason debut. He didn’t gain a yard on one carry.
“It was good to get him in there and moving around a bit,” Caldwell said.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Rudock helps Lions take advantage of Luckless Colts 24-10
By MICHAEL MAROT
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Rudock showed the Detroit Lions he could fill in for Matthew Stafford — if needed.
The Indianapolis Colts, meanwhile, are still looking for an answer behind Andrew Luck.
Rudock took advantage of the injury-depleted Colts by throwing two touchdown passes to Kenny Golladay, driving the Lions to a short field goal and leading them to a 24-10 victory in the preseason opener on Sunday.
"You can see the difference between last year and this year at this time," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "He has a better grasp of things around him. He's in command."
The second-year quarterback played most of the first 2½ quarters and wound up 13 of 21 for 142 yards. Stafford played one series, going 2 of 3 for 36 yards and left after throwing an interception.
Lynch sits during anthem in Raiders loss in Arizona
GLENDALE, Ariz.
All the Lions needed against the injury-depleted Colts was Rudock's 23-yard TD strike to Golladay in the first quarter.
But Rudock also threw a 15-yarder to Golladay in the second and set up Matt Prater for a 28-yard field goal to make it 17-3 at the half. Detroit closed out its scoring with a 15-yard TD pass from Brad Kaaya to Dontez Ford.
With Luck still on the physically unable to perform list following offseason surgery on a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, the Colts sputtered.
Indy finished with 230 total yards — 90 on its final drive — and 14 first downs. Their only points came from Adam Vinatieri's 42-yard field goal in the first half and a 1-yard TD plunge from Troymaine Pope as time ran out.
DEJA VU
For the second consecutive year, the Colts arrived for their preseason opener with a stadium in need of a little touch-up paint. But instead of having to cancel the game, like last year's Hall of Fame game, the field crew cordoned off two areas with the words "NFL Play Football" and fixed them. Team officials said the paint was too thick. A little less than two hours later, the kickoff was right on time.
SITTING OUT
In addition to Luck missing the game, Indy also played without center Ryan Kelly (foot), left guard Joe Haeg and running back Frank Gore. Among the Lions sitting out were left tackle Taylor Decker and defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, who are on PUP, and right guard T.J. Lang.
ROOKIE WATCH
Lions: Golladay, a third-round draft pick, made a good first impression with three catches for 53 yards, including two nifty scores. Teez Tabor wasn't bad, finishing with three tackles.
Colts: The knock on first-round draft pick Malik Hooker was that he missed too many tackles in college. Not Sunday. Hooker finished with four tackles in limited work and made a touchdown-saving shoestring tackle in the second quarter.
QB COMPARISON
Lions: Stafford was solid in his brief appearance, and Rudock impressed. Kaaya played well, too, going 8 of 11 with 71 yards with the TD.
Colts: Scott Tolzien was 2 of 5 for 24 yards and picked up only one first down in three series. Walker, an undrafted rookie from Temple, showed flashes while finishing 9 of 20 for 86 yards. Stephen Morris, who spent most of the past two years on Indy's practice squad, didn't enter until the fourth quarter and was 13 of 20 with 94 yards.
INJURY UPDATE
Lions: Defensive end Kerry Hyder Jr. did not return after being carted off the field with a lower left leg injury in the first quarter. The Lions also lost defensive end Brandon Copeland (shoulder) in the second half.
Colts: Linebackers Sean Spence and Deiontrez Mount both left with injured hamstrings and did not return.
QUOTABLE
Lions: "It makes you sick to your stomach when you see a guy like that go down," Golladay said when asked about Hyder. "I hope the kid's all right."
Colts: "There are a lot of things to clean up," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "We're going to grind it. We've got to make corrections."
UP NEXT
Lions: Host New York Jets on Saturday.
Colts: Visit Dallas on Saturday.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Rudock showed the Detroit Lions he could fill in for Matthew Stafford — if needed.
The Indianapolis Colts, meanwhile, are still looking for an answer behind Andrew Luck.
Rudock took advantage of the injury-depleted Colts by throwing two touchdown passes to Kenny Golladay, driving the Lions to a short field goal and leading them to a 24-10 victory in the preseason opener on Sunday.
"You can see the difference between last year and this year at this time," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "He has a better grasp of things around him. He's in command."
The second-year quarterback played most of the first 2½ quarters and wound up 13 of 21 for 142 yards. Stafford played one series, going 2 of 3 for 36 yards and left after throwing an interception.
Lynch sits during anthem in Raiders loss in Arizona
GLENDALE, Ariz.
All the Lions needed against the injury-depleted Colts was Rudock's 23-yard TD strike to Golladay in the first quarter.
But Rudock also threw a 15-yarder to Golladay in the second and set up Matt Prater for a 28-yard field goal to make it 17-3 at the half. Detroit closed out its scoring with a 15-yard TD pass from Brad Kaaya to Dontez Ford.
With Luck still on the physically unable to perform list following offseason surgery on a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, the Colts sputtered.
Indy finished with 230 total yards — 90 on its final drive — and 14 first downs. Their only points came from Adam Vinatieri's 42-yard field goal in the first half and a 1-yard TD plunge from Troymaine Pope as time ran out.
DEJA VU
For the second consecutive year, the Colts arrived for their preseason opener with a stadium in need of a little touch-up paint. But instead of having to cancel the game, like last year's Hall of Fame game, the field crew cordoned off two areas with the words "NFL Play Football" and fixed them. Team officials said the paint was too thick. A little less than two hours later, the kickoff was right on time.
SITTING OUT
In addition to Luck missing the game, Indy also played without center Ryan Kelly (foot), left guard Joe Haeg and running back Frank Gore. Among the Lions sitting out were left tackle Taylor Decker and defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, who are on PUP, and right guard T.J. Lang.
ROOKIE WATCH
Lions: Golladay, a third-round draft pick, made a good first impression with three catches for 53 yards, including two nifty scores. Teez Tabor wasn't bad, finishing with three tackles.
Colts: The knock on first-round draft pick Malik Hooker was that he missed too many tackles in college. Not Sunday. Hooker finished with four tackles in limited work and made a touchdown-saving shoestring tackle in the second quarter.
QB COMPARISON
Lions: Stafford was solid in his brief appearance, and Rudock impressed. Kaaya played well, too, going 8 of 11 with 71 yards with the TD.
Colts: Scott Tolzien was 2 of 5 for 24 yards and picked up only one first down in three series. Walker, an undrafted rookie from Temple, showed flashes while finishing 9 of 20 for 86 yards. Stephen Morris, who spent most of the past two years on Indy's practice squad, didn't enter until the fourth quarter and was 13 of 20 with 94 yards.
INJURY UPDATE
Lions: Defensive end Kerry Hyder Jr. did not return after being carted off the field with a lower left leg injury in the first quarter. The Lions also lost defensive end Brandon Copeland (shoulder) in the second half.
Colts: Linebackers Sean Spence and Deiontrez Mount both left with injured hamstrings and did not return.
QUOTABLE
Lions: "It makes you sick to your stomach when you see a guy like that go down," Golladay said when asked about Hyder. "I hope the kid's all right."
Colts: "There are a lot of things to clean up," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "We're going to grind it. We've got to make corrections."
UP NEXT
Lions: Host New York Jets on Saturday.
Colts: Visit Dallas on Saturday.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
LB Levy files injury grievance against Lions
Linebacker DeAndre Levy filed an injury grievance against the Detroit Lions.
Levy, who was released by the team in March, is seeking to recoup $1.75 million in salary for this season, ESPN first reported.
Hip and knee injuries limited the 30-year-old Levy to only six games over the past two seasons. Detroit cut Levy with two years remaining on a four-year, $33 million contract.
Levy injured his knee in the 2016 season opener and subsequently underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He returned three months later to play in the final four regular-season games as well as a playoff matchup vs. Seattle.
Levy's contention is that the team rushed him back too soon from the surgical procedure. He said despite multiple doctors telling him the knee was not healthy, he passed his physical one day before his release, negating his salary for the 2017 season. Levy had another procedure on the meniscus in April.
"This set me back another year and has been extremely difficult to deal with," Levy told ESPN. "Physically difficult and spat on after eight years of sacrificing so much for them."
Levy joined the Lions in 2009 and topped 100 tackles on three occasions. He nabbed a career-high six interceptions in 2013 and had 12 total in 95 games (86 starts) with the Lions.
He was considered one of the top linebackers in the NFL prior to the back-to-back injury plagued seasons
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Key OTA Battle: Lions like look of healthy Abdullah
All of which was a sight for the Lions' sore eyes.
"Ameer looks good," head coach Jim Caldwell said. "He's coming along, just like everybody else. They're getting their feet underneath them, getting out there for the first time, moving around a little bit on the grass in a team-oriented setting. We've got a few guys that are working their way through some things."
Theo Riddick is one of those guys. The backup running back hopped on the field for a handful of individual drills, but was otherwise inactive as he works his way back from double wrist surgery.
Abdullah (foot) and Riddick (wrists/ankle) missed a combined 20 games last season, which thrust backups like Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington into featured roles, and sent the Lions reeling to the bottom of the league. They were third in rushing yards per game in the two games Abdullah played. They fell to 27th without him, and their 81.9 yards per game overall were fewer than what they produced when they finished dead-last in 2015.
It came as a bit of a surprise, then, that Detroit didn't draft a running back, nor sign one in veteran free agency, despite kicking the tires on guys like LeGarrette Blount and Adrian Peterson. They believe Abdullah is better than anybody they could have acquired, especially once they got out of the first day of the draft, and are proceeding with Abdullah despite his injury-plagued 2016.
He certainly appeared healthy on Wednesday. The practice was in shorts, but Abdullah's athleticism stood out, especially as he ducked and dodged reporters wishing to inquire about his return.
As the Lions ease him back, Zenner also got some first-team reps in the backfield.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Lions use fifth-year option on TE Eric Ebron
Today, the Detroit Lions exercised the fifth-year option on TE Eric Ebron's contract, locking up the offensive player for the 2017 NFL season.
The top tight end in the 2014 NFL Draft after a three-year career at North Carolina, Ebron’s massive frame and fluid movement to get downfield create a versatile weapon for the Lions offense. Selected by the Lions with the 10th overall pick, Ebron is one of only four tight ends (Brandon Pettigrew, 2009; Jermaine Gresham, 2010; Tyler Eifert, 2012) to be drafted in the first round since 2009.
In Week 11 in 2016, Ebron caught three passes for 70 yards in a win over Jacksonville. Among his receptions included a career-long 61-yard catch in the fourth quarter. His 61-yarder is the longest by a Lions tight end since TE Marcus Pollard’s 86-yard reception vs. Carolina on October 16, 2005. Two plays following the 61-yard reception, Ebron scored on a one yard rush. Ebron became the first Lions tight end to score on a rushing touchdown since TE Rob Rubick rushed for a one yard touchdown against Green Bay on January 2, 1983.
Ebron was drafted by the Lions in the first round (10th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.
The top tight end in the 2014 NFL Draft after a three-year career at North Carolina, Ebron’s massive frame and fluid movement to get downfield create a versatile weapon for the Lions offense. Selected by the Lions with the 10th overall pick, Ebron is one of only four tight ends (Brandon Pettigrew, 2009; Jermaine Gresham, 2010; Tyler Eifert, 2012) to be drafted in the first round since 2009.
In Week 11 in 2016, Ebron caught three passes for 70 yards in a win over Jacksonville. Among his receptions included a career-long 61-yard catch in the fourth quarter. His 61-yarder is the longest by a Lions tight end since TE Marcus Pollard’s 86-yard reception vs. Carolina on October 16, 2005. Two plays following the 61-yard reception, Ebron scored on a one yard rush. Ebron became the first Lions tight end to score on a rushing touchdown since TE Rob Rubick rushed for a one yard touchdown against Green Bay on January 2, 1983.
Ebron was drafted by the Lions in the first round (10th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Lions sign nine players to Reserve/Future List
Allen Park, Mich. - The Detroit Lions announced today that they have signed the following players to the Reserve/Future List:
• WR Jared Abbrederis (Wisconsin)
• TE Kennard Backman (Alabama-Birmingham)
• RB Mike James (Miami (Fla.))
• TE Khari Lee (Bowie State)
• LB Steve Longa (Rutgers)
• OL Matt Rotheram (Pittsburgh)
• OL Brandon Thomas (Clemson)
• WR Andrew Turzilli (Rutgers)
• DB Charles Washington (Fresno State)
- Detroit Lions
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Rumbling again, Thomas Rawls leads Seattle past Detroit 26-6
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — The formula that has led the Seattle Seahawks to unmatched success over the past five seasons returned.
A healthy dose of Thomas Rawls rumbling on the ground. A few timely throws by Russell Wilson helped by some remarkable catches. And a defense that never allowed Detroit a sniff of the end zone.
"This felt like old times. This felt great," Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said.
Rawls rushed for a franchise playoff-record 161 yards, Paul Richardson made one of the catches of the year for his first career postseason touchdown, and the Seahawks beat the Lions 26-6 on Saturday night in an NFC wild-card game.
"It kept the chains going," Rawls said. "We want to end like this. We want to end with a great mark running the football, which is our identity, playing tough hard-nosed Seahawks football, and that's exactly what we did."
Seattle won its 10th straight home playoff game, continuing Detroit's miserable conclusion to the season that finished with four straight losses. Detroit's long playoff history without postseason success continued: no playoff wins since 1992. No road playoff wins since 1957.
"We're walking away with nothing," Detroit cornerback Darius Slay said.
Rawls was the workhorse as the run game the Seahawks became known for when Marshawn Lynch was in the backfield finally found consistency that was missing all season. Rawls bettered Lynch's 157 yards in the 2014 NFC championship game against Green Bay. Rawls had runs of 12, 14, 26 and a 32-yarder late in the third quarter, when Wilson ended up being his lead blocker.
Rawls capped his night with a 4-yard touchdown run that gave Seattle a 19-6 lead. He was the first player with at least 150 yards rushing in a playoff game since Lynch's performance against the Packers.
While Rawls did the grunt work, Richardson filled the highlight reel with a trio of catches. None was better than his 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Seattle a 7-0 lead.
"I didn't know that I had it until I got it, honestly," Richardson said.
Richardson went horizontal reaching out with his left hand to cradle the pass as he was being interfered with by Tavon Wilson. What wasn't called on the play was Richardson's right hand yanking on the facemask of Wilson as he reached to make the catch.
Richardson had another one-handed catch in the fourth quarter, and Doug Baldwin got into the act of amazing catches, pinning a 10-yard reception to the back of his leg late in the fourth quarter to continue a Seattle drive. Two plays later, Baldwin's 13-yard touchdown reception put it away.
Baldwin ran the wrong route and the pass was actually intended for teammate Jermaine Kearse.
"I wasn't where I was supposed to be," said Baldwin, who was remorseful for taking away the TD from his teammate. "Fortunately it worked out."
Wilson finished 23 of 30 for 224 yards, while Baldwin had 11 catches for 104 yards.
SHUTDOWN D
Overshadowed by the offensive performance was Seattle's defense shutting down the Lions. Hampered by a handful of dropped passes and some untimely penalties, the Lions could only manage a pair of long Matt Prater field goals.
Matthew Stafford was 18 of 32 for 205 yards. He was sacked three times and Detroit never ran a play inside the Seattle 33-yard line.
"We definitely knew if we came in and focused, we'd be fine," All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "We knew they got some great players on the other end, but we were just locked in all week and we prepared very well. We knew were going to play well."
FOURTH-DOWN SUCCESS
Seattle was 4 of 11 on fourth downs during the regular season, but got two big conversions on its first touchdown drive. On fourth-and-1 at the Detroit 39, Rawls bounced for 4 yards; the drive was capped by Richardson's catch on fourth-and-goal from the 2.
Detroit wasn't so successful. On its third possession, it went on fourth-and-2 from the Seattle 38. The oddly designed play had Stafford throwing behind the line of scrimmage to Matthew Mulligan. The play was blown up by Wagner and K.J. Wright for a 2-yard loss.
KICKING IT
Prater became the first kicker with multiple 50-yard field goals made in the same playoff game, and Seattle's Steven Hauschka was true on both of his field goal attempts. But Hauschka missed his seventh extra point of the season after Rawls' touchdown with 8:43 remaining.
UP NEXT
Detroit: The Lions will lament the end of their season. After getting its record to 9-4, Detroit lost its final four games.
Seattle: The Seahawks will face the No. 2 seed Atlanta Falcons next Saturday. Seattle beat Atlanta 26-22 in October.
"We're expecting a fight," Wagner said. "They're going to come in rested. They're going to be hungry, but we're hungry, too. We're going to come out and give 'em everything we got."
Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — The formula that has led the Seattle Seahawks to unmatched success over the past five seasons returned.
A healthy dose of Thomas Rawls rumbling on the ground. A few timely throws by Russell Wilson helped by some remarkable catches. And a defense that never allowed Detroit a sniff of the end zone.
"This felt like old times. This felt great," Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said.
Rawls rushed for a franchise playoff-record 161 yards, Paul Richardson made one of the catches of the year for his first career postseason touchdown, and the Seahawks beat the Lions 26-6 on Saturday night in an NFC wild-card game.
"It kept the chains going," Rawls said. "We want to end like this. We want to end with a great mark running the football, which is our identity, playing tough hard-nosed Seahawks football, and that's exactly what we did."
Seattle won its 10th straight home playoff game, continuing Detroit's miserable conclusion to the season that finished with four straight losses. Detroit's long playoff history without postseason success continued: no playoff wins since 1992. No road playoff wins since 1957.
"We're walking away with nothing," Detroit cornerback Darius Slay said.
Rawls was the workhorse as the run game the Seahawks became known for when Marshawn Lynch was in the backfield finally found consistency that was missing all season. Rawls bettered Lynch's 157 yards in the 2014 NFC championship game against Green Bay. Rawls had runs of 12, 14, 26 and a 32-yarder late in the third quarter, when Wilson ended up being his lead blocker.
Rawls capped his night with a 4-yard touchdown run that gave Seattle a 19-6 lead. He was the first player with at least 150 yards rushing in a playoff game since Lynch's performance against the Packers.
While Rawls did the grunt work, Richardson filled the highlight reel with a trio of catches. None was better than his 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Seattle a 7-0 lead.
"I didn't know that I had it until I got it, honestly," Richardson said.
Richardson went horizontal reaching out with his left hand to cradle the pass as he was being interfered with by Tavon Wilson. What wasn't called on the play was Richardson's right hand yanking on the facemask of Wilson as he reached to make the catch.
Richardson had another one-handed catch in the fourth quarter, and Doug Baldwin got into the act of amazing catches, pinning a 10-yard reception to the back of his leg late in the fourth quarter to continue a Seattle drive. Two plays later, Baldwin's 13-yard touchdown reception put it away.
Baldwin ran the wrong route and the pass was actually intended for teammate Jermaine Kearse.
"I wasn't where I was supposed to be," said Baldwin, who was remorseful for taking away the TD from his teammate. "Fortunately it worked out."
Wilson finished 23 of 30 for 224 yards, while Baldwin had 11 catches for 104 yards.
SHUTDOWN D
Overshadowed by the offensive performance was Seattle's defense shutting down the Lions. Hampered by a handful of dropped passes and some untimely penalties, the Lions could only manage a pair of long Matt Prater field goals.
Matthew Stafford was 18 of 32 for 205 yards. He was sacked three times and Detroit never ran a play inside the Seattle 33-yard line.
"We definitely knew if we came in and focused, we'd be fine," All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "We knew they got some great players on the other end, but we were just locked in all week and we prepared very well. We knew were going to play well."
FOURTH-DOWN SUCCESS
Seattle was 4 of 11 on fourth downs during the regular season, but got two big conversions on its first touchdown drive. On fourth-and-1 at the Detroit 39, Rawls bounced for 4 yards; the drive was capped by Richardson's catch on fourth-and-goal from the 2.
Detroit wasn't so successful. On its third possession, it went on fourth-and-2 from the Seattle 38. The oddly designed play had Stafford throwing behind the line of scrimmage to Matthew Mulligan. The play was blown up by Wagner and K.J. Wright for a 2-yard loss.
KICKING IT
Prater became the first kicker with multiple 50-yard field goals made in the same playoff game, and Seattle's Steven Hauschka was true on both of his field goal attempts. But Hauschka missed his seventh extra point of the season after Rawls' touchdown with 8:43 remaining.
UP NEXT
Detroit: The Lions will lament the end of their season. After getting its record to 9-4, Detroit lost its final four games.
Seattle: The Seahawks will face the No. 2 seed Atlanta Falcons next Saturday. Seattle beat Atlanta 26-22 in October.
"We're expecting a fight," Wagner said. "They're going to come in rested. They're going to be hungry, but we're hungry, too. We're going to come out and give 'em everything we got."
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Lions lurk, but Seahawks set to serve up home cooking
Stats, LLC
SEATTLE — While a rocky December did not leave the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions appearing to be playoff-ready, history provides an indication as to how their Saturday night NFC wild-card game might go at CenturyLink Field.
The Seahawks have never lost a playoff game there, the Lions have never won any game there, and Detroit has not won a playoff game anywhere in its past eight tries.
“Obviously, there’s a great opportunity in front of us being in the playoffs, one of 12 teams getting that opportunity this year, and (we’ve) got to take advantage of it,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said in a conference call this week.
Whether or not the Lions can debunk recent trends and come away with the upset might come down to how good Stafford can throw the ball. A legitimate MVP candidate for much of the season, Stafford has been hampered by an injured finger on his throwing hand. The injury is one reason Detroit stumbled down the stretch to lose its final three regular-season games.
“It wasn’t a huge challenge,” Stafford said of wearing a glove to protect the finger in Green Bay last week. “I had a bunch of gloves to choose from and obviously figured out one that works for me, and I’ve been using that one pretty much since.”
There are also plenty of issues with the Seahawks, despite their eight-game postseason home winning streak that dates back to January 2005, when they lost to the St. Louis Rams in a temporary home at the University of Washington’s football stadium. A 2-2 record since Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas went down has been disconcerting, and some sideline squabbles only added fodder to the idea that Seattle is a team in turmoil.
“Everything that’s already happened doesn’t matter at all,” said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, whose team suffered its only home loss of the season the last time it played at CenturyLink Field.
Despite the late-season fade, which is rare for the Seahawks during the Carroll era, Seattle has a lot on its side. The Seahawks’ six playoff wins since 2013 are the most in the NFL, and Seattle owns a 48-13 home record (including playoffs) since Carroll arrived in 2010.
Despite all the turmoil that weighed down the Seahawks over the final four games of the regular season, there is genuine optimism in that this franchise knows how to win in the postseason.
“The playoffs are something we’re used to around here now,” defensive end Michael Bennett told reporters this week, “and getting back to the Super Bowl is something we have to get back to.”
When asked what he likes most about this Seahawks team, Carroll said, “Mainly that we’re comfortable with this opportunity (to play in the postseason).”
On Tuesday night, the Seahawks added kick return specialist Devin Hester to help their playoff run. The 11-year veteran replaces Tyler Lockett, who broke his leg in a game against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 24.
The 34-year-old Hester has an NFL-record 20 returns for touchdowns, including a record 14 on punts, five on kickoffs and one on a missed field goal attempt return.
The Lions, who lost their final three games to finish 9-7 and finish behind Green Bay in the NFC North standings, don’t have nearly the playoff experience — or success — upon which to fall back. Detroit made only two playoff appearances since 1999 and has not won a postseason game since 1991 — when Stafford was not yet 3 years old.
The team’s recent history was not pretty, either, as the three-game losing streak left the Lions searching for answers heading into the playoffs.
Detroit probably won’t blink if the Seahawks ride the wave of the home crowd to an early lead. The Lions trailed in the fourth quarter of every game during the regular season, and they overcame nine fourth-quarter deficits while streaking out to a 9-4 record before falling back to earth in December and early January.
“Our guys did a real nice job battling through some ups and downs,” said Lions coach Jim Caldwell, who went to the Super Bowl in his first season as a head coach with the Colts in 2009 but hasn’t won a playoff game since then. “I think we’ve grown.”
Both teams, despite their late-season fades, are happy to still be playing.
“If you’re not enjoying this, you’re missing it,” Carroll said. “This is great stuff, every part of it, every phase of it. … . It’s all fun, and it’s really what we work for.”
The Seahawks have never lost a playoff game there, the Lions have never won any game there, and Detroit has not won a playoff game anywhere in its past eight tries.
“Obviously, there’s a great opportunity in front of us being in the playoffs, one of 12 teams getting that opportunity this year, and (we’ve) got to take advantage of it,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said in a conference call this week.
Whether or not the Lions can debunk recent trends and come away with the upset might come down to how good Stafford can throw the ball. A legitimate MVP candidate for much of the season, Stafford has been hampered by an injured finger on his throwing hand. The injury is one reason Detroit stumbled down the stretch to lose its final three regular-season games.
“It wasn’t a huge challenge,” Stafford said of wearing a glove to protect the finger in Green Bay last week. “I had a bunch of gloves to choose from and obviously figured out one that works for me, and I’ve been using that one pretty much since.”
There are also plenty of issues with the Seahawks, despite their eight-game postseason home winning streak that dates back to January 2005, when they lost to the St. Louis Rams in a temporary home at the University of Washington’s football stadium. A 2-2 record since Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas went down has been disconcerting, and some sideline squabbles only added fodder to the idea that Seattle is a team in turmoil.
“Everything that’s already happened doesn’t matter at all,” said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, whose team suffered its only home loss of the season the last time it played at CenturyLink Field.
Despite the late-season fade, which is rare for the Seahawks during the Carroll era, Seattle has a lot on its side. The Seahawks’ six playoff wins since 2013 are the most in the NFL, and Seattle owns a 48-13 home record (including playoffs) since Carroll arrived in 2010.
Despite all the turmoil that weighed down the Seahawks over the final four games of the regular season, there is genuine optimism in that this franchise knows how to win in the postseason.
“The playoffs are something we’re used to around here now,” defensive end Michael Bennett told reporters this week, “and getting back to the Super Bowl is something we have to get back to.”
When asked what he likes most about this Seahawks team, Carroll said, “Mainly that we’re comfortable with this opportunity (to play in the postseason).”
On Tuesday night, the Seahawks added kick return specialist Devin Hester to help their playoff run. The 11-year veteran replaces Tyler Lockett, who broke his leg in a game against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 24.
The 34-year-old Hester has an NFL-record 20 returns for touchdowns, including a record 14 on punts, five on kickoffs and one on a missed field goal attempt return.
The Lions, who lost their final three games to finish 9-7 and finish behind Green Bay in the NFC North standings, don’t have nearly the playoff experience — or success — upon which to fall back. Detroit made only two playoff appearances since 1999 and has not won a postseason game since 1991 — when Stafford was not yet 3 years old.
The team’s recent history was not pretty, either, as the three-game losing streak left the Lions searching for answers heading into the playoffs.
Detroit probably won’t blink if the Seahawks ride the wave of the home crowd to an early lead. The Lions trailed in the fourth quarter of every game during the regular season, and they overcame nine fourth-quarter deficits while streaking out to a 9-4 record before falling back to earth in December and early January.
“Our guys did a real nice job battling through some ups and downs,” said Lions coach Jim Caldwell, who went to the Super Bowl in his first season as a head coach with the Colts in 2009 but hasn’t won a playoff game since then. “I think we’ve grown.”
Both teams, despite their late-season fades, are happy to still be playing.
“If you’re not enjoying this, you’re missing it,” Carroll said. “This is great stuff, every part of it, every phase of it. … . It’s all fun, and it’s really what we work for.”
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