Game Recaps
Drive-By-Drive Breakdown of Rams' 17-10 Win Over Lions
by Sean Yuille on Nov 3, 2009 7:36 AM EST
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Here is a drive-by-drive look at how the Rams beat the Lions by a score of 17-10 on Sunday.
1st Quarter
- The Lions got the ball first and immediately established the run. The first four plays of the game were handoffs to Kevin Smith, and they were effective. Smith picked up 5, 4, 3, and 5 yards on the carries, and Maurice Morris came in and ran for 7 yards, picking up right where Smith left off. The drive was going great and was very promising until Brandon Pettigrew was flagged for holding. This was the beginning of the end and when the drive started to stall. Smith picked up 12 yards on a pass from Matthew Stafford on the very next play, but he was dropped for a loss of 1 on second down. A Will Heller false start made third and long even longer, and an incompletion led to the first punt of the game.
- Everyone's nightmare was that despite how poorly the Rams have looked this season, the Lions would be the team that made them look good. On St. Louis' first drive of the game, that is exactly what happened. The Rams absolutely shredded the Lions' defense and didn't even face a third down until the 8th play of the possession. A false start, unlike in the Lions' case, turned third and short into third and long. Marc Bulger threw an incompletion that would have ended the drive, but Julian Peterson was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty. I still haven't seen a replay of the call, but going off of what some of you have said, it was a weak one. Either way, the Rams picked up a holding penalty on the next play and their drive went absolutely nowhere. Josh Brown did connect on a 41-yard field goal, giving the Rams an early 3-0 lead.
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Rams Beat Lions 17-10 Thanks to Late Steven Jackson Touchdown
by Sean Yuille on Nov 1, 2009 4:21 PM EST
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The Rams picked up their first win in over a year by going into Ford Field and beating the Lions by a score of 17-10. St. Louis led for much of the game until the Lions' offense finally scored some points in the fourth quarter. Before a 4-yard Matthew Stafford touchdown run and a successful 2-point conversion, the Lions' only points were from a safety that happened after an interception. A Stafford pass went right through Aaron Brown's hands and was intercepted in the end zone. The defender ran out of the end zone, went backwards, and was tackled by Kevin Smith for a safety. That cut the Rams' lead down to 1 point, but St. Louis later went up by a score of 10-2 on a fake field goal that turned into a touchdown.
Stafford's touchdown run tied the game up at 10 in the fourth quarter, setting up an exciting finish. Both teams had plenty of chances to take the lead, but it wasn't until a Steven Jackson touchdown run that the Rams went ahead. The TD put St. Louis on top 17-10, which is what the final score was after the Lions failed to do anything on their last drive of the game.
I don't know what's worse -- the fact that the Lions lost, or the fact that the Lions lost to the once-winless Rams. Anytime the Lions are actually favored to win a game, they have to take advantage of the situation and come away with a win. That didn't happen today, though, and we all saw just how much work still has to be done by this team. Obviously they need to get healthy first and foremost, but as a whole the team really needs to improve rather than regress, which is what they did today.
The Lions head to Seattle next week and then stay on the road for a game at Minnesota on November 15. Detroit's next home game is against the Browns, who very well could be the worst team in the league. Once again Detroit probably will be favored, and once again it will be a golden opportunity for a victory. First they have to deal with the road games against the Seahawks and Vikings, though. Here's to hoping for an upset.
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Drive-By-Drive Breakdown of Packers' 26-0 Win Over Lions
by Sean Yuille on Oct 19, 2009 4:57 AM EDT
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Here is a drive-by-drive look at how the Packers beat the Lions by a score of 26-0.
1st Quarter
- The Packers took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, but a holding penalty brought it back to the GB 20-yard line. That didn't stop the Packers from eventually scoring a touchdown, though. After a couple more penalties on both teams, it eventually was 3rd and 7. Aaron Rodgers had Greg Jennings wide open in the middle of the field, and Jennings made an outstanding catch to pick up 26 yards. After Ryan Grant picked up 4 and 0 yards, the Packers were again faced with third down, and they again made a play. Rodgers hit a wide open James Jones downfield, and he made a couple defenders miss to score a touchdown on the 47-yard play.
- The Lions' start went from bad to worse when Daunte Culpepper was intercepted on a screen. It was 3rd and 15, and I don't know what Culpepper was thinking, but the awful pass was intercepted by Cullen Jenkins, giving the Packers the ball at the Lions' 17-yard line.
- Green Bay did its best to make scoring a touchdown as tough as possible by getting an unnecessary roughness penalty after the second play of the drive, but it just delayed the inevitable. Rodgers completed a couple 8-yard passes to Jermichael Finley, and Ryan Grant ran for 4 yards in between. After the second 8-yard pass, Rodgers found fullback John Kuhn wide open in the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. Only halfway through the first quarter, Green Bay led Detroit 14-0.
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Packers Embarrass Lions, Win 26-0
by Sean Yuille on Oct 18, 2009 4:56 PM EDT
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It would be accurate to say that the "Same Ol' Lions" showed up today at Lambeau Field to play the Packers. The Lions were terrible on offense, defense, and special teams, and some of the coaching decisions were questionable as well. All of those things led to the Packers shutting down Detroit and winning 26-0. Despite how poorly the Lions have played over the years, this was the first time they were shut out since December 2001 when the Bears won 24-0 and handed the Lions their 14th loss of the season.
Just like we saw many times last year, the Lions fell behind early and were basically out of it from the start. Although the Packers had a touchdown on the opening kickoff called back because of a holding penalty, they scored soon after on a long touchdown pass to James Jones. The Lions couldn't do anything on offense when they got the ball, and the Packers answered that with another touchdown. Things slowed down considerably after that and the Packers were unable to get into the end zone again during the rest of the game despite moving the ball effectively so often. They had to settle for 4 field goals instead, giving Green Bay 26 points on the day.
Although the Lions weren't technically out of it until the second half because the defense kept holding Green Bay to field goals, it was obvious Detroit had no chance of winning. The offense was downright atrocious from start to finish, and only twice did they threaten to score. The first threat ended on 4th and short when Kevin Smith was dropped for a loss, and the second threat ended when Drew Stanton was picked off in the end zone.
Wait. Drew Stanton? Why was he in the game? Well, Daunte Culpepper appeared to tweak his hamstring while scrambling on the second play of the third quarter, and he came after the next play and never returned. Stanton didn't play all that bad up until the interception in the end zone, as his first pick was really Brandon Pettigrew's fault.
The Lions are on a bye next week, which really couldn't have come at a better time. The injury list was bad enough coming into this game, and it only got worse when all was said and done. The Lions' starting quarterback, top receiver, and the majority of the defensive line are injured. Beyond that there are a ton of players that simply need a week off, because they are just banged up. The bye week will hopefully allow the team to get healthy enough to the point where they can come back in a couple weeks against the Rams with all of their weapons intact. Losing to the winless Rams would just suck, and I honestly don't know if the Lions can win if they are without Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson yet again.
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Drive-By-Drive Breakdown of Steelers' 28-20 Win Over Lions
by Sean Yuille on Oct 13, 2009 12:24 AM EDT
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Here is a drive-by-drive look at how the Steelers beat the Lions by a score of 28-20.
1st Quarter
- The Lions defense came out with a big stop right out of the gate. Eric King made a huge play on 3rd and 5 to force the Steelers to punt, knocking the ball out of Limas Sweed's hands and preventing what would have been a first down.
- The Lions did not get off to a very good start offensively, as Daunte Culpepper was sacked by James Harrison for the first of 7 times on Sunday (he was sacked 7 times overall). The ball came loose on the play, but Culpepper recovered it. After Kevin Smith ran for 3 yards on second down, the Lions faced 3rd and 11 and Culpepper made a big play of his own. He didn't find anyone open, but what he did see was a huge running lane. As a result, Culpepper took off and showed excellent speed, running for 32 yards to move the chains. Another fumble (not because of a sack) happened on the next play, and Smith only picked up a yard on second down, making it 3rd and long again. Culpepper didn't need to use his legs to pick up a first down this time, as he found Maurice Morris on a screen for a gain of 16. The Lions were unable to move the chains on their next third down, but Jason Hanson nailed a 46-yard field goal to put the Lions on top 3-0.
If you were watching the game on CBS, this is the moment Dan Fouts kept referring to all day long. He exemplified the phrase "beating a dead horse," as he couldn't get over the fact that the Lions didn't accept an offside penalty that occurred on the field goal. The offside would not have moved the chains, but Fouts kept lamenting that Jim Schwartz should have took the penalty to get a measurement. What he didn't seem to understand was that accepting the penalty would have taken points off the board and only made it 4th and inches in all likelihood. If the Lions had no intention of going for it regardless of the distance, then it would have made no sense to take the penalty. The way I see it, the Lions were the first team all season long to score on the Steelers in the first quarter, and Schwartz wasn't about to undo that.
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Steelers Sack Lions' Comeback Attempt, Hang On for 28-20 Win
by Sean Yuille on Oct 11, 2009 4:23 PM EDT
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Despite a rather lackluster effort by both the offense and defense outside of a few specific drives, the Lions had a chance to score a last-minute touchdown and possibly send their game against the Steelers to overtime. A touchdown in the latter stages of the fourth quarter made it a one-possession game, and then the Lions defense made another big stop to force a punt. Daunte Culpepper completed a few big passes to move the Lions down the field, putting them only 20 or so yards away from what could have been the game-tying touchdown and 2-point conversion. That is when all thoughts of a comeback came to an end, though. Culpepper was sacked on three straight plays, and on 4th and 34, his miracle heave downfield was knocked away at the goal line. The Steelers were able to take a knee and escape with a 28-20 victory.
What is so disappointing about this game is how close the Lions were to sending it to overtime or even simply winning in regulation. When you consider how many blown chances there were all game long by the Lions on both sides of the ball, they really did give it away to Pittsburgh. Some of the blown opportunities were just unlucky, like Jason Hanson missing a field goal for the first time in ages. Others were stupid mistakes, like when Culpepper tried to throw the ball away after a fumble and it went right to a Steelers player for the interception. That play alone cost the Lions a shot at a field goal and perhaps a chance to win the game on that last drive, but then again, the Steelers defense wasn't about to let Detroit do anything once it got in position to score at the end.
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Drive-By-Drive Breakdown of Bears' 48-24 Win Over Lions
by Sean Yuille on Oct 5, 2009 3:25 AM EDT
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Here is a drive-by-drive look at how the Bears beat the Lions by a score of 48-24.
1st Quarter
- The Lions got the ball first and started the game with a 45-yard bomb to Calvin Johnson. Matthew Stafford simply threw the ball downfield to an open C.J., who made the catch for the big gain. Kevin Smith ran for no gain on the next play (that would be a common thing throughout the game), and Stafford's pass to Calvin on the next play only went for a yard. Casey FitzSimmons made a catch for a gain of 5 on 3rd and 9, bringing up 4th down and a field goal attempt by Jason Hanson. He nailed the kick, but the Lions took the points off the board because of an offside penalty on Chicago.
The penalty gave Detroit a first down, so it was an easy decision for the coaches to make. Gosder Cherilus moved and was called for a false start a couple plays later, bringing up 2nd and 15 (Stafford overthrew Calvin in the end zone on first down). Kevin Smith was stopped for a loss of 3, but the Bears were flagged for a personal foul. It was a weak call, but it gave the Lions an automatic first down, so I didn't mind. Following a 9-yard pass to Bryant Johnson on a slant and a 2-yard run by Jerome Felton, Smith ran the ball into the end zone from a yard out for a touchdown. - Matt Forte broke free for a gain of 61 yards only two plays into the Bears' first drive of the game, running right down the middle of the field where no defenders were able to get to him initially. Louis Delmas eventually ran him down at the 5, and it looked like the Lions were about to rebound and hold Chicago to a field goal. Jay Cutler made sure that didn't happen, though. On 3rd and 5, he scrambled to the left side of the field and dove into the end zone John Elway style for a touchdown.
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Lions Can't Overcome Awful Special Teams Play, Turnovers in 48-24 Loss to Bears
by Sean Yuille on Oct 4, 2009 4:27 PM EDT
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The Lions ended their 19-game losing streak last week, and this week in Chicago they were hoping to get a winning streak started. After a fairly good first half, it looked like there was a good chance of the Lions winning their second straight game, but a terrible second half where Detroit was outscored 27-3 led to this becoming an ugly loss.
After getting off to a stellar start that included a couple long touchdown drives, the Lions reverted back to their old ways with poor special teams play and a costly interception inside their own 10. The Lions put together an outstanding 98-yard drive at the end of the first half to tie things up after two quarters, but that was really when all good things came to an end for Detroit.
The Bears opened up the second half with a kick return for a touchdown, which basically set the tone for what to expect in the final two quarters. Detroit made special teams mistake after special teams mistake, allowing the Bears to start around midfield or in Lions territory on what seemed like every drive. The Lions, on the other hand, almost always started inside or around their own 20. That alone was enough for the Bears to take over this game, but add in a fumble by Stafford at the Lions' 19-yard line and Detroit basically handed this game to Chicago on a silver platter. The Lions couldn't get anything going save one drive that led to a field goal, and the Bears were able to extend their lead by having such a short field so often. The Bears went on to win 48-24 after adding a touchdown in garbage time.
On that aforementioned drive that led to a field goal, Matthew Stafford was sacked on third down and injured his right knee. He went down awkwardly and immediately grabbed the back of his right knee, showing that something was wrong. On the sideline he had a wrap on the knee, and when he tried to walk around it was too sore for him to come back into the game. That led to the first Daunte Culpepper sighting of the season, as he finished the game for the Lions.
Aside from Stafford's right knee, the Lions have a pretty big list of other things they have to worry about going forward. At the top of the list is the terrible special teams play. In general the Lions have had pretty bad special teams for quite a while now (not counting Jason Hanson, of course), but they have never been this bad. Today the Lions allowed the Bears to take a kick return back for a touchdown, return other kicks for big gains, take every punt back for a solid gain close to or into Lions territory, and there were penalties on a couple of the Lions' kick returns. I've said this many times in the past and have wanted this to happen for quite some time, but I will say it again: Fire Stan Kwan. People have excused his coaching because the Lions haven't had much talent on special teams, but I'm sick of the excuses. It's time he is finally held accountable for the terrible special teams play, as that single-handedly turned the game around today and put the Lions at a disadvantage on nearly every drive.
The Lions will look to prevent a losing streak from starting next week at home against the defending Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers. It will be a tough game for sure, especially if the Lions turn the ball over and give away field position because of poor special teams play. This team is nowhere near close to being good enough to win games where they make tons of mistakes, and that is exactly why the Bears rolled Detroit in the second half today.
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