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.