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The Detroit Lions cruised to a 35-13 win in their preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills. Let's examine which Lions players emerged as winners and losers from Thursday's game.
Winners
QBs Shaun Hill and Kellen Moore - It was another good night for the Lions' backups at quarterback. Hill went 4 for 5 for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns, and he finished with a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3. Moore, meanwhile, went 10 for 18 for 78 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
RBs Joique Bell, Theo Riddick and Steven Miller - Bell once again impressed, mainly thanks to a 23-yard touchdown run. He didn't even get touched on it, but he displayed good speed. Riddick also impressed by snagging a pair of touchdown passes from Moore, and he caught Jim Schwartz's attention.
Schwartz on Riddick: I thought he played a good game and he has had a good camp.
— Tom Leyden (@TomLeyden) August 30, 2013
As for Miller, he wasn't able to do a whole lot on the 6 returns he had, but he ran for 72 yards on 12 carries. If he doesn't make the 53-man roster, he should be signed to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
WR Matt Willis - Willis is making it really difficult for the Lions release him. It remains to be seen if they will keep five wide receivers, but Willis strengthened his case for a roster spot on Thursday with a diving catch for 39 yards. He also nearly had a ridiculous 28-yard touchdown, but he was only able to get one foot down inbounds.
DE Willie Young - Young had 2 more sacks for the Lions on Thursday night. Hopefully his solid play in the preseason will carry over to the regular season this year.
CB Bill Bentley - Bentley picked off Matt Leinart early in this game, setting up the Lions' first touchdown. Bentley came back with another nice play shortly after, and he looked like the guy we had heard so much praise about early on in training camp.
DB Rashean Mathis - Mathis seems like a lock to make the 53-man roster at this point. He had a nice interception on Thursday, and he again showed off his versatility by playing both cornerback and safety.
P Blake Clingan - With Sam Martin out, Clingan got a chance to be the full-time punter, and he had 4 punts drop inside the 20-yard line, including one at the 4-yard line. He won't make the 53-man roster, but he has some good film to take with him as he tries to land with another team.
Losers
QB Matthew Stafford - Stafford's stat line -- 1 for 6 for 12 yards and an interception -- doesn't tell the whole story, as two of his passes were dropped, including the one that was picked off. However, Stafford missed an open Edwards twice on deep balls, and he just continued to look off his game. He has to play better when the regular season begins.
RB Mikel Leshoure - Leshoure actually ran the ball pretty well for parts of this game, but he had a bad fumble that set up a Bills field goal. If the Lions can get anything of value for him in a potential trade, they should probably go ahead and pull the trigger, because he just seems to be falling further and further behind Reggie Bush and Bell on the running back depth chart.
WR Nate Burleson - Burleson had a pretty rough preseason, and he was the receiver responsible for Stafford's interception on Thursday night, prompting this tweet:
4 yrs as a Lion...droppin the ball isn't me! Won't happen again & if it does, I'll donate 100 for each drop to a different elementary school
— Nathaniel E Burleson (@Nate13Burleson) August 30, 2013
Let's hope Burleson doesn't have to make too many donations, because he, like Stafford, has to start playing better once the regular season begins.
CB Chris Greenwood - Greenwood got burned on the Bills' 79-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. He was already on the outside looking in when it came to the 53-man roster, and Thursday pretty much solidified that he'll likely end up on the practice squad.