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The Detroit Lions had quite the up-and-down game against the Indianapolis Colts. After climbing to a 21-3 lead, the Colts quickly got back in the game, eventually taking the lead with under a minute to go. But the Lions wouldn’t be denied and won the game on a last-second field goal.
Ameer Abdullah
Abdullah teamed up with Theo Riddick to showcase a brand new running game that looked unstoppable in the first half. When things slowed in the second half, Abdullah came up huge through the air in a third quarter drive, pulling in 42 yards on that drive alone and a big touchdown.
Theo Riddick
Before Riddick left the game in the second half with a brain injury, he looked like the bonafide second-string runner. He kicked off the Lions’ scoring with a 21-yard touchdown then added a few key catches in the passing game later. After undergoing concussion protocol, Theo returned to the field after the Lions crossed the 50-yard line and he made all the difference. After a couple of big gains on the ground, Riddick caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and ran it an official 13 yards for his second touchdown of the day.
After being cleared from concussion protocol, all Riddick did was lead the Lions to the go-ahead score then pick up another key 19 yards on the game-winning drive.
Kerry Hyder
What a story for Hyder. After being flagged for a late-hit in the preseason game against the Bengals and then fined a sum larger than his pay, Hyder made his way onto the team’s roster with a strong performance in the preseason finale against the Bills. In Indianapolis, the play carried over. Hyder had two sacks on the day and generated a ton of pressure, hurrying the throws of Andrew Luck on more than a couple occasions.
Matthew Stafford
31-39 for 340 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Nothing else needed.
Matt Prater
I don’t care if he almost lost the game because of a missed extra point, he made a clutch kick to win the game, and that isn’t easy to do on the road. All is forgiven, Matt. Just don’t do it again.