PRESEASON EditiON - Detroit Lions
PRESEASON EditiON - Detroit Lions
PRESEASON EditiON - Detroit Lions
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season in review<br />
<strong>Detroit</strong>lions.com<br />
Media.<strong>Detroit</strong>lions.com<br />
Game #9<br />
BEARS 37, LIONS 13<br />
SOLDIER FIELD, NOVEMBER 13, 2011<br />
ATTENDANCE: 62,396<br />
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT Final<br />
DETROIT LIONS 0 6 0 7 - 13<br />
CHICAGO BEARS 10 10 17 0 - 37<br />
BeaRS ................Forte 6 yd. run (Gould kick)<br />
BeaRS ................Gould 43 yd Field Goal<br />
BeaRS ................Gould 35 yd. Field Goal<br />
BeaRS ................Hester 82 yd punt return (Gould kick)<br />
LIonS ..................Hanson 29 yd. Field Goal<br />
LIonS ..................Hanson 35 yd Field Goal<br />
BeaRS ................wright 24 yd interception return (Gould kick)<br />
BeaRS ................Tillman 44 yd interception return (Gould kick)<br />
BeaRS ................Gould 50 yd. Field Goal<br />
LIonS ..................Scheffler 10 yd. pass from Stafford (Hanson kick)<br />
LIONS<br />
BEARS<br />
First Downs 22 12<br />
Total net Yards 393 216<br />
net Yards Rushing 80 109<br />
net Yards Passing 313 107<br />
(att/Comp/Int) 63-33-4 20-9-0<br />
Punts-average 5-49.0 6-46.7<br />
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-1<br />
Sacks-Yards 2-16 2-16<br />
Penalties-Yards 4-53 4-37<br />
Time of Possession 30:54 29:06<br />
RUSHING<br />
LIONS: Morris 10-44; Smith 4-19; Burleson 1-10; Logan 1-5; Stafford<br />
2-1; williams 1-1.<br />
BEARS: Forte 18-64 1 TD; Barber 13-27; Cutler 4-18.<br />
PASSING<br />
LIONS: Stafford 33-63, 329 1 TD 4 InT.<br />
BEARS: Cutler 9-19, 123; Forte 0-1.<br />
RECEIVING<br />
LIONS: Burleson 8-83; Johnson 7-81; Young 7-74; Pettigrew 5-38; Scheffler<br />
3-37 1 TD; Smith 2-10; Morris 1-6.<br />
BEARS: Bennett 6-81; Hurd 1-21; Knox 1-18; Forte 1-3.<br />
SUMMARY<br />
Coming off a bye week, the <strong>Detroit</strong> <strong>Lions</strong> traveled to Chicago to take on the division<br />
rival Bears in a pivotal nFC matchup. Before kickoff, the the average wind was<br />
25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. The <strong>Lions</strong> won the opening coin toss, elected<br />
to receive and started off in a nice offensive rhythm. QB Matthew Stafford hit his<br />
first four passes, however, on the fourth completion wR Calvin Johnson was hit<br />
by Bears De Julius Peppers, fumbled, and it was scopped up by Chicago LB Brian<br />
Urlacher and returned to the <strong>Detroit</strong> 30-yard line. Four plays later, with the help<br />
of a personal foul penalty, RB Matt Forte ran it 6 yards for the game’s opening<br />
touchdown. on the subsequent possession, the <strong>Lions</strong> once again fumbled it away.<br />
wR nate Burleson took a completion down the right sideline, but Bears CB Tim<br />
Jennings poked it out from behind and was able to fall on it for the recovery. Taking<br />
advantage of another turnover, the Bears added three points to their lead with a<br />
43-yard field goal by K Robbie Gould. Following a 3-and-out by the <strong>Lions</strong> offense,<br />
the Bears used the passing game to put themselves in position to tack on more<br />
points. QB Jay Cutler hit wR earl Bennett for 17 yards and then wR Johnny Knox<br />
for 18 more to put set up for a second Gould field goal, this one from 35 yards<br />
away. after another 3-and-out by <strong>Detroit</strong>, newly-signed P Robert Malone, filling<br />
in for an injured P Ryan Donahue, punted it 60 yards to the Bears’ Devin Hester.<br />
The dangerous return man raced up the left sideline, avoided Malone’s attempt<br />
to shove him out of bounds and cruised into the end zone. It was Hester’s 12th<br />
career punt return for a touchdown, adding on to his own nFL record. Down 20-0,<br />
the <strong>Lions</strong> defense was the recipient of a turnover when Cutler and Forte fumbled an<br />
exchange. <strong>Detroit</strong> got the ball inside the Bears’ 20, but was only able to put three<br />
points on the board with a K Jason Hanson 29-yard field goal. another Hanson field<br />
goal prior to the half cut the Chicago lead to 20-6 with the <strong>Lions</strong> hopeful of another<br />
second-half comeback. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed early in the third<br />
quarter. on the <strong>Lions</strong> second offensive play, Stafford tried to hit Te will Heller on<br />
an out route, but a wind gust pushed the pass inside, and Bears S Major wright<br />
picked it off and ran it back 24 yards for a touchdown. on the very next possession,<br />
Bears CB Charles Tillman jumped in front of a pass from Stafford to Johnson<br />
and returned it 44 yards for another score. a 50-yard field goal by Gould pushed<br />
the Bears lead to 37-6 at the end of the third quarter. Stafford threw two more<br />
interceptions in the fourth quarter, but neither led to any more points for the Bears.<br />
The <strong>Lions</strong>, however, did finally get in the end zone later in the fourth quarter when<br />
Stafford hit Scheffler on a 4th-and-goal from 10 yards away to finish the scoring.<br />
Game #10<br />
LIONS 49, PANTHERS 35<br />
FORD FIELD, NOVEMBER 20, 2011<br />
ATTENDANCE: 63,633<br />
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT Final<br />
CAROLINA PANTHERS 10 17 0 8 - 35<br />
DETROIT LIONS 0 14 14 21 - 49<br />
PanTHeRS .........Mare 27 yd. Field Goal<br />
PanTHeRS .........Smith 15 yd. pass from newton (Mare kick)<br />
LIonS ..................Smith 28 yd. pass from Stafford (Hanson kick)<br />
PanTHeRS .........Pilares 101 yd. kickoff return (Mare kick)<br />
PanTHeRS .........newton 11 yd. run (Mare kick)<br />
LIonS ..................Young 3 yd. pass from Stafford (Hanson kick)<br />
PanTHeRS .........Mare 31 yd. Field Goal<br />
LIonS ..................Burleson 16 yd. pass from Stafford (Hanson kick)<br />
LIonS ..................Scheffler 17 yd. pass from Stafford (Hanson kick)<br />
LIonS ..................Smith 4 yd. run (Hanson kick)<br />
PanTHeRS .........newton 6 yd. run (newton-Smith pass)<br />
LIonS ..................Pettigrew 7 yd. pass from Stafford (Hanson kick)<br />
LIonS ..................Smith 19 yd. run (Hanson kick)<br />
PANTHERS<br />
LIONS<br />
First Downs 24 29<br />
Total net Yards 409 495<br />
net Yards Rushing 137 169<br />
net Yards Passing 272 326<br />
(att/Comp/Int) 38-22-4 36-28-2<br />
Punts-average 3-40.7 2-48.0<br />
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1<br />
Sacks-Yards 2-9 1-8<br />
Penalties-Yards 7-70 8-56<br />
Time of Possession 26:53 33:07<br />
RUSHING<br />
PANTHERS: williams 10-73; newton 7-37 2 TD; Stewart 8-22; Smith 1-5.<br />
LIONS: Smith 16-140 2 TD; Morris 7-29; Stafford 4-2; williams 1-0;<br />
Logan 1-(-2).<br />
PASSING<br />
PANTHERS: newton 22-38, 280, 1 TD, 4 InT.<br />
LIONS: Stafford 28-36, 335, 5 TD, 2 InT.<br />
RECEIVING<br />
PANTHERS: Stewart 6-87; Smith 5-41 1 TD; LaFell 3-51; naanee 3-41;<br />
olsen 3-23; williams 1-32; Brockel 1-5.<br />
LIONS: Burleson 7-63 1 TD; Johnson 5-89; Smith 4-61 1 TD; Pettigrew<br />
4-37 1 TD; Davis 2-27; Scheffler 2-24 1 TD; Young 2-14 1 TD; Heller 1-12;<br />
Morris 1-8.<br />
SUMMARY<br />
after suffering a one-sided loss in week 9 at Chicago, the <strong>Detroit</strong> <strong>Lions</strong> returned to Ford<br />
Field to face rookie quarterback Cam newton and the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately<br />
for the home crowd, the early going was eerily similar to the week before. on just the<br />
third play from scrimmage, QB Matthew Stafford was picked off by Carolina LB James<br />
anderson. The <strong>Lions</strong> defense, however, bailed them out by intercepting newton on their<br />
third offensive play giving the ball back to the offense. Stafford drove the team down<br />
the field, but the turnover bug bit once again as he threw another interception, this one<br />
by Panthers S Charles Godfrey. newton and the Panthers offense took advantage of the<br />
second opportunity and got on the scoreboard with a 27-yard field goal by K olindo Mare.<br />
a third <strong>Detroit</strong> first quarter turnover, this time a fumble by RB Keiland williams, gave the<br />
ball back to Carolina inside the <strong>Lions</strong>’ 30-yard line and the Panthers again took advantage<br />
of the opportunity. after a 19-yard screen play to RB Jonathan Stewart, newton found<br />
his favorite target, wR Steve Smith, on a post pattern for a 15-yard touchdown to give<br />
Carolina a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. The <strong>Lions</strong> composed themselves, however,<br />
and on the second play of the second quarter it was their turn to use the screen game to<br />
their advantage. Following a big 43-yard run up the middle by RB Kevin Smith, Stafford<br />
faked an end around to wR nate Burleson and dumped it off to Smith who maneuvered<br />
his way 28 yards for the <strong>Lions</strong> opening touchdown. That momentum was short lived as on<br />
the ensuing kickoff Carolina wR Kealoha Pilares returned the boot from K Jason Hanson<br />
101 yards for a touchdown to regain a 10 point edge. Following a 3-and-out by the <strong>Lions</strong>,<br />
the Panthers got the ball back around midfield and once again had little trouble moving<br />
the ball down the field. RB Deangelo williams took a handoff from newton 26 yards down<br />
to the 11-yard line and, on the very next play, newton called his own number and ran it<br />
in for another touchdown. Down 17, Stafford and the <strong>Lions</strong> offense started airing it out<br />
and had success. He went 8-of-9 on the next drive, concluding with a 3-yard quick strike<br />
to wR Titus Young for a touchdown and bringing some life back into a stunned Ford Field<br />
crowd. a Mare field goal as time expired in the first half pushed the Panthers’ lead back to<br />
13 heading to the break. The second half, however, was dominated by the <strong>Lions</strong>. Stafford<br />
threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter – one to Burleson and the other to Te<br />
Tony Scheffler – and the defense forced an interception by newton to take a 1-point lead<br />
into the fourth quarter. after forcing another Carolina punt, the <strong>Detroit</strong> offense added to its<br />
lead early in the fourth, primarily due to the running game. Smith broke off a 19-yard gain,<br />
which was followed by 11 yards from RB Maurice Morris resulting in 1st-and-goal from<br />
the 4-yard line. on the next play, Smith burst through the middle for a score. now down<br />
eight, newton showed poise beyond his years by taking the Panthers right down the field<br />
in a hostile environment and scored on a 6-yard quarterback draw. a 2-point conversion<br />
from newton to Smith tied the game at 35 with just over 5:00 to play. The <strong>Lions</strong> offense<br />
countered with a 7-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass from<br />
Stafford to Te Brandon Pettigrew. an interception by S Chris Harris on the first play of<br />
the subsequent Carolina drive gave the ball back to the <strong>Lions</strong> and Smith took the handoff<br />
19 yards for the <strong>Lions</strong>’ seventh touchdown of the game. another interception of newton,<br />
this time by LB Stephen Tulloch, with 0:54 left ended any hope of a dramatic comeback.