Runneth Over
Lions bounce back strong, come up big to defeat Palmer-less Cards 31-24
Detroit, MI - In some cases, time of possession means nothing if a team can't turn it into points. In other cases, it means that the team is trying to milk the clock.
The Detroit Lions dominated the time of possession, with long drives turning into points. They out-gained (548-343), out-timed (26:50-9:10), and out-smarted the depleted Arizona Cardinals, winning 31-24.
Facing the third-string quarterback for the third time in four weeks, the Lions had their work cut out for them. With former USC star
Matt Barkley at the helm, the Cardinals hung around until the end, which I'll get into later.
Detroit's offensive output was attributed to the running game taking flight. Despite Chris Johnson having 90 yards on 18 carries, the rookie
Ameer Abdullah was the star here, finishing with 107 yards on only 15 carries. With his first run of the game, Abdullah zipped through the hole, but was met with a sandwich of linebackers. Somehow, he breaks both tackles, and a third misses a shoestring tackle on the way for Ameer's 38-yard score.
Most of the second quarter was back-and-forth, with both defenses not letting up. No one scored until the end of the quarter, when
Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 30-yarder to put Arizona on the board. A few moments later, Detroit responded with a field goal of their own. And finally, on the first play of the Cards' ensuing drive,
Larry Fitzgerald did Fitz things as he scored a 60-yard touchdown. At the half, the score is even at 10-10.
The Lions pulled away in the lopsided third quarter, outscoring Arizona 13-0. It all started when Matt Prater once again kicked a gimme FG. On Arizona's next drive, a
David Johnson fumble sent Detroit to the redzone, and they consequently scored when
Golden Tate caught a touchdown on his only reception of the day. With 38 seconds left Matt Prater drilled a 32-yarder to put Detroit up 23-10 heading into the fourth.
Matt Barkley was the unsung hero, but not for long. At the start of the quarter,
David Johnson scored on a 1-yard plow, lessening the lead to 23-17. The Lions then went on to have a long, efficient drive, only to be stopped with
Patrick Peterson's second interception. Charging downfield, Arizona took a lead they would never relinquish, with
John Brown scoring a 10-yard touchdown.
Enter Clutch Stafford. With only three minutes to sustain a game-winning drive, the high-powered Detroit offense took hold. Along the way, clutch third-down catches by
Theo Riddick breathed new life, and with a little over a minute left,
Megatron came up huge as he leaped over the defender to catch the game-winning score.
Matt Stafford ran in for the two-point conversion, and now the score is 31-24. Arizona could not convert, and one 4th-down conversion later, the Lions have now won their third straight game.
"We fought hard for this victory, and I'm proud of what we accomplished today," said Lions coach
Jim Caldwell.
| Arizona Cardinals at Detroit Lions |
| Oct 11, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Arizona Cardinals (3-1) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
| Detroit Lions (2-1-1) | 7 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 31 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
| ARI | DET |
| Total Offense | 343 | 548 |
| Rushing Yards | 66 | 258 |
| Passing Yards | 277 | 290 |
| First Downs | 11 | 26 |
| Punt Return Yards | 0 | 15 |
| Kick Return Yards | 42 | 105 |
| Total Yards | 385 | 668 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| 3rd Down Converstion | 5-12 | 13-22 |
| 4th Down Conversion | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 2-1 | 2-3 |
| Penalties | 2-10 | 2-36 |
| Posession Time | 9:10 | 26:50 |
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | ARI | DET |
| 4:22 | (DET) A. Abdullah 38 yd run (M. Prater kick) | 0 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | ARI | DET |
| 2:15 | (ARI) C. Catanzaro 30 yd FG | 3 | 7 |
| 2:11 | (DET) M. Prater 32 yd FG | 3 | 10 |
| 1:51 | (ARI) L. Fitzgerald 60 yd pass from M. Barkley (C. Catanzaro kick) | 10 | 10 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | ARI | DET |
| 5:06 | (DET) M. Prater 26 yd FG | 10 | 13 |
| 4:11 | (DET) G. Tate 1 yd pass from M. Stafford (M. Prater kick) | 10 | 20 |
| 0:38 | (DET) M. Prater 32 yd FG | 10 | 23 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | ARI | DET |
| 8:35 | (ARI) D. Johnson 1 yd run (C. Catanzaro kick) | 17 | 23 |
| 3:23 | (ARI) J. Brown 10 yd pass from M. Barkley (C. Catanzaro kick) | 24 | 23 |
| 1:04 | (DET) C. Johnson 15 yd pass from M. Stafford (2-Pt) | 24 | 31 |
| Arizona Cardinals | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | M. Barkley | 16/26 | 277 | 2 | 1 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | D. Johnson | 19 | 54 | 2.8 | 1 | | M. Barkley | 4 | 12 | 3.0 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | J. Brown | 6 | 78 | 13.0 | 1 | | L. Fitzgerald | 4 | 173 | 43.2 | 1 | | D. Johnson | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | | M. Floyd | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | | S. Taylor | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | | J. Nelson | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | | J. Gresham | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | | BLOCKING | PANCAKE | SACK | | M. Floyd | 2 | 0 | | J. Veldheer | 1 | 0 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | T. Jefferson | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | P. Peterson | 5 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | | M. Golden | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | D. Washington | 5 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | | C. Clemons | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | C. Catanzaro | 1/1 | 3/3 | 6 | 30 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | D. Butler | 6 | 281 | 46.8 | 0 | | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | P. Peterson | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 0 | | J. Brown | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 |
| | Detroit Lions | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | M. Stafford | 27/37 | 281 | 2 | 2 | | D. Orlovsky | 3/3 | 25 | 0 | 0 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | C. Johnson | 18 | 90 | 5.0 | 0 | | A. Abdullah | 15 | 107 | 7.1 | 1 | | M. Stafford | 6 | 27 | 4.5 | 0 | | J. Bell | 5 | 9 | 1.8 | 0 | | T. Riddick | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | | M. Burton | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | | D. Orlovsky | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | T. Riddick | 9 | 80 | 8.8 | 0 | | C. Johnson | 5 | 50 | 10.0 | 1 | | E. Ebron | 3 | 44 | 14.6 | 0 | | J. Bell | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 0 | | A. Abdullah | 3 | 29 | 9.6 | 0 | | C. Fuller | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | | C. Johnson | 2 | 51 | 25.5 | 0 | | M. Burton | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | | G. Tate | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | | D. Waller | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | | BLOCKING | PANCAKE | SACK | | T. Swanson | 1 | 0 | | C. Robinson | 0 | 1 | | R. Reiff | 0 | 1 | | M. Ola | 0 | 1 | | DEFENSE | TACK | SACK | INT | TD | | D. Slay | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | S. Tulloch | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | T. Whitehead | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | J. Ihedigbo | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | Q. Diggs | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | M. Prater | 3/3 | 2/2 | 11 | 33 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | S. Martin | 3 | 105 | 35.0 | 0 | | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | A. Abdullah | 2 | 57 | 28.5 | 0 | | T. Jones | 2 | 48 | 24.0 | 0 | | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | G. Tate | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 |
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Photo Gallery
Calm before the storm: Quandre Diggs takes a pre-snap position prior to his interception.
Patrick Peterson was a force in disrupting the Detroit passing game, snatching 2 interceptions.
It's Calvin Johnson! What do you expect?
Matthew Stafford sealed the game with a beautiful two-point conversion run.