detroit lions vs. st. louis rams the season begins consistency up front ...

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