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

GAME #15
LIONS 38, CHARGERS 10
FORD FIELD, DECEMBER 24, 2011
ATTENDANCE: 62,469
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT Final
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 0 0 10 0 - 10
DETROIT LIONS 10 14 7 7 - 38
LIONS ..................Pettigrew 7 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
LIONS ..................Hanson 50 yd. Field Goal
LIONS ..................Smith 3 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
LIONS ..................Johnson 14 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
CHARGERS .........Floyd 11 yd. pass from Rivers (Novak kick)
CHARGERS .........Novak 22 yd. Field Goal
LIONS ..................Smith 6 yd. run (Hanson kick)
LIONS ..................Avril 4 yd. interception return (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
CHARGERS
20
367
70
297
53-28-2
4-41.5
0-0
3-20
1-10
27:39
LIONS
24
440
87
353
36-29-0
3-41.3
1-0
1-2
3-8
32:21
RUSHING
CHARGERS: Matthews 11-58; Tolbert 4-9; Hester 1-3.
LIONS: Smith 15-49, 1 TD; Morris 5-22l Burleson 1-11; Staff ord 2-5.
PASSING
CHARGERS: Rivers 28-53 299, 1 TD, 2 INT; Tolbert 0-0 0.
LIONS: Staff ord 29-36 373, 3 TD.
RECEIVING
CHARGERS: Floyd 6-95 1 TD; Tolbert 6-32; Gates 4-40; Matthews 3-16;
Jackson 2-41; Brown 2-34; Crayton 2-20; McMichael 2-18; Hester 1-3.
LIONS: Pettigrew 9-80 1 TD; Burleson 6-83; Johnson 4-102 1 TD; Young
4-39; Scheffl er 3-47; Smith 2-12 1 TD; Morris 1-10.
SUMMARY
With a chance to clinch their fi rst playoff berth since 1999, the Detroit Lions gave
the home crowd an early Christmas present by routing the San Diego Chargers,
38-10. The Lions jumped on the Chargers on the game’s opening possession. On
the fi rst play from scrimmage, QB Matthew Staff ord hit WR Calvin Johnson down
the right side for a 48-yard gain to move the ball into Chargers territory. A er
consecutive 10-yard completions to WR Nate Burleson and TE Brandon Pettigrew
moved the ball inside the 10-yard line, Staff ord connected with Pettigrew again
for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Lions an early lead. Detroit pushed its lead to
10 points later in the fi rst quarter on a 50-yard fi eld goal from K Jason Hanson.
With the kick, Hanson became the fi rst player in NFL history with 50 50+-yard
fi eld goals in his career. A er the Lions defense forced another San Diego punt,
Staff ord led another masterful drive to expand the Lions lead further. He drove
the team 87 yards on 11 plays, including a 30-yard pass to Burleson, that was
capped off by a 3-yard touchdown pass to RB Kevin Smith. To complete one of
their best halves of the entire season, the Lions added to their advantage just
prior to hal ime. Starting at their own 26-yard line, the Lions off ense methodically
moved the ball down the fi eld. Staff ord used Pettigrew as his security blanket as
the third-year tight end had four receptions on the drive. A er moving the ball into
the red zone, Staff ord hit Johnson inside the le pylon for a 14-yard touchdown
strike to give Detroit a 24-0 lead heading to the break. San Diego, fi ghting for their
own playoff lives, responded back in the third quarter. On its second possession of
the quarter, QB Philip Rivers was fi nally able to fi nd his off ensive weapons down
the fi eld. He hit TE Antonio Gates for 24 yards and then WR Vincent Brown for 27
more to move the ball inside the Lions’ 20-yard line. A couple plays later, Rivers
found WR Malcom Floyd on a fade route in the back corner of the end zone to get
the Chargers on the scoreboard. On the subsequent kickoff , K Nick Novak and the
Chargers surprised the Lions with an onside kick that was recovered by Chargers S
Eric Weddle. A 30-yard pass to Floyd put the ball at the Lions 3-yard line, but the
Detroit defense held the Chargers to just a fi eld goal to keep it a two touchdown
defi cit. On the following drive, Staff ord completed passes to Burleson, Johnson,
Pettigrew as well as TE Tony Scheffl er culminating in a 6-yard touchdown run by
Smith to push the lead back to 21. Entering the fourth quarter, San Diego tried to
answer the Detroit touchdown. They moved the ball all the way down the fi eld
and had 1st-and-goal from the Lions’ 2. However, four incompletions from Rivers
turned the ball over on downs and essentially secured the victory for the Lions.
A er the Detroit off ense ran some clock, they punted it back to the Chargers with
just 7:18 to play. They moved the ball past midfi eld and, on the fi rst play in Lions’
territory, Rivers tried a deep ball for WR Vincent Jackson, but it was picked off by
CB Chris Houston and returned 43 yards. Three Smith runs later, P Ben Graham
pinned the Chargers inside their own 5-yard line. On second-down, Rivers attempted
a swing pass to RB Ryan Matthews, but it was snagged by Lions DE Cliff Avril and
returned 4 yards for the game’s fi nal touchdown.
SEASON IN REVIEW
Detroit<strong>lions</strong>.com
Media.Detroit<strong>lions</strong>.com
GAME #16
PACKERS 45, LIONS 41
LAMBEAU FIELD, JANUARY 1, 2012
ATTENDANCE: 70,294
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT Final
DETROIT LIO NS 9 10 15 7 - 41
GREEN BAY PACKERS 10 14 7 14 - 45
LIONS ..................Young 8 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
LIONS ..................P. Lee tackled in end zone for a safety
PACKERS ............Crosby 22 yd. Field Goal
PACKERS ............Nelson 7 yd. pass from Flynn (Crosby kick)
LIONS ..................Johnson 13 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
PACKERS ............Grant 80 yd. pass from Flynn (Crosby kick)
LIONS ..................Hanson 30 yd. Field Goal
PACKERS ............Nelson 36 yd. pass from Flynn (Crosby kick)
LIONS ..................Young 2 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
PACKERS ............Nelson 58 yd. pass from Flynn (Crosby kick)
LIONS ..................Smith 5 yd. pass from Staff ord (Staff ord-Scheffl er pass)
PACKERS ............Driver 35 yd. pass from Flynn (Crosby kick)
LIONS ..................Scheffl er 12 yd. pass from Staff ord (Hanson kick)
PACKERS ............Finley 4 yd. pass from Flynn (Crosby kick)
LIONS PACKERS
First Downs 32 27
Total Net Yards 575 550
Net Yards Rushing 73 81
Net Yards Passing 502 469
(Att/Comp/Int) 59-36-2 44-31-1
Punts-Average 3-47.0 4-44.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1
Sacks-Yards 3-11 2-18
Penalties-Yards 11-101 6-78
Time of Possession 28:20 31:40
RUSHING
LIONS: Smith 9-35; Logan 1-16; Morris 4-13; Burleson 1-9.
PACKERS: Grant 12-48; Saine 8-28; Kuhn 2-5; Flynn 2-0.
PASSING
LIONS: Staff ord 36-59, 520 5 TD, 2 INT.
PACKERS: Flynn 31-44, 480 6 TD, 1 INT.
RECEIVING
LIONS: Johnson 11-244 1 TD; Pettigrew 7-116; Burleson 6-45; Scheffl er
4-65 1 TD; Smith 4-26 1 TD; Young 4-24 2 TD.
PACKERS: Nelson 9-162 3 TD; Finley 7-64 1 TD; Jones 6-89; Saine 3-17;
Driver 2-52 1 TD; Kuhn 2-10; Grant 1-80 1 TD; Williams 1-6.
SUMMARY
With a chance to earn the NFC’s 5th playoff seed, the Detroit Lions fell in Green Bay in
a shootout. The Packers, who were resting Pro Bowl QB Aaron Rodgers, received the
opening kickoff , but a motivated Lions defense got a er backup QB Matt Flynn. On the
fourth play from scrimmage, Lions DT Sammie Hill sacked Flynn, caused a fumble, and
it was recovered by LB Stephen Tulloch at the Green Bay 35-yard line. Three plays later,
QB Matthew Staff ord hit rookie WR Titus Young for an 8-yard touchdown to give the
Lions an early lead. On the subsequent kickoff , return man Pat Lee bobbled the ball and
rolled into the fi eld of play. Lee brought the ball back into the end zone and downed it
there, giving the Lions a safety. Green Bay answered with a Mason Crosby fi eld goal to
cut the lead to 9-3. On the next Detroit possession, Staff ord hit TE Brandon Pettigrew
for 21 yards and WR Calvin Johnson for 17 more to move the ball into Packers territory,
however, on a 2nd down play, Staff ord dumped a pass off to RB Kevin Smith who was hit
by Green Bay LB Desmond Bishop, caused a fumble, and recovered by S Morgan Burnett.
Flynn methodically led the off ense back down the fi eld and resulted in a 7-yard touchdown
pass to WR Jordy Nelson that gave the Packers the lead. Moving into the second quarter,
both off enses continued to put points on the board. At the 8:34 mark, Staff ord connected
with Johnson from 16 yards out for his 16th touchdown reception of the season, a new
Lions single-season record. Two plays later, Flynn caught the Lions in a blitz, threw a
screen over it and RB Ryan Grant galloped 80 yards for a score. A er both teams turned
the ball over in the span of three plays, Detroit found themselves as the Packers 11-yard
line. On 2nd-and-6, Staff ord threw a pass to Young, which he caught and clearly dragged
both feet for a touchdown. Since they ruled it incomplete and the Lions were already out
of challenges, it wasn’t reviewable and Detroit settled for a 30-yard fi eld goal by K Jason
Hanson. The Packers responded on their next possession with a 36-yard touchdown pass
to Nelson with just over 2 minutes remaining in the fi rst half. Missed fi eld goals by both
teams, primarily due to the swirling winds at Lambeau Field, ended the half with Green
Bay holding a 24-19 lead. To open the second half, the Lions marched down the fi eld inside
the red zone, but Staff ord was picked off by Packers DB Jarrett Bush. Detroit’s defense
held the Packers to a 3-and-out and allowed the Lions off ense to get back on the fi eld.
Staff ord passed the off ense inside the 5-yard line and found Young for a 2-yard touchdown.
On the next drive, Flynn hit Nelson on consecutive plays for 19 total yards. A er a run by
Grant, Flynn playaction passed deep down the middle to Nelson for a 58-yard touchdown.
Trailing 31-26, Staff ord and Johnson once again provided a big play for the Lions off ense
with a 41 yard gain down the right sideline. On the next play, the two connected again on
a 27 yard play to bring the ball to the Green Bay 13-yard line. Three plays later, Staff ord
hit Smith on an angle route for a 5-yard score. A 2-point conversion to TE Tony Scheffl er
gave the Lions a 3-point advantage heading into the 4th quarter. A er the Lions defense
forced a punt, the off ense marched back down into Green Bay territory. Facing a 4th-and-3
from the 31, instead of trying another fi eld goal into the wind, the Lions decided to go for
it and just missed a pass from Staff ord to Pettigrew turning the ball over on downs. On
the subsequent possession, Green Bay regained the lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass
from Flynn to WR Donald Driver. Down by four with 5 minutes remaining, Staff ord and the
Lions off ense started a drive at their own 7. Passes to Pettigrew, WR Nate Burleson, a
one-handed grab by Scheffl er and a defensive pass interference call put the ball all the way
down to the Packers’ 2. Following a holding penalty, Staff ord threw a strike to Scheffl er
for a 12-yard go-ahead touchdown. With just 2:39 to go, Flynn and the Green Bay off ense
began a drive looking to tie the game with a fi eld goal. He slowly moved the ball close to
midfi eld and on a 3rd-and-4, he went over the top to WR James Jones for 40 yards inside
the Lions’ 10-yard line. Two plays later, TE Jermichael Finley caught the go-ahead 4-yard
touchdown from Flynn. Staff ord got the ball back with 1:10 to go and moved the ball into
Green Bay territory, but an interception by CB Sam Shields ended the game.