Detroit Lions vs atLanta faLcons JOHNSON'S Mega-PURSUIT 2012 ...

Game #1
RAMS 23, LIONS 27
FORD FIELD, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012
ATTENDANCE: 62,315
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT Final
ST. LOUIS RAMS 3 10 0 10 - 23
DETROIT LIONS 0 10 3 14 - 27
RAMS Zuerlein 48 yd Field Goal
LIONS Bell 1 yd run (Hanson kick)
RAMS Zuerlein 29 yd Field Goal
RAMS Finnegan 31 yd interception return (Zuerlein kick)
LIONS Hanson 41 yd Field Goal
LIONS Hanson 45 yd Field Goal
RAMS Gibson 23 yd pass from Bradford (Zuerlein kick)
LIONS Smith 5 yd run (Hanson kick)
RAMS Zuerlein 46 yd Field Goal
LIONSSmith 5 yd pass from Stafford (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
RAMS
14
251
78
173
25-17-0
5-482
2-0
1-9
7-65
30:06
LIONS
28
429
83
346
48-32-3
3-403
0-0
3-25
3-27
29:54
RUSHING
RAMS: Jackson 21-53; Richardson 2-20; Bradford 3-3; Amendola 1-2
LIONS: Smith 13-62 1 TD; T Young 1-11; Burleson 1-6; Williams 1-2;
Logan 1-1; Bell 1-1 1 TD
PASSING
RAMS: Bradford 25-17, 198, 1 TD, 0 INT
LIONS: Stafford 48-32, 355, 1 TD, 3 INT
RECEIVING
RAMS: Amendola 5-70; Gibson 4-51 1 TD; Jackson 4-31; Kendricks 2-16;
Smith 1-16; McNeil 1-10; Turner 0-4; Givens 0-0
LIONS: Johnson 6-111; Burleson 6-69; Pettigrew 5-77; Scheffler 5-30;
Smith 4-29 1 TD; Heller 2-19; T Young 1-14; Williams 1-4; Stafford 1-3;
Logan 1- (-)1
SUMMARY
The Lions opened 2012 against the Rams in their first home regular season opener
since 2006 and pulled out a last-minute 27-23 victory The Lions offense marched
straight down the field for 12 plays, 72 yards and a 1st and Goal at the Rams 3
only to have Rams rookie CB Janoris Jenkins pick off QB Matthew Stafford’s pass
in the end zone and return it to the St Louis 34 Defense held strong and set the
tone on RB Steven Jackson’s first carry which resulted in no-gain for St Louis
That defensive determination held the Rams to a 48 yard field goal completed
by rookie K Greg Zuerlien after 10 pays and 36 yards On the next drive, Stafford
moved the chains 80 yards setting up RB Joique Bell for a 1 yard touchdown rush
up the middle in front of his hometown K Jason Hanson came in for the extra
point Detroit’s defense was at it again soon after when DT Ndamukong Suh
brought down Jackson with one arm for a 3rd and 2 and CB Drayton Florence,
still fresh to the Lions, broke up a pass forcing a punt situation Stafford‘s ensuing
drive was thwarted by LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar picking off his pass intended for TE
Brandon Pettigrew at the St Louis 14 and returning it for 42 yards to the Detroit
44 DT Nick Fairley came in with a sack to QB Sam Bradford for a loss of 5 yards
compelling the Rams to settle for a field goal from K Greg Zuerlien Seconds after
the two minute warning of the half, Stafford was plagued by a pick-six at the
hands of CB Cortland Finnegan at the Detroit 31 for 31 yards Keen on shaking off
the interception, Stafford threw a deep 51 yard pass to connect with WR Calvin
Johnson That drive and the half were capped off with a 41 yard field goal from K
Jason Hanson After a false start penalty and Rams QB Sam Bradford suffering
a Suh-sack resulting in a 12 yard loss, the offense once again had opportunity to
score The Lions took the 45 yard field goal to tie the game after coverage from
CB Janoris Jenkins and Stafford’s own sack for a loss of 9 yards courtesy of DE
Robert Quinn The third quarter remained tied after the back and forth drives of
both teams came up scoreless, though noteworthy plays included the Rams forcing
two Lions punts and the Lions defense registering an additional sack for a loss of
5 yards and a fumble caused by DT Corey Williams Scoring first in the fourth was
St Louis with the go-ahead 23 yard touchdown Stafford then hammered down the
field for a 5 play, 80 yard touchdown drive to make it 20-20 The Rams answered
with a 13 play 5:24 drive which garnered only a three point lead The final drive
travelled 80 yards in under two minutes and finished with Stafford clicking with RB
Kevin Smith for a 5 yard pass at 10 seconds left on the clock Detroit’s high-energy
win over St Louis marked the franchise’s 50th home-opening win in team history
Game sUmmaries
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Game #2
LIONS 19, 49ERS 27
CANDLESTICK PARK, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012
ATTENDANCE: 69,732
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT Final
DETROIT LIONS 6 0 3 10 - 19
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 7 7 3 10 - 27
49ERS Davis 21 yd pass from Smith (Akers kick)
LIONS Hanson 38 yd Field Goal
LIONS Hanson 41 yd Field Goal
49ERS Gore 1 yd run (Akers kick)
49ERS Akers 36 yd Field Goal
LIONS Hanson 40 yd Field Goal
49ERS Akers 48 yd Field Goal
LIONS Hanson 48 yd Field Goal
49ERS Davis 23 yd pass from Smith (Akers kick)
LIONS Pettigrew 9 yd pass from Stafford (Hanson kick)
LIONS 49ERS
First Downs 15 24
Total Net Yards 296 349
Net Yards Rushing 82 148
Net Yards Passing 214 201
(Att/Comp/Int) 32-19-1 31-20-0
Punts-Average 2-445 3-363
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1
Sacks-Yards 3-25 2-16
Penalties-Yards 8-67 5-62
Time of Possession 30:26 29:34
RUSHING
LIONS: Smith 16-53; Bell 6-14; Stafford 2-10; Burleson 2-5
49ERS: Gore 17-89 1 TD; Manningham 1-29; Hunter 5-23; Smith 4-7
PASSING
LIONS: Stafford 32-19, 230, 1 TD, 1 INT
49ERS: Smith 31-20, 226, 2 TD, 0 INT
RECEIVING
LIONS: Johnson 8-94; Pettigrew 3-18 1 TD; Bell 2-59; Smith 2-17; Scheffler
1-13; Burleson 1-11; Young 1-11; Heller 1-7
49ERS: Crabtree 6-67; Davis 5-73 2 TD; Manningham 3-28; Hunter 2-21;
Gore 2-16; Moss 1-14; Walker 1-7
SUMMARY
The Lions ventured to win at Candlestick Park for the first time since 1975 in front
of a primetime audience but fell 8 points short to San Francisco After three-andout
for the Lions, the 49ers wasted no time travelling for 67 yards in 4 plays and
a touchdown in 1:12 The scorers were the pass combination of QB Alex Smith
deep 21 yards to TE Vernon Davis After a 5 yard penalty on 49ers TE Demarcus
Dobbs at Detroit’s 27, RB Kevin Smith edged down the field for 4 yards in two
plays and WR Calvin Johnson and TE Will Heller used height to their advantage
gaining 15 yards RB Kevin Smith saw one more yard before a holding penalty on
T Jeff Backus caused a loss of 10 yards WR Nate Burleson ran for 2, TE Brandon
Pettigrew advanced for 4 and placed K Jason Hanson within field goal range The
three point, 4:38 drive transpired in 8 plays for 48 yards The Lions special teams
forced a turnover with a fumble caused by rookie LB Tahir Whitehead that was
recovered by WR Kassim Osgood at the San Francisco 25 RB Joique Bell’s 2 yard
acquisition was the lone gain on the ensuing 0:54 drive concluding in a field goal
from 41 yards out The Lions defense limited 49ers RB Frank Gore to 23 yards in
5 plays with LB Stephen Tulloch allowing no gain on the third down for a punt
situation Lions QB Matthew Stafford was picked off on the third play of the ensuing
drive by S Dashon Goldson at the Detroit 43 who had a 20 yard return Following
Gore’s 6 yard gain in two downs, a bad snap had QB Alex Smith fumbling the ball
to be recovered by the 49ers at Detroit’s 34 K David Akers had a 35 field goal that
was voided after a roughing the kicker penalty on Lions CB Drayton Florence Two
plays later, CB Jacob Lacey had a pass interference penalty which set the 49ers
up for a 1 yard rushing touchdown in 5 plays, 23 yards and 2:24 On the next Lions
drive Bell carved out 13 yards and Johnson picked up 4 but came up scoreless
QB Alex Smith then passed for 31 consecutive yards to TE Delanie Walker, WR
Mario Manningham and WR Randy Moss Directly after a 5 yard penalty on DT
Ndamukong Suh, Suh sacked Smith for -12 yards Though Gore was able to get
those 12 yards back on the next down, the drive was capped with a 25 yard punt
The Lions offense pushed down the field using the run game for 25 yards along with
35 pass yards but Hanson missed the 40 yard field goal attempt The 49ers saw
three more points next despite a split sack by DT Corey Williams and Suh for -10
yards Detroit answered with a 40 yard field goal that went for 10 plays, 39 yards
and 6:02 at just under four minutes in the fourth Akers came back with a 48 yard
field goal in 10 plays and 55 yards straight away Stafford was victim of two sacks
for a combined loss of 24 yards and the Lions settled for their fourth and final field
goal of the night for 48 yards after 9 plays and a 50 yard campaign 13 plays, 6:12
and 79 yards later the 49ers were up with QB Alex Smith’s 23 yard touchdown
pass right to TE Vernon Davis At three minutes left, Stafford was sacked on the
first play by LB Aldon Smith for -7 yards His next pass was incomplete to Kevin
Smith, but he slung it to Bell who darted 50 yards and kept the drive alive Johnson
came in on the reception for 22 yards and allowed for a 9 yard touchdown pass
to TE Brandon Pettigrew The score sat at 27-19 when Hanson chanced an onside
kick hoping for a Lions recovery to stay in the game Ultimately , the 49ers were
able to recover it and ate up the remaining 1:28 with three kneels