Team Grades: Lions Pull Out Another Last Minute Win
By Chris Morgan
Sunday's contest between the Detroit Lions and the Miami Dolphins was expected to be a defensive affair. These are arguably the two best defenses in the league, so it seemed unlikely that scoring was going to be abundant. That proved to be true, as the game sat 16-13 in favor of the Dolphins late in the contest. However, Matthew Stafford took the Lions down the field, and threw a touchdown pass to Theo Riddick, his only notable play of the game, with 29 seconds left. The Lions won the game 20-16, earning their seventh win of the season. Here are the grades for this performance.
Offense: The Detroit Lions welcomed Calvin Johnson back for this game, providing a huge boost to an offense that has struggled at times without him. Oh, and also Reggie Bush was there, but he was once again a non-factor. Overall, the Lions didn't run much, finishing with 63 yards total, 44 of those coming from Joique Bell on 10 carries. There were also some concerns about the offensive line, especially after Larry Warford went out, but while they let up three sacks, against this defense that wasn't bad.
Fortunately, the duo of Johnson and Golden Tate were both available, and both made some noise. Johnson looked no worse for the wear, catching seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Tate added 11 catches for 109 yards. Twenty points may not be a ton, but, again, the Dolphins have an excellent defense. Given that, this was a very good performance. Grade: B+
Quarterback: While Stafford's overall numbers have often looked middling this season, at least he has been able to pull off some nice game-winning drives when all the chips are down. Overall, Stafford went 25-for-40 for 280 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, a nice play by Brent Grimes, one of the better cornerbacks in the league. He was under some pressure, and he did well considering the circumstances. He's yet to really wow anybody, at least not since the season opener, but sometimes good is good enough. Grade: B
Special Teams: Matt Prater made a 50-yard field goal, one of two he made. However, the Lions also had a field goal blocked, which set up a very short field for Miami's only touchdown. Detroit also gave up a big kick return to Jarvis Landry. Sam Martin punted reasonably well, but he also went 2-for-2 on pass attempts for 27 yards, which is an odd little quirk of this game. Grade: C+
Defense: While the Dolphins have a great defense, their offense is less impressive. Nevertheless, this was another impressive defensive performance for Detroit's defense. They only gave up the one touchdown, and again it was a very short field. The Dolphins only had 222 yards of total offense, and they ran even less well than the Lions did. James Ihedigbo picked off Ryan Tannehill, and Ndamukong Suh recovered a fumble, in addition to picking up a sack and three tackles for loss. As per usual, the Lions' defense was in their opponent's backfield all day in leading the Lions to another big victory. Grade: A-
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Chris Morgan has been a diehard Detroit Lions fan through the good (Barry Sanders) and the bad (Matt Millen) and that love has led him to take jobs writing about sports, including as a fantasy sports "expert." His work can be found on Examiner.com. .