Lions Aim For First 3-0 Start In 31 Years
The Lions haven't started 3-0 since 1980 and they haven't won in Minnesota since 1997, which is why the celebration was tempered after whipping the inept Chiefs 48-3 on Sunday.
"All this means is we went from 1-0 to 2-0," said quarterback Matthew Stafford. "We are facing a heck of a team in Minnesota, a divisional foe that really plays good against us, especially out there. We just have to keep fixing our mistakes and getting better."
The Lions didn't make many mistakes Sunday; they mostly pounced on a comedy of errors by the Chiefs. They turned six turnovers into 38 points, in the process using 70 yards in Chiefs' penalties to sustain drives.
"That's one of the things that comes with a fast and aggressive defense," said defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, who had four tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. "You can coach all the interception tip drills you want, strip drills and all that, but when you play fast and hit, that's when turnovers happen. We have a fast defense and when we are flying around and hitting guys, the ball is going to pop loose."
Cornerbacks Chris Houston and Eric Wright, plus strong safety Amari Spievey had interceptions off Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel.
"We didn't play our best football and we still won by a large margin," coach Jim Schwartz said. "We knew if we could get the run stopped it would be a hard game for them to play and that's how it turned out."
The Lions made an early adjustment on offense, as well, utilizing three-wide receiver sets more than the two-tight end sets they had planned to use. The result was another huge day by Stafford.
He completed 23 of 39 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns - two to wide receiver Calvin Johnson (15 yards and one yard), one to tight end Tony Scheffler (36) and another to running back Jahvid Best (one yard).
"Teams are going to start doing more to take (Johnson) away, like they did today," Stafford said. "You saw it - they had a man on him low, a man on him high and a man on him in the middle. Teams are going to do whatever they can to stop him and that's the great thing about the guys on this team. They take pride and understand that if teams do that, those other guys have to step up and make plays."
Best had 57 yards rushing and 66 yards receiving. Nate Burleson caught seven passes for 93 yards and rookie Titus Young chipped in five catches for 89 yards.
"We're good," said kicker Jason Hanson, who had field goals of 51 and 28 yards. "Whether we are going to be really good or just good we will find out in the coming weeks. We still have a lot to prove."
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