Detroit Lions
Rick Osentoski - APMore photos »about 3 hours ago: Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best (44) dives into the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)
The Detroit Lions didn't just beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, the Lions absolutely demolished them en route to a 48-3 victory and the most lopsided regular season win in Lions history. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that the Lions didn't even play all that well in the first quarter. It took them some time to start consistently playing well on both sides of the ball. Once they took their play to another level, the Chiefs didn't stand a chance and were blown out of the stadium.
Early on, the Lions were on top in this game thanks in large part to mistakes by the Chiefs. On the first drive of the game, for example, Matthew Stafford threw a bad pass to avoid a sack and Kansas City's Jon McGraw intercepted the ball. He immediately fumbled it right back to the Lions, giving Detroit possession and a fresh set of downs. On the very next play, Kansas City picked up a personal foul, and they received a flag for roughing the passer on the play after that. Suddenly the Lions were on the KC 15, and they scored on a pass from Stafford to Calvin Johnson.
The Chiefs offense came out strong by punching the Lions' rush defense in the mouth on their first drive. Dexter McCluster got the drive started with 24 yards. The next two plays went for eight yards by Thomas Jones and 24 more yards by Jamaal Charles. The Lions couldn't seem to stop the Chiefs' rushing attack, but they did finally stand tough and bring up fourth down. The Chiefs settled for a 33-yard field goal, and more importantly, they lost Charles to an injury on third down. He lunged for the first down and came down on the yard marker awkwardly before rolling into Roary, the Lions mascot. It looked like Charles hurt his knee when he landed, and he was out the rest of the game after being carted off the field.
The Lions got the ball back and quickly went three and out. This would become a common occurrence for the next couple of drives, as the offense just couldn't move the ball. The Chiefs offense once again had success moving the ball when they got it back, but luckily for Detroit, Ryan Succop pushed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide left. No damage was done on the drive, and after this possession the Lions defense really started playing well.
The Lions and Chiefs traded punts for the rest of the first quarter and the first half of the second quarter. The Lions finally got something going again on offense with a two-play drive that began at the KC 45-yard line. Stafford completed a nine-yard pass to Nate Burleson, and he followed that up with a 36-yard completion to Tony Scheffler for a touchdown. Scheffler celebrated by pretending to create a fire and smoke signals after his second touchdown in as many weeks.
This game got out of hand so quickly thanks to six turnovers by the Chiefs. One of those turnovers was an interception by Chris Houston on a drive that began with a 45-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe. The Chiefs looked to be in business, but Houston picked off Matt Cassel and gave the Lions a chance to add to their lead before halftime.
Although the Lions did add some points on their next drive, they could have gotten more than a 51-yard field goal by Jason Hanson had it not been for some untimely penalties. A chop block negated a 47-yard pass to Burleson, and a big pass to Johnson that would have put the Lions close to the end zone was negated because of a holding penalty. A great pass and catch to Titus Young for 47 yards dug the Lions out of the hole created by the first penalty, but they only managed to get a field goal out of the drive.
This Lions also only managed to get a field goal after Cassel was intercepted by Amari Spievey on the next Chiefs possession. The Lions only had 30 seconds to work with, and they ended up going into halftime with a 20-3 lead after a 28-yard field goal by Hanson.
The first three drives of the second half ended in punts. One of those punts was by the Lions after they went three and out. When they got the ball back after another Chiefs punt, there was no three and out. Detroit moved down the field with a 27-yard pass to Burleson and a 35-yard strike to Jahvid Best, and they eventually found themselves at the one-yard line. It was third and goal for Detroit, and Stafford threw in the direction of Johnson, who had a rare drop. On fourth and goal the Lions went in Johnson's direction again, and this time he caught the pass from Stafford for a touchdown.
The Lions started to pour it on as the third quarter came to an end and the fourth quarter began. On the one and only play of the next drive for the Chiefs, Cassel was sacked by Kyle Vanden Bosch. The ball popped loose and Stephen Tulloch picked it up for the Lions. Five plays later, the Lions scored on a nine-yard pass from Stafford to Best.
The Lions continued to pour it on when McCluster fumbled on the second play of Kansas City's next drive. The ball was punched out by Eric Wright and Cliff Avril eventually fell on it after Louis Delmas failed to pick it up a couple of times. This time around the Lions needed six plays to get into the end zone, but once again it was Best scoring a touchdown from the Lions. He jumped over the pile from the one-yard line to put the Lions on top by a score of 41-3.
Wright created another turnover for the Lions on the ensuing drive. This time he intercepted a pass by Cassel at the KC 34. The Lions proceeded to take Stafford and a number of other starters out, giving the backups a chance to play. The end result was the same even without the starters, as Keiland Williams capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run on fourth and goal. The TD run was made possible by Shaun Hill finding Young for 28 yards on third down earlier in the drive.
After trading punts to run out the rest of the fourth quarter, the clock hit triple zeroes and the Lions left the field with an impressive 48-3 victory. Before time expired, Lions players gave defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham a Gatorade shower in celebration of the win against his former team and the team that accused the Lions of tampering. To say the least, it was a satisfying win all-around, especially for Cunningham.
The celebration over this victory won't last long, because the Lions will soon have to turn their attention to next week's game against the Minnesota Vikings. Although the Vikings are 0-2, they lost by only four points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday and only seven points last week to the San Diego Chargers. The Lions haven't won at the Metrodome since 1997, so they will have to keep it rolling next week to end their losing streak in Minnesota and pick up their third straight win to start the season.
Read More: Chris Houston (CB - DET), Thomas Jones (RB - KAN), Jason Hanson (K - DET), Matt Cassel (QB - KAN), Shaun Hill (QB - DET), Nate Burleson (WR - DET), Stephen Tulloch (LB - DET), Kyle Vanden Bosch (DE - DET), Tony Scheffler (TE - DET), Eric Wright (DB - DET), Calvin Johnson (WR - DET), Cliff Avril (DE - DET), Louis Delmas (S - DET), Matthew Stafford (QB - DET), Ryan Succop (K - KAN), Jahvid Best (RB - DET), Amari Spievey (S - DET), Dexter McCluster (WR - KAN), Keiland Williams (RB - DET), Titus Young (WR - DET), Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs at Detroit Lions, Sep 18, 2011 1:
by YpsilantiJeff on Sep 18, 2011 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions I know. That?s why I said ?put the condescending dick down who wrote that? I wasn?
When I said I wasn?t generalizing their entire fanbase it was strictly that just because one guy is a dick, doesn?t mean they all are. However, I don?t think it?s a generalization to say Chiefs fans were talking a lot of shit. A lot of them were, and for myself I was calling it like I see it.
by RealityIsOptionable on Sep 18, 2011 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions chill broski The Dis-Assembly Line - The unofficial, official name for the next best D-line in football.
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions Yes, by and large the Arrowhead Pride group has been a respectful group I drafted for the Chiefs in the 2010 Pride of Detroit Mock Draft. The Chiefs fans at Arrowhead Pride were a lot of help and very respectful. Most of the disrespectful comments you may have read on that 1 post were by relatively newer posters. Upamtn, who was one of our main defenders in that thread, is a longtime regular member of AP and is more representative of the fine group of people over at Arrowhead Pride. AP is a classy site with classy people. I wish the Chiefs well the rest of the year. I hope Jamaal charles is ok. I have faith that Scott Pioli will build upon the good pieces that are already in place in KC.
by GRLion on Sep 18, 2011 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions I only want to say, I?M SO HAPPY! Just going to lay back and enjoy this. No predictions, no talk about the Queens yetl I?M SO HAPPY!
by 2manyears on Sep 18, 2011 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions What we have is a huge win but also have it so that we can find things to improve upon and thats what the coaching staff is going to look at.
by Liontotheextreme on Sep 18, 2011 5:11 PM EDT reply actions 48 points! hell yeah! keep it goin? and get pumped ? you guys have a helluva team brewin?
The Chief?s also seem snake bit this year big time ? all the injuries and turnovers ? if that safety hangs on to that INT early ? it?s a pick-six going the other way and the game might go much differently.
by YpsilantiJeff on Sep 18, 2011 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions 100% 3 and out conversion is just not possible. Like I said, we started to pull away in the second and blew it wide open in the second half. To call the second Q rough is absurd. The first Q was rough.
by RealityIsOptionable on Sep 18, 2011 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions Stoked about Titus! With him starting to click, I just don?t know how you stop us other than rattle Stafford into bad plays (which he does) ? but I still don?
by Wadeledge on Sep 18, 2011 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions Lions also won by 45 points in the 1957 NFL Championship game (59-14 over the Browns) "Good luck, National League managers ? I have no idea how you?re supposed to get this guy out."
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions I think we really need to keep winning these early games, because there are 5 tough games in the last 6 "Good luck, National League managers ? I have no idea how you?re supposed to get this guy out."
by Latif Masud on Sep 18, 2011 5:24 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs This is a good start to the season! Bodes well for our wildcard chances, especially if we can keep this momentum for another couple weeks. Here?s another victory will a lot of teaching to be done in the film room. Happy to see so many sweet plays made on both O and D. That was special and shows what we?re capable of.
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 5:32 PM EDT reply actions '9ers up 7 at the half "Good luck, National League managers ? I have no idea how you?re supposed to get this guy out."
by GhostManOnThird on Sep 18, 2011 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions oh he will! with them down like this. He?ll be throwing it all 2nd half!
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions I called it during the game thread The way his knee buckled and his lower leg wiggled after he took that big step had ACL or MCL written all over it. That just flat out sucks for them.
If there is one good thing about it happening now. It is only week 2, he will have plenty of time to get cut and heal properly before next season. No rushing the physical therapy to have him back in time.
by joshsun on Sep 18, 2011 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions Jamaal Charles Torn ACL, getting an MRI on Monday to confirm. Looks to be done for the season, will likely be on IR within the next day or two.
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions absolutely horrible for them. "Football isn't a contact sport, it's a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport."
by GRLion on Sep 18, 2011 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions Go San Fran! "Football isn't a contact sport, it's a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport."
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions Romo has a broken collar bone! My fantasy team just picked up a starter QB.
That?s right, in 35 minutes real time, Detroit got 4 touchdowns and 3 turnovers. The longest break between a huge play (again, in real time) was 12 minutes because of ball-control offense, every other split was 5 minutes or less.
by yooperlionfan on Sep 18, 2011 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions Yes. Dallas QB Tony Romo injured his ribs in the first half of Sunday?s game in San Francisco. He jogged out of the locker room late and put his helmet on to take the field for the team?s first possession of the second half. That didn?t happen as Jon Kitna was under center and Romo was on the sideline with trainers. He would go back to the locker room, showing his frustration on the way. He completed 8 of his 17 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
by Lionz Fowlweatherfan on Sep 18, 2011 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions OMG My wife is outta her mind! 13-3. Lions shred her Pats in the superbowl. I?ll smoke what she has in her pipe.
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions I'm seriously just not used to this whole "we have a good football team" every time the announcer said ?The Lions are for real!? I?m like, ?OMG, this is SURreal?
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions They were running misdirection plays a lot while I was watching. I only saw the 2nd & 3rd quarters after Charles was out, but the Lions predictably adjusted to the counter-trap action about halfway through the second quarter. Given how good the front line is I would expect the Lions will see a lot of this kind of thing.
by rbubp on Sep 18, 2011 6:31 PM EDT up reply actions Our defense is not set up to be strong against the run It is just that simple. We are set up to be a pass stopping defense and run defense will be our weakness all season long.
I wouldn't agree with that ?look what the Lions did to TB. I think they are better set up for stopping a traditional power-run game versus counters, traps, reverses, all that stuff, BUT they did adjust, no? And when they did they just mauled the Chiefs.
by joshsun on Sep 18, 2011 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions So we don't get any credit for putting them that far down? It works for the Packers, Patriots, and plenty of other teams. It?s a passing league, when you go up against a running team you pass, put points up, and then take them out of their element and win. We do that against Minnesota next week, what?s the problem?
Next week we will be facing a real genuine test in Minny. They can pound the ball and their defense is better than most people realize. They are slowly getting better QB play (to be expected) and they are go0ing to be hungry at home for that first win. I see next weeks game as a real measuring stick.
by Gyorick on Sep 18, 2011 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions At this rate. Every week is going to be the real measuring stick until we get blown out.
Yes, I do expect us to force running teams to abandon the run with regularity. We just played the best all-around running team in the league, who even with JC down are really good at pounding the rock, and we took them out of it and blew the doors open.
by joshsun on Sep 18, 2011 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions Oh, you got that right We will find out many things next week. Regardless of what happened the first two weeks, Minny will look at us as the Same ol Lions till we can beat them there. They arent afraid of us, yet.
by YpsilantiJeff on Sep 18, 2011 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions Bucs came from behind to win in that miserable little pup tent, they're pretty good But if we only get 3 TO?s do we only win by 21??lol?sorry, my bad. I hear you, but I remained unconvinced that just because we cant stop em in the 1st doesnt mean we cant slow em down in the 2nd and stop em by the 3rd. Which looks to be the pattern going back 6 games.
by YpsilantiJeff on Sep 18, 2011 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions They hit us with misdirections and off-tackle Not many teams run off-tackle and they were really committed to going laterally. We made adjustments and fared much better as the game went on, on all sides of the ball.
Again, I repeat, our D doesn?t need to stop rushing yards. Our D needs to stop rushing touchdowns (we did!) until our O has enough cushion that our D can go back to playing its strength. It?s a passing league, and our scheme may be weak against rushing teams pre-adjustment, but no scheme is perfect and we seem to be making adjustments well.
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions and we are exposed on tape so we probably wont do anything to work on it Matthew Stafford, Quarterback:
by Gyorick on Sep 18, 2011 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions Other teams aren't BUILT to do that. KC is. Other teams can emulate the idea, but you can?t just say ?okay, we?re going to run off-tackle and wreck the Lions? without the personnel and the experience of doing it, you?re not exactly going to light the world on fire.
I mean, in pre-season week 3 we laid out the blue-print on how to get at the Pats, with a four man pressure and sticky coverage. That doesn?t mean every team in the league is suddenly equipped to be able to do that.
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 7:23 PM EDT up reply actions They did stop the run, I looked it up-- 2nd quarter KC ran the ball six times for 21 yards. Longest run = five yards.
by rbubp on Sep 18, 2011 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions don't think so agree that there i a scheme weakness against the run, but I think we?re quite strong up the middle and will do well against a number of our matchups this season. But we will also most likely be exposed in some of our games like vs.
They have to be prepared to read their keys because teams will try to use their aggressiveness against them. Screen passes could cause a lot of trouble.
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions San Francisco back on top "Good luck, National League managers ? I have no idea how you?re supposed to get this guy out."
by Grahamophone on Sep 18, 2011 6:27 PM EDT reply actions I want to hear some guesses as to what kind of celebrations Sheffler will be doing the rest of this year ?as in, do the Lions play Cleveland, what will he do? How about for Green Bay or Minnesota?
Enjoying being a converted Lions fan (three years of interest now) since you guys took Stafford from my alma mater?go Lions, go Dawgs.
by rames on Sep 18, 2011 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions I was afraid Best was going to get hurt on that td that made it 41-3. Sheffeler?s smoke signals should say ?Don?t be jumpin? on Jahvid!?
by John Matkin on Sep 18, 2011 6:56 PM EDT up reply actions niners would be a miner using a pick for mining and finding treasure....
by Gyorick on Sep 18, 2011 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions anyone see that it looked like Aaron Berry sprung his ankle on that fumble? did anyone see him playing late in the game?
by Motown_Soldier on Sep 18, 2011 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions Houston really started to come on last 2nd half of season and Wright has played some good football before. Admit I was worried about E.Wrights confidence when we got him but it seems he?s back to old form.Haven?t heard anyone give props to middle of our D so I?m doing that now.
Detroit Lions Dismantle Kansas City Chiefs For 48-3 Victory 2-0 Lions Vs. Chiefs - Fourth Quarter Open Thread Lions Vs. Chiefs - Third Quarter Open Thread Lions Vs. Chiefs - Second Quarter Open Thread Inactives Announced For Lions-Chiefs Game Lions Notes: Who Will Start At Right Tackle On Sunday? Week 2 NFL Injury Report: Detroit Lions Vs. Kansas City Chiefs Pride Of Detroit Podcast: Game 2 Preview On Paper: Detroit Lions Vs.
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