E-Mail
Print
The first team offense started the game on the right note for Buffalo. Ryan Fitzpatrick and C.J. Spiller marched the Bills down the field for an 11-play, 83-yard drive culminating with a fade to Stevie Johnson for the touchdown. Buffalo grabbed the early 7-0 lead.
The Lions responded quickly with their starting offense. Matthew Stafford lead an 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by a Calvin Johnson touchdown to make the score 7-7. Brad Smith fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Mikel Leshoure added another quick score for Detroit to take a 14-7 lead.
Detroit's offense just kept humming along after a short Bills drive. Shaun Hill made it 21-7 Lions with a keeper up the middle near the end of the first quarter. Before time could run out in the frame Detroit added another touchdown when Tyler Thigpen tossed a pick six to make it 28-7 Lions.
Thigpen put together a decent drive near the end of the first half, but it stalled in the red zone. Rian Lindell was true from 30 yards to cut the lead to 28-10 for the Lions. The Bills' second team offense continued to move the ball in the second half. Johnny White punched one in from short distance to make the score 28-17 for Detroit in the third quarter. On the next Bills drive Thigpen hit Dorin Dickerson in the endzone to cut the defecit down to just 28-24.
The Lions ended Buffalo's string of unanswered points with 39-yard Jason Hanson field goal in the fourth quarter to boost their lead to 31-24. The seven point lead evaporated quickly. Marcus Easley took the ensuing kickoff to the house, and then made good on the two point conversion to give the Bills a 32-31 lead in the final frame.
Detroit snatched the lead right back. After a lengthy drive, rookie Kellen Moore strolled into the endzone on a bootleg to take the 38-32 lead.
Tarvaris Jackson took the reigns for the ensuing offensive drive, but that's the only action he would see. His night ended with an interception on a pass intended for Naaman Roosevelt. Thigpen came back out for the final drive to run the two-minute offense, but was unsuccessful. He closed out his evening on a pick as well.
TEAM STATS BUF DET
| 1st Downs | 26 | 24 |
| Total Plays | 62 | 70 |
| Total Yards | 298 | 389 |
| Yards per play | 4.8 | 5.6 |
| Total Drives | 13 | 13 |
| Passing | 221 | 291 |
|
Comp - Att
|
23-36 | 20-35 |
|
Yards per pass
|
6.1 | 8.3 |
|
Interceptions thrown
|
3 | 0 |
|
Sacks - Yards Lost
|
1-4 | 1-3 |
| Rushing | 77 | 98 |
|
Rushing Attempts
|
25 | 34 |
|
Yards per rush
|
3.1 | 2.9 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 3-4 | 3-4 |
| Penalties | 8-80 | 9-102 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 0 |
|
Fumbles lost
|
1 | 0 |
|
Interceptions thrown
|
3 | 0 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 1 | 1 |
| Possession | 29:50 | 30:02 |
INDIVIDUAL STATS
| BUF |
| Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
| Tyler Thigpen | 18/30 | 186 | 1 | 2 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 5/5 | 39 | 1 | 0 |
| Tarvaris Jackson | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rushing | ATT | YDS | TD | LG |
| C.J. Spiller | 6 | 29 | 0 | 11 |
| Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| Ruvell Martin | 5 | 49 | 0 | 18 |
| Kamar Aiken | 3 | 42 | 0 | 16 |
| DET | ||||
| Passing | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs |
| Kellen Moore | 17 | 30 | 211 | 0 |
| Rushing | Car | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| Mikel Leshoure | 15 | 43 | 2.9 | 1 |
| Receiving | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| Ryan Broyles | 3 | 54 | 18 | 0 |