Matthew Stafford looks sharp; Lions lose to Raiders 27-26
Aug 15, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws a touchdown pass against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Lions packed up and headed out west to face the Oakland Raiders in week two of the NFL preseason. The game was a late start for Lions fans watching at home, however quarterback Matthew Stafford made sure to give a wake up call early on.
Matt Schaub led the Raiders onto the field at O. Co Coliseum and it wouldn’t take long for any drowsy Lions fans to wake up. James Ihedigbo would intercept his first pass as a Lion off a tip by cornerback, Rasheen Mathis.
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On the second play, of the first-team offenses first possession, Stafford would throw a 28-yard strike to WR Golden Tate in the endzone after the Raiders defense bit on the pump fake.
Nate Freese would miss the long extra point.
The Lions first-team offense would come back on the field for the second offensive possession. Joe Lombardi would throw some different looks at the Raiders, with a fullback strong-I look and lining rookie Eric Ebron up on the outside. Stafford was able to spread the ball out very well with completions to Tate, Kevin Ogletree, Ebron, and eventually Kris Durham in the corner of the endzone.
“Obviously, Calvin wasn’t out there today so a lot of guys got opportunities and made the most of them today. That’s what we’re looking for this time year.”-Matthew Stafford
Two offensive possessions, two touchdowns.
Stafford would play one more possession before being retired for the evening.
The Detroit Lions, Teryl Austin lead defense made its presence felt early and often. Jason Jones was able to get pressure off the edge and Stephen Tulloch was able to get a lot of pressure due to a heavy blitz package. It’s a welcomed change here in Detroit.
Darren McFadden would score on a one yard run after Oakland’s first-team drove down the field against the Lions second-team.
A 28-yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal would further cut the lead near the end of the second quarter but Freese would get some redemption after his extra point miss, nailing a 55-yard field goal going into halftime.
Score at the half: DET 16 OAK 10
The Lions would start the third quarter with the football and would make very good use of it. Dan Orlovsky, possibly on a mission to de-rail the Kellen Moore bandwagon, would go 4/4 for 78 yards on the drive. 44 of those yards would come off a screen pass to RB Theo Riddick. Riddick would make four Raiders miss in the open field before being brought down.
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George Winn would punch the ball in from one yard out with an off-tackle run out of the lead ISO.
Derek Carr led an 8-play, 80-yard scoring drive and capped it with a 3-yard TD pass to TE Jake Murphy. The PAT was good and the Lions lead was cut to 23-17 late in the third quarter.
Kellen Moore than entered the game for Detroit, and was abruptly sacked by rookie Khalil Mack. The sack set the tone for the series as the Raiders forced a three-and-out.
Janikowski would kick another field goal for Oakland, this time from 36-yards out. The field goal cut the Lions lead to a mere three points.
“We just had far too many blunders where we looked a little sloppy from time to time,”-Lions coach Jim Caldwell
Then cam Matt McGloin. McGloin entered the game following Derek Carr’s exit due to injury. Similar to what Moore was able to put together for the Lions last week, McGloin worked some magic and propelled the Raiders 68 yards in 13 plays and hit WR Brice Butler from 19 yards out for the go-ahead score. The extra point was good and the Raiders took at 27-26 lead with six seconds left.
The Lions returned Janikowski’s squib kick as time ran out and the Raiders won the game.
Final: DET 26 OAK 27
The win by Oakland puts both the Raiders and the Lions at 1-1 respectively.
Takeaways
- Ryan Broyles was impressive yet again for the Lions. He continues to rack up a lot of yards after the catch and always seems to know where the first down markers are.
- George Winn continue to make it hard for the Lions not to keep him around, even with considerable depth at RB
- Matthew Stafford looked sharp going 9/10, 88 yards and 2 TD’s with a passer rating of 142.9%
- Penalties were a major issue for the Lions
- First sack of the year for the Lions defense gets credited to… George Johnson