Injuries, Penalties Plague Detroit Lions In Loss To Titans

The Detroit Lions (1-1) lost their home opener 16-15 to the Tennessee Titans (1-1) on Sunday, succumbing to a bevy of injuries and penalties.

The Detroit Lions blew a 12-point lead to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, committing 17 penalties and suffering several injuries in a sloppy 16-15 loss.

The Rundown

The Lions scored first when Devin Taylor tackled DeMarco Murray in the endzone for a safety midway through the first quarter, then scored a touchdown on the ensuing eight-play, 79-yard drive on a 24-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to Anquan Boldin to take a 9-0 lead.

Ryan Succop‘s 46-yard field goal cut the lead to 9-3 with 12:08 left in the second quarter. On their next drive, the Lions marched into Titans territory, but the drive stalled out at the 39-yard line and the Lions opted to punt on fourth and three instead of going for it.

After the Titans punted on their next drive, the Lions launched a 13-play drive from their own one-yard line that advanced all the way down to the TItans’ one-yard line. Penalties on two consecutive plays brought back Detroit touchdowns, however, and the Lions ended up settling for a 42-yard Matt Prater field goal to take a 12-3 into halftime.

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Glover Quin got things going on defense for the Lions in the second half with an impressive toe-tapping interception of Marcus Mariota. The Lions took possession and drove 63 yards in 14 plays but stalled out in the redzone again and settled for a 27-yard field goal to increase the lead to 15-3 late in the third.

The Titans responded, making the most of a hobbled Lions defense that was missing defensive end Ezekial Ansah and linebackers DeAndre Levy (quad) and Antwione Williams (thigh) by that point, going 75 yards in five plays and scoring on a 30-yard touchdown from Mariota to tight end Delanie Walker on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The two teams traded punts for the next three possessions until the Titans launched what would be a game-winning 13-play, 83-yard touchdown drive. Mariota capped it off with a five-yard fourth-down touchdown pass to veteran Andre Johnson to give the Titans a 16-15 lead with 1:13 left in the game.

The ensuing two-point conversion attempt was no good, but it wouldn’t matter. Stafford was intercepted by Parrish Cox on the ensuing possession, the first interception Stafford has thrown this season, while trying to lead the Lions to a second-straight final-drive comeback win. Tennessee ran out the clock to seal a 16-15 win.

Game Notes and Analysis:

Injury Report: Lions Thin At Linebacker, Ansah Suffers Sprain

It was a long day for the Lions injury-wise. They came in missing linebacker DeAndre Levy (quad), as well as cornerback Adairius Barnes (ankle) and tight end Cole Wick (shoulder).

Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah left the game in the first quarter with what was reported as a high ankle sprain and did not return. Ansah had been listed as questionable on the injury report coming into the game with an ankle injury. Linebacker Antwione Williams, seeing increased action due to Levy’s injury, went to the locker room with a thigh injury and did not return, as did another linebacker seeing extra snaps, Kyle Van Noy, who left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury. Ameer Abdulah went to the locker room as well with a foot injury and also did not return.

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By the end of the game, the Lions were down to two healthy linebackers, Tahir Whitehead and Thurston Armbrister, and were playing Brandon Copeland, who converted from linebacker to defensive end, at the position as well.

Right tackle Riley Reiff left the game temporarily in the third quarter but did return, as did tight end Eric Ebron, who appeared to be evaluated for a concussion after falling hard on the turf while making an attempt at a diving catch in the endzone.

Penalties Hamper Teams As Refs Call It Closely

The biggest storyline from this game was doubtlessly the penalties. Head referee Brad Allen and his crew threw 29 flags for penalties which were accepted, for a total of 221 yards. The Lions were on the receiving end of 17 of those penalties and lost 138 yards.

When that many flags are thrown, some of the calls will be controversial, although the most controversial decision was for a flag the referees didn’t throw. After attempting a pass in the third quarter, Stafford was grappled at the ankles by Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and brought to the ground. The official was right there to see the play but opted to keep the flag in his pocket.

Stafford was a visibly hobbled on the next play, after which the Lions punted, and let the officials know in no uncertain terms that he was unhappy with the no-call. Stafford remained in the game on the next possession and did not appear to be hurt. FOX commentator and former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira said that he thought the play was a foul and broke it down with replay.

Not all of the calls were controversial, although there were some—including a potential intentional grounding not called on Mariota, a defensive holding called on Darius Slay which kept a Titans drive alive and a pass interference on Ebron which nullified a touchdown—which could have gone the other way. The general consensus was that the officials called the game very closely, and called more ticky-tack fouls than perhaps they should have, which affected the flow of the game and made things difficult for both teams.

Lions Fail To Make Most Of Field Position

The Lions dominated the field position battle for most of this game. Sam Martin put on another masterful performance at punter, as he pinned the Titans inside their 20-yard line on each of his five punts. The Titans started inside their own 20-yard line six times, including starting four times inside their own ten-yard line.

The Lions, on the other hand, while not having great field position, started only one drive inside their own 20-yard line. However, despite this advantage, the Lions failed to score touchdowns while in Tennessee territory four different times, coming up with only six points on those drives and punting twice. Three other times, the Lions had the ball within ten yards of midfield but failed to come away with points on any of them.

Several Drops Cost Lions Offense

The Lions caught a bad case of the drops in this game. As many as eight of Stafford’s 18 incomplete passes could be pinned on five different receivers who had a chance to make catches and failed to come up with the ball. They weren’t all easy catches to make, but they were, for the most part, passes receivers are expected to make in the NFL. Golden Tate unofficially led the team with three drops.

Parrish Cox’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, or “HAHA, Matt Just Ran Over Some Guy!”

Parrish Cox had a pretty rough game overall, committing a pass interference penalty that gave the Lions a first-and-goal at the one-yard line and making a couple of poor plays in coverage. But his most embarrassing moment came in the second quarter.

Cox would get his, though, as he picked off Stafford as the Lions tried to launch a comeback drive in the final miinute of the game.

Devin Taylor, Kerry Hyder Show Up On Defense

Both Devin Taylor and Kerry Hyder had big games for the Lions, getting pressure in the backfield with Ansah in the locker room, injured. They teamed up for a sack in the first quarter and combined for eight tackles, two-and-a-half sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits, boosting a defensive front that otherwise struggled to rush the passer consistently.

Next: Detroit Lions Week Two Game Ball - Devin Taylor

Elsewhere in the NFC North:

The Green Bay Packers (1-0) visit the Minnesota Vikings (1-0) tonight at 8:30 on NBC, and the Chicago Bears (0-1) take on the Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) on Monday night at 8:30 on ESPN.

Up Next:

The Lions will visit the Packers at Lambeau Field next Sunday at 1:00 on FOX.