Lions roar back to win after slow start

Nov 16, 2017 - 5:22 PM ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions have won two straight games to get back above .500 for the first time since mid-October, but they aren't playing their best football heading into a crucial two-games-in-five-days stretch against NFC North opponents Chicago and Minnesota.

In Sunday's 38-24 win over the hapless Cleveland Browns, the Lions gave up the first 10 points of the game and trailed deep into the third quarter before Matthew Stafford and the offense awoke from its slumber and rattled off 21 straight points.

Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the final 16 minutes and cornerback Nevin Lawson returned a fumble for a touchdown as the Lions overcame a poor defensive effort to beat the only winless team left in the NFL.

"I just think all across the board we weren't playing well that first portion of the game," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said. "We turned the ball over, we got sacked early on, (had negative yards) on the first series. I mean, it was just, it wasn't good.

"And then we didn't stop them enough times on defense. We had a spurt there that where we just didn't play good football, or not as good as we're capable of. And then we finally got on track and we just played them like we play."

While Caldwell downplayed his team's lackluster effort Sunday, the Lions regressed in several areas they seemed to have made strides in of late.

First, despite getting wide receiver Kenny Golladay and left tackle Taylor Decker back on offense, the Lions struggled to sustain drives throughout the game and scored their final two touchdowns on long third-down conversions.

Stafford hit tight end Eric Ebron with a 29-yard pass for the go-ahead touchdown, and wide receiver Golden Tate turned a short screen into a 40-yard touchdown for the final score.

Second, the Lions gave up a season-high 201 yards rushing, with rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer scrambling for 57 of those yards.

Safety Glover Quin said the Lions weren't guilty of overlooking the Browns, and that Cleveland deserves credit for a well-played game. Caldwell said the Lions have "a lot of work to do" on their run defense ahead of this week's matchup with a Bears team that ranks eighth in the NFL in rushing at 121.8 yards per game.

"I do think it's just one of the things about this league is you just got to find a way to keep getting better," Caldwell said. "Continuous improvement is important, and we're getting a little bit better in some areas, but we still got a lot of work to do."

--OL Taylor Decker made his season debut at left tackle Sunday, playing 69 percent of the Lions' offensive snaps five months after he tore the labrum in his right shoulder.

"I was obviously very excited to get back out there, and then once I got back out there and was able to get a couple drives in, kind of the nerves settled and I just settled in," Decker said. "Got my feet wet, knocked the rust off and it's just playing football, it's just what I do every day."

The Lions rotated Decker and Brian Mihalik every series early in the game as a way to get Decker back acclimated with the speed of the game. Decker returned to practice less than two weeks ago, and the Lions activated him off the physically unable to perform list on Saturday.

Decker is expected to progress to a full complement of snaps, likely this week against the Chicago Bears. The Lions waived-injured Greg Robinson, who started the first six games at left tackle, to make room for Decker.

"I just followed the plan and went in when they told me, came out when they told me to," Decker said. "And I have a really good belief that they're going to do everything in my best interests to help me and not put me in a bad position moving forward."

--Cornerback Nevin Lawson atoned for what he called "the worst first half of my career" in a big way Sunday when he forced and recovered a fumble on Browns tight end Seth DeValve that he returned 44 yards for a touchdown.

"I'm glad he came back," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said. "He's got guts and he's tough. And that's a heck of a play that he made getting that ball out and then picking it up and run it for a score. It's not a typical play."

Lawson, who got beat for a 38-yard gain on the Browns' first play from scrimmage and missed a tackle on Cleveland's first touchdown, said he initially tried to go low on his tackle on DeValve and only went for the strip after realizing DeValve already had a first down.

He flopped on the fumble, hopped immediately to his feet and high-stepped the final few yards down the sideline to give the Lions a 17-10 lead just before halftime.

"Coach Caldwell preaches when you hit that ground get up like it's hot and I knew once I got that ball I had to," Lawson said. "We do it every day in practice, so I just got up and made a play."

NOTES: RB Dwayne Washington left Sunday's win over the Browns with a hip injury. Washington has dealt with a slew of injuries this year, including a quad strain that kept him out four games and a concussion. His status for this week's game against the Bears is not yet known. ...

QB Matthew Stafford was credited with leading the 30th game-winning drive of his career against the Browns. Stafford completed 6 of 9 passes in the fourth quarter for 85 yards and two touchdowns. The game was tied at 24 entering the fourth quarter. ... WR Golden Tate caught six passes Sunday, giving him 336 in three-plus seasons with the Lions. Tate is tied for sixth on the team's all-time receptions list with Hall-of-Famer Charlie Sanders. Barry Sanders (352 catches) ranks fifth on the list.



REPORT CARD VS. BROWNS

--PASSING OFFENSE: B-minus - Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the game's final 16 minutes as the Lions overcame a sluggish start for the win. Stafford took a sack on the game's first play and threw a bad interception on the Lions' second offensive series. Golden Tate caught six passes for a game-high 97 yards and scored on a late 40-yard screen play that Stafford checked into at the line of scrimmage. Kenny Golladay, in his first game back from a hamstring injury, had two third-quarter catches to set up the Lions' game-tying score. Taylor Decker was solid in pass protection in his return from a torn labrum, but the Lions still allowed four sacks.

--RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus - The Lions ran for 104 yards on 19 carries and gashed the Browns for a couple big plays on the ground. Ameer Abdullah had runs of 19 and 20 yards in the first half, and Theo Riddick broke a 21-yard run behind a couple blocks from guard Graham Glasgow. Abdullah also scored his third rushing touchdown of the year from 8 yards out behind a good block from Travis Swanson. As effectively as the Lions ran the ball, they should have kept it on the ground more.

--PASS DEFENSE: C-minus - Nevin Lawson gave up a big pass on Cleveland's first play from scrimmage and missed a tackle on the Browns' first touchdown, but he bounced back in a big way, stripping Browns tight end Seth DeValve of a fumble that he returned 44 yards for a touchdown. Darius Slay had his fourth interception of the year to clinch the victory, and Quandre Diggs knocked DeShone Kizer temporarily out of the game with a big hit on a cornerback blitz. Middle linebacker Jarrad Davis continues to struggle in pass coverage, and the Lions couldn't contain Kizer with their pass rush (he scrambled for 57 yards), though they did sack backup Cody Kessler three times in just seven offensive snaps.

--RUSH DEFENSE: F - Kizer wasn't the only Browns player who had a big day on the ground as Cleveland shredded the NFL's No. 6 rushing defense for 201 yards. Both Kizer and Isaiah Crowell scored on short runs, and Crowell finished with 90 yards rushing on 16 carries. The Lions got pushed around at the line of scrimmage and missed tackles in the back seven, with even the usually reliable Glover Quin whiffing on two stops. One bright spot: The Lions did stuff Kizer on an ill-advised quarterback sneak from the 2-yard line with 15 seconds left in the first half. The Browns were out of timeouts at the time, and didn't get another play off before the half expired.

--SPECIAL TEAMS: B-plus - Jamal Agnew had another fine day returning punts, where he averaged 14 yards on his four returns and had one long return called back on a block in the back by Lawson. Matt Prater made his only field-goal attempt, from 46 yards out and had a nice pooch kickoff, but Sam Martin netted just 36.3 yards on his punts as he bounced one into the end zone.

--COACHING: D-plus - Head coach Jim Caldwell admitted that he made an egregious mistake by challenging the spot of Duke Johnson's fourth-down conversion in the first quarter. Replays clearly showed that Johnson made the first down, and officials may have even shorted him on the spot. Caldwell declined to say which assistant gave him bad intel on the challenge. The coaching staff shares in the blame for the slow start as the Lions didn't look ready for Cleveland's script of plays, but offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter made some nice adjustments in the second half to push the ball down field more. The Lions never really got a handle on Cleveland's running game, but they did attack the overmatched Kessler the minute he stepped on the field.