The Lions really excelled in the 4th quarter as they outscored the Bengals by 17 points to pull away.  Jon Kitna completed all three of his pass attempts for 76 yards with a 27-yard TD pass to WR Calvin Johnson.  Dan Orlovsky was solid on Sunday Night as he completed 11 of 22 passes for 137 yards.  2nd year QB Drew Stanton was the real star of the show for the Lions against the Bengals.  Stanton completed both of his pass attempts for 58 yards including a 50-yard TD strike to WR Brandon Middleton.  Stanton also carried the football 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 ypc) and he scored on a 10-yard TD run.  RB Artose Pinner was the leading rusher for the Lions in this game with 52 yards on 13 carries (4.0 ypc).  Rookie Kevin Smith pitched in with 19 yards rushing on 4 carries (4.8 ypc).  WR John Standeford led the Lions in receiving with 85 yards on 4 receptions (21.3 avg).  Calvin Johnson also had an outstanding game as he caught 3 passes for 76 yards (25.3 avg) with a TD reception.  WR Brandon Middleton also was really effective late in the game for the Lions as he caught 2 passes for 58 yards (29.0 avg) with a TD.   The Lions finished up this game with 112 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 27 passes for 263 yards.

Linebacker Leon Joe led the way for the Lions’ defense with 8 tackles.  DE Rudolph Hardie was living in the Bengals’ backfield with 2 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Bengals finished up with 100 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 41 passes for 224 yards.  This was a nice win for the Lions.