Detroit Lions 27, Cincinnati Bengals 26
The Detroit Lions scored the last 17 points in the game last night to pull out a victory over the Bengals. Jon Kitna made a short appearance at the start of the game and he looked sharp completing 3 of 5 passes for 52 yards. When he left the game the fun really began for the Lions who have an opening for the 2nd string QB job with the competitors being J.T. O’Sullivan and Dan Orlovsky. O’Sullivan was the first one in and he completed 12 of 19 passes for 225 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. Dan Orlovsky then came in and lead the team on their big comeback to win the game. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 220 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception. Tatum Bell carried the ball 6 times for 19 yards and T.J. Duckett carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards in their first appearances for the Lions. Shaun McDonald had a monster game as he caught 5 passes for 146 yards (29.2 avg) with a TD (83 yarder). Troy Walters was also busy with 8 grabs for 77 yards. Kevin Kasper added 4 catches for 46 yards (11.5 avg) and a TD. First round pick Calvin Johnson made his debut in Lions’ blue and he caught 2 passes for 45 yards. The Lions didn’t run the ball well as they carried the ball 19 times for 59 yards (3.1 ypc) but they were awesome throwing the ball. They completed 30 of 47 passes for 489 yards!
The Lions defense was stout against the run as they only allowed the Bengals to rush for 72 yards on 24 carries (3.0 ypc). The Bengals were effective throwing the ball as they completed 23 of 37 passes for 272 yards. The game didn’t count but the Lions didn’t look half bad last night.