Defense Helps Lions Overcome Mistakes On Offense, Special Teams
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
FORD FIELD (CBS DETROIT) - Quarterback Matthew Stafford turned the ball over three times, kicker Nate Freese missed yet another field goal, and the Detroit Lions still emerged with a convincing victory, 19-7, over the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers.
For all the talk of a high-powered Detroit offense, it was the Lions defense that stepped up Sunday. The group accounted for nine points, limited the Packers to a single score, and ultimately powered Detroit to a meaningful NFC North win.
"It means a lot," defensive tackle Nick Fairley said. "I know there's going to be some games where the offense has got to pick us up. They're going to have to go out there and score 40, 50 points for us to win the game - not saying that's what we want, but sometimes the balls roll that way. So for us to pick them up, it might be next week they have to pick us up, so we just as a unit, as a defense and as a team, I think the Detroit Lions are making big steps."
The first defensive score for Detroit came when Fairley forced a fumble that safety Don Carey scooped up and returned 40 yards for a score that put the Lions ahead, 7-0. Later, on the heels of a Stafford interception with the game tied, linebacker DeAndre Levy tackled running back Eddie Lacy for a safety, putting the Lions back on top, 9-7.
"Those are momentum swings," linebacker Stephen Tulloch said. "That changes the course of the game and puts the offense against the wall - their offense, and I think we did a good job responding to adversity throughout the course of the game, and we were able to hold tight and prevail for four quarters."
Few would have predicted before Sunday's game that the Lions defense would outscore the Packers offense, which is guided by one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Rodgers. Fairley said, however, that putting points on the board has been an emphasis.
"That's one thing we harp on as a defense - we've got to score," Fairley said. "Who says defense can't score? Who says we can't score twice? We did it today."
Detroit held the Packers to 223 yards of offense - 147 yards passing and 76 yards rushing. Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said stopping the run was key.
"Once you take the run away, then you can certainly try to keep things in front of you, the play-action fakes aren't quite as drastic, they don't have as much pull on you from your linebacker positions and in your perimeter, so I thought they dig a tremendous job there, and that kind of set the stage," Caldwell said. "Not only that, when [Rodgers] dropped back to pass, other than when he got the ball out of his hands quickly, the guys put pressure on him. They were around him quite often. You have to commend our guys. [Ndamukong] Suh did a great job. Fairley was tough in there. The guys on the edges did a nice job as well putting pressure on him. It was a good rotation even though [Rodgers] didn't let us substitute much ... Overall I thought they played well."
The defense's performance looked especially impressive considering the players it lacked. Safety James Ihedigbo - who going into the season was expected to be a starter - missed his third straight game. Cornerbacks Bill Bentley and Nevin Lawson are out for the season, and Carey - not long after his touchdown return - had to leave the game Sunday with injury.
Perhaps most significantly, during the game the Lions lost Tulloch, who apparently injured himself while celebrating a sack. The loss of Tulloch, however, only provided another opportunity for Levy to show how impactful he has been and continues to be for Detroit.
"The thing that happened today, where [Levy] had to take over the headset and then also now communicate the calls to the defense is something that ordinarily, obviously, Tully does," Caldwell said, "but he did a great job with it, was not phased by it, did not get frustrated or flustered at any point in time. Really did a nice job."
Cornerbacks Rashean Mathis and Darius Slay also pleased Caldwell, who praised Mathis as a steadying force for the unit and Slay as a player making constant progress week by week. Even Green Bay's heralded wide receiver Jordy Nelson, who had 292 receiving yards on 18 catches coming into Sunday's game, caught just five passes for 59 yards.
While the Detroit offense had its rough patches, most notably the aforementioned turnovers, the Lions finished the game strong on that side of the ball as well, chewing up plenty of clock in the fourth quarter. The success of the run game set the Lions up to end the game in victory formation.
Last week, turnovers helped sink the Lions. This week, the team battled through such setbacks.
"They do have grit," Caldwell said. "They have the ability to dig down deep in tough situations and make the best out of them, and today there were a number of them that occurred, and I think that's part of kind of the building, the psychological sort of exercise that a team goes through in terms of trying to build mental toughness.
"We're not where we want to be yet," Caldwell continued. "We're a long way from that. We haven't arrived by any stretch of the imagination, but I think our guys, in this particular game, we were headed in the right direction."
