Detroit  17

Jacksonville23

SCORING:

|     |    FINAL 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Detroit 0 0 0 17 0 17 Jacksonville 7 3 7 0 6 23   Scoring 1st Quarter JAC TD LABRANDON TOEFIELD 12 YD PASS FROM DAVID GARRARD (JOSH SCOBEE KICK), 6:42 Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards in 4:00 Key Plays:   Taylor 42-yard run to Detroit 30   Taylor 7-yard run on 3rd-and-3 to Detroit 16 JACKSONVILLE 7-0 2nd Quarter JAC FG JOSH SCOBEE 31 YD, 15:00 Drive: 14 plays, 65 yards in 3:40 Key Plays:   Garrard 15-yard pass to Brady to Jacksonville 40   Garrard 11-yard pass to Taylor on 3rd-and-9 to Detroit 48   Garrard 6-yard run on 3rd-and-3 to Detroit 35   Garrard 12-yard run to Detroit 18 JACKSONVILLE 10-0 3rd Quarter JAC TD GREG JONES 1 YD RUN (JOSH SCOBEE KICK), 9:11 Drive: 15 plays, 80 yards in 9:11 Key Plays:   Taylor 14-yard run to Jacksonville 34   Garrard 8-yard pass to Williams on 3rd-and-7 to Jacksonville 45   Garrard 11-yard pass to Smith to Detroit 38   Garrard 15-yard pass to Smith on 3rd-and-2 to Detroit 15   Jones 2-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to Detroit 4 JACKSONVILLE 17-0 4th Quarter DET TD EDDIE DRUMMOND 55 YD PUNT RETURN (JASON HANSON KICK), 1:53 JACKSONVILLE 17-7 DET FG JASON HANSON 21 YD, 8:30 Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards in 2:16 Key Plays:   Harrington 6-yard pass to Alexander plus 15-yard personal foul penalty on Jaguars' Ayodele to Jacksonville 46   Harrington 46-yard pass to Williams to Jacksonville 5 JACKSONVILLE 17-10 DET TD EDDIE DRUMMOND 83 YD PUNT RETURN (JASON HANSON KICK), 14:14 DETROIT 17-17 Overtime JAC TD JIMMY SMITH 36 YD PASS FROM DAVID GARRARD, 5:28 Drive: 11 plays, 76 yards in 5:28 Key Plays:   Garrard 6-yard pass to Brady on 3rd-and-6 to Jacksonville 34      Garrard 17-yard pass to Smith to Jacksonville 46   Garrard 16-yard pass to Smith on 3rd-and-10 to Detroit 38 JACKSONVILLE 23-17   Statistics Passing Lions Att Cmp Yds Td Int Lg Harrington, Joey 33 11 121 0 1 46 Jaguars Att Cmp Yds Td Int Lg Garrard, David 36 19 198 2 0 36 Rushing Lions Att Yds Avg Lg Td Jones, Kevin 19 81 4.3 16 0 Jaguars Att Yds Avg Lg Td Taylor, Fred 23 144 6.3 42 0 Garrard, David 7 42 6.0 12 0 Toefield, LaBrandon 12 41 3.4 9 0 Jones, Greg 8 12 1.5 4 1 Receiving Lions Rec Yds Avg Lg Td Alexander, Stephen 3 24 8.0 11 0 Williams, Roy 2 64 32.0 46 0 Bryson, Shawn 2 13 6.5 8 0 Swinton, Reggie 2 13 6.5 11 0 Jones, Kevin 2 7 3.5 9 0 Jaguars Rec Yds Avg Lg Td Smith, Jimmy 7 109 15.6 36 1 Brady, Kyle 3 27 9.0 15 0 Taylor, Fred 3 21 7.0 11 0 Toefield, LaBrandon 2 18 9.0 12 1 Jones, Greg 1 9 9.0 9 0 Williams, Reggie 1 8 8.0 8 0 Edwards, Marc 1 4 4.0 4 0 Yoder, Todd 1 2 2.0 2 0 Tackles-Solo-Assists Sacks-Yds (unofficial) Lions T S A Sk-Yd Marion, Brock 8 5 3 0-0 Bryant, Fernando 7 7 0 0-0 Rogers, Shaun 7 5 2 0-0 Lehman, Teddy 6 5 1 0-0 Holmes, Earl 6 4 2 0-0 Walker, Bracy 5 5 0 1-12 Smith, Keith 5 5 0 0-0 Redding, Cory 5 5 0 0-0 Edwards, Kalimba 5 5 0 0-0 Hall, James 5 4 1 1-7 Davis, James 5 4 1 .5-2 Bly, Dre 3 3 0 0-0 Lewis, Alex 3 2 1 0-0 Rainer, Wali 1 1 0 0-0 Goodman, Andre 1 1 0 0-0 Wilkinson, Dan 1 0 1 .5-2 Jaguars T S A Sk-Yd Ayodele, Akin 8 6 2 0-0 Darius, Donovin 6 4 2 0-0 Peterson, Mike 5 4 1 1-5 Henderson, John 3 3 0 1-7 Mathis, Rashean 3 3 0 0-0 Thomas, Kiwaukee 3 2 1 0-0 Stroud, Marcus 2 1 1 0-0 Favors, Greg 2 1 1 0-0 Hendricks, Tommy 2 1 1 0-0 Gildon, Jason 2 1 1 0-0 Grant, Deon 2 0 2 0-0 McCray, Bobby 1 1 0 0-0 Meier, Rob 1 0 1 0-0 Interceptions Lions INT Yds Avg Lg Td None Jaguars INT Yds Avg Lg Td Mathis, Rashean 1 21 21.0 21 0 Punting Lions No. Yds Avg TB In20 Lg Harris, Nick 6 265 44.2 1 2 52 Jaguars No. Yds Avg TB In20 Lg Hanson, Chris 8 317 39.6 0 1 54 Punt Returns Lions No. Yds Avg Lg Td Drummond, Eddie 6 199 33.2 83 2 Jaguars No. Yds Avg Lg Td Lewis, Jermaine 4 35 8.8 13 0 Kickoff Returns Lions No. Yds Avg Lg Td Drummond, Eddie 2 58 29.0 35 0 Jaguars No. Yds Avg Lg Td Lewis, Jermaine 3 58 19.3 24 0 Kicking Lions XP/XPA FG/FGA Dist(Made/Fail) Hanson, Jason 2/2 1/2 32 21  Jaguars XP/XPA FG/FGA Dist(Made/Fail) Scobee, Josh 2/2 1/1 31  Officials Referee- Scott Green, Umpire- Ed Coukart, Head linesman- Jim Mello, Line judge- Jeff Bergman, Field judge- Eddy Powers, Side judge- Larry Rose, Back judge- Don Carey Attendance - Time 66,431 ; 3:33 Team Statistics Lions Jaguars First downs 10 22 Rushing 4 10 Passing 3 11 Penalty 3 1 3rd-Down Efficiency 2 - 14 12 - 22 4th-Down Efficiency 0 - 2 0 - 2 Total Net Yards 190 415 Total Plays 54 89 Average Gains 3.5 4.7 Net Yards Rushing 81 239 Rushes 19 50 Average Per Rush 4.3 4.8 Net Yards Passing 109 176 Completed-Attempted 11 - 33 19 - 36 Yards Per Pass 3.1 4.5 Sacked-Yards Lost 2 - 12 3 - 22 Had Intercepted 1 0 Punts-Average 6 - 44.2 8 - 39.6 Return Yardage 199 56 Punts-Returns 6 - 199 4 - 35 Kickoffs-Returns 3 - 93 3 - 58 Interceptions-Returns 0 - 0 1 - 21 Penalties-Yards 8 - 45 10 - 99 Fumbles-Lost 0 - 0 0 - 0 Time Of Possession 23:44 41:44 News: 11/15/04 Nine games into his Lions career and offensive lineman Damien Woody has already grown weary of the convenient justifications that remain the lifeblood of this franchise's decades-long litany of dashed dreams. They're young. They're hurt. They're learning. Enough. "Mr. Ford brought me here to win," Woody said after the Lions discovered another way to lose Sunday. "But you can't have built-in excuses and expect to win. You can't keep saying that we just need to work harder because, bottom line, nobody cares what time of night you leave to go home in the middle of the week if you can't get the job done during the three hours on Sunday that matter most." Two Super Bowl rings with New England in the past three years have defined Woody's sense of accountability. That's precisely why the Fords signed off on the nearly $10 million free agent signing bonus that lured Woody to Detroit last winter. Woody challenged his teammates to take more responsibility. The Lions are out of excuses. They had a decent running game against Jacksonville. They had Roy Williams healthier than at any time since he first injured his ankle. And they still stunk up Alltel Stadium with one of their more pathetic offensive exhibitions in recent memory, losing, 23-17, in overtime. Their most effective weapons were Eddie Drummond on special teams and Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio on the other sideline. "How could we get the ball anywhere close to midfield and not make a team pay for that?" asked Woody, referring to a fourth-quarter three-and-out. "I don't understand that. Squandering an opportunity like that is absurd. ... Guys need to raise the bar. As an offense, we've got to demand better of ourselves." The problem is as much personality as it is personnel. There is nobody in that locker room capable of putting a foot where there are no fair catches when somebody drops an easy touchdown pass, as tight end Stephen Alexander did in the second quarter, runs a wrong route or misses a block. Shouldn't that primarily be the quarterback's responsibility? "Everybody has to demand better of themselves," said Woody when asked about quarterback Joey Harrington's role in this ongoing disaster. "And I'm just going to leave it at that right there." Leadership ultimately falls on the quarterback's shoulders because everything goes through him on every play. But such aggressiveness can't be manufactured because players easily see through insincerity. Either you got it or you don't -- and if Joey doesn't, then it only makes the progression to trusted, winning quarterback that much more difficult. SLUMPING Remember three weeks ago, when Joey Harrington had a career-high 140.5 passer rating in that upset of the N.Y. Giants? Since then, the Lions have lost three straight and he's been trending downward: Opp. Att. Cmp. Pct. Yds. TD Int. Rating Result Cowboys 32 19 59.4 255 2 1 92.6 L, 31-21 Redskins 52 26 50.0 269 1 1 63.7 L, 17-10 Jaguars 33 11 33.3 121 0 1 32.5 L, 23-17 (OT) Totals 117 56 47.9 645 3 3 62.8 0-3 Season 275 155 56.4 1,684 13 6 81.2 4-5 We're midway through Harrington's third season and no closer to determining whether or not he's indeed "The Guy" than we were during his rookie season. And that's alarming. He only completed one-third of his passes -- that included about six drops -- and when they needed him to make something happen when the Jaguars spontaneously combusted in the fourth quarter, he failed, hitting only hit one of his last eight passes. "If I had a magic solution, I'd know how to fix it, but I don't," he said. "I felt I could have played better. That's obvious." Harrington's continued struggles brought the predictable "Are you contemplating a possible switch?" inquiry, and coach Steve Mariucci quickly dismissed the possibility. "My main concern is our passing game for a variety of reasons," Mariucci said. "We are just not where we need to be. I am not interested in the reasons. I am interested in production." The Lions had a chance to win because the wicked gods of fate bestowed upon them an opponent as clueless as themselves. Jacksonville played stupidly in the fourth quarter, abandoning an effective inside running game that was milking the clock. And what was more dumbfounding than punting a second time to Eddie Drummond, the only Lion capable of any creativity? "But what we can take out of this is that, once again, we placed ourselves in a position where we could have won the game late," Harrington said. "We're disappointed that we couldn't get it done, but we didn't stop fighting." Yeah, that's great. Milk and cookies for everyone. The Lions are too easily satisfied with coming close, falling into that NFL parity trap that confuses competitiveness with improvement. They've lost three straight and have dropped below .500 for the first time this season with Daunte Culpepper and Peyton Manning waiting on deck. But the rationalizations will still freely fly. They're getting better. They're showing resilience. The truth is they can't get four yards when they need it. And until everyone reaches the same level of self-awareness and responsibility, there will be no real improvement. RECAP: Even without Byron Leftwich, the Jacksonville Jaguars still have plenty of late-game magic. Making just his second career start, David Garrard threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Smith with 9:32 left in overtime, giving the Jaguars a 23-17 victory over the Detroit Lions. It marked the fifth time this season that the Jaguars won a game in dramatic fashion. They had four previous wins this season in the final minute of regulation. With Leftwich sidelined at least another week with a knee injury, Garrard made his first start since the 2002 regular-season finale. "I thought I did OK for my first start (of the year)," Garrard said. "There are definitely some things we could have done better. I wish we would have moved the ball a little better in the second half but it didn't work out like that. I knew if we just hung tight and everybody stayed together and believed in each other things would turn out our way." Like Leftwich, Garrard also displayed a flare for the dramatic. Faced with a 3rd-and-8 on the first possession of overtime, Garrard went over the middle to Smith, who raced to the end zone for the winning score. "I knew if I could just get the ball to Jimmy Smith, he would take care of the rest," Garrard said. "I wasn't expecting a touchdown, but I knew once he got past that safety it was lights out." Garrard threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to running back LaBrandon Toefield in the first quarter and guided the Jaguars to a 17-0 lead after three quarters. He went 19-of-36 for 198 yards and two TDs while also rushing for 42 yards. "Wins are not easy in this league and to have your backup quarterback step up like he did and lead the offense like he did all day was big," Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said. "(Garrard) made good decisions. He did a terrific job managing the game." But the Lions were able to rally in the fourth with the help of Eddie Drummond, who scored on punt returns of 55 and 83 yards. His second return with 47 seconds remaining tied the game at 17-17. Drummond became the 11th player in NFL history, and first since December 8, 2002, to return two punts for scores in a game. "The first one was just knowing the rules of the game," Drummond said. "Once the punt team touches the ball, if I get the ball I can do whatever I want with no consequences. The Jaguar player tried to catch it and dropped it. I saw it and seized the opportunity. "On the next one, he (Jacksonville punter Chris Hanson) was probably trying to kick it away from me but the wind was such a factor that it brought it down a little and I saw an opportunity. It was designed to be a middle return but I saw the outside." Fred Taylor rushed for 144 yards and rookie Greg Jones scored on a one-yard run for the Jaguars (6-3), who remained tied with Indianapolis for first place in the AFC South Division. Smith added seven catches for 109 yards, his fourth 100-yard game this season and 43rd in his career. He moved into 12th place on the all-time reception list with 767 catches, three ahead of James Lofton. "You're talking about a guy who is playing unbelievable football," Del Rio said. "He has had a tremendous impact and I'm sure he is leading the AFC in yardage. He is playing like a Pro Bowler." Joey Harrington threw for just 121 yards and an interception for struggling Detroit (4-5), which lost for the fourth time in five games to fall below .500 for the first time this season. "We missed on everything and shot ourselves in the foot too much today," Harrington said. "We had penalties when we made big plays. We had drops. We had missed throws. We just didn't play Scott's Game Commentary: So much for the 2004 Season! After staging a 17 point 4th quarter comeback, led by Eddie Drummond's two punt returns for a touchodown, the Defense fell flat on their face in overtime as Jacksonville's backup QB David Garrard led a 76 yard drive to win the game. It was another chapter of "Same Old Offense" for the Lions. The Offense, which has been pathetic most of the games this year, left off where they did last week. Harrington continues to struggle as he had a 33% pass completion and only 122 yards the entire game (a big chunk coming on a 46 yard pass to Roy Williams). Besides Harrington there were six dropped balls (three from Kevin Jones) that turned out to be killer blows. The biggest drop came when TE Stephen Alexander dropped a touchdown pass and the Lions got no points out of the drive as Jason Hanson shanked a 32 yard field goal. Penalties continue to haunt the honolulu blue and silver as they committed 10 for 99 yards. Anytime the Offense made a big play, a penalty was there to wipe it out. The Defense had its ups and downs thorughout the game and played great in the 2nd half to keep the Lions in the game. Eddie Drummond gave the Lions their only touchdowns of the game as his second return with less than a minute to go tied the game. But, the Lions never got a chance to go on Offense in overtime, like it would have made a difference anyway. Once again, they blew a golden opportunity to win a winnable game and now find themselves in the cellar with the surging Bears. Grades: Offense: --- F. The Offense managed three points the entire game thanks to a breakdown in the Jacksonville secondary that led to Roy Williams 44 yard reception to the Jaguars 5 yard line. But, the Lions failed to get a touchdown as Harrington continued to miss his mark. In the 1st half, Harrington had Stephen Alexander wide open and threw a good pass; however, Alexander flat out dropped a touchdown and another golden opportunity was squandered. RB Kevin Jones had his best rushing day with 81 yards but had three dropped passes that hurt the Offense dearly. The Offensive Line continues to be by far the biggest disappoitment this season. I just do not understand how this unit, which was suppose to be the strong point continues to falter. If Harrington knew how to throw the football and the receivers knew how to catch the ball when Harrinton actually has a good throw, the Lions would have had a victory over the Jaguars. But, until the miscues persist, the Offense will continue to be where they are ranked: Dead last in the NFL! Defense: --- C-. The Defense gave up three long touchdown drives including the game winner in overtime. Otherwise, the Defense played well enough for the Lions to win the game. They made several key stops in the 4th quarter that setup two of Eddie Drummond's punt returns for touchdowns. Like last week, the Defense was unable to stop the run. RB Fred Taylor shredded the Lions for 144 yards. The Jaguars killed the Defense on 3rd down conversions making over 54% of them including three on the overtime touchdown. Shaun Rogers continues to be the only consistent playmaker on the Defense. Dry Bly plays hurt and is a shell of himself last year. Jacksonville had the ball for over 41 minutes which isn't a surprise the Defense fell apart in overtime. Special Teams: --- B. Eddie Drummond had two punt returns for a touchdown and had a great opening kickoff return. He is definitely the best Lions returner since Mel Grey! Unfortunately, the Lions couldn't capitalize on his opening kickoff and Jason Hanson 32 yard field goal miss was a back breaker. There are no excuses for Mr. Automatic to miss from that distance. Usually when it does, it ends up costing the Lions the game. Coaching: --- D. What was Mariucci thinking going for 4th and 2 on the opening drive when he could have elected to kick a field goal? Harrington threw a terrible pass and the Lions blew a golden opportunity to get off to a fast start. I still don't understand why there are not more down field plays called. I'm sick and tired of these two or three yard passes, especially on 3rd down. And what is up with the penalties? Once again, the yellow flag killed the Lions. That has got to stop! Overall: --- F. The Lions are back into familar territory in the NFC North: tied with the Bears for last place! Instead of being tied with the Packers and Vikings the Lions saw any chance they had of making the playoffs, as remote as that may of been, go down the toilet. They had a golden opportunity to make amends from last weeks clunker against the Redskins, who got beat badly by the Cincinnati Bengals this week. With Byron Leftwidge out of the game, the Lions should have taken advantage of inexperienced David Garrard. But, they couldn't and in the end it was Garrard that had the much better numbers than Joey. At 4-5 the Lions are facing two straight losses right in the face going up against the NFL's two best offenses. If the Lions can keep either the Vikings or Colts game close, I would be shocked. With the Cardinals and Bears resurrecting their seasons, the two "winnable" home games left on the schedule are nothing to take for granted. At best, the Lions will finish 7-9, but realistically 6-10. How a three game losing streak to three beatable teams can change everything. Same old Lions! 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