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Scoring
|
Statistics
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FINAL
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
Final
| Arizona | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 | Detroit | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
|
Scoring | 1st Quarter | ARI | TD | ANQUAN BOLDIN 7 YD PASS FROM JEFF BLAKE (BILL GRAMATICA KICK), 9:12
Drive:
11 plays,
80 yards in
6:39
Key Plays:
7-yard pass interference penalty on Lions' Goodman on 3rd-and-9 to Arizona 28 Blake 20-yard pass to Boldin on 3rd-and-2 to Detroit 44 Blake 20-yard pass to F Jones to Detroit 15 ARIZONA 7-0
| DET | TD | CHARLES ROGERS 4 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 13:00
Drive:
8 plays,
58 yards in
3:48
Key Plays:
Harrington 16-yard pass to Ricks to Arizona 42 Rogers 12-yard run to Arizona 30 Harrington 26-yard pass to Bryson on 3rd-and-12 to Arizona 6 ARIZONA 7-7
| 2nd Quarter | DET | TD | CHARLES ROGERS 13 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 3:33
Drive:
6 plays,
29 yards in
3:03
Key Plays:
Drummond 12-yard punt return to Arizona 29 Harrington 10-yard pass to Bryson to Arizona 20 Bryson 2-yard run on 4th-and-1 to Arizona 18 DETROIT 14-7
| ARI | TD | FREDDIE JONES 12 YD PASS FROM JEFF BLAKE (BILL GRAMATICA KICK), 9:25
Drive:
9 plays,
71 yards in
5:52
Key Plays:
10-yard pass interference penalty on Lions' Wyrick on 3rd-and-14 to Arizona 35 Smith 19-yard run to Detroit 46 Smith 22-yard run to Detroit 13 ARIZONA 14-14
| 3rd Quarter | ARI | TD | ANQUAN BOLDIN 71 YD PASS FROM JEFF BLAKE (BILL GRAMATICA KICK), 1:01
Drive:
3 plays,
72 yards in
1:01 ARIZONA 21-14
| DET | TD | EDWARD DRUMMOND 57 YD PUNT RETURN (JASON HANSON KICK), 6:39 ARIZONA 21-21
| DET | TD | CORY SCHLESINGER 8 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 11:48
Drive:
2 plays,
35 yards in
:50
Key Plays:
Curry recovery of fumbled punt at Arizona 35 Harrington 27-yard pass to Ricks to Arizona 8 DETROIT 28-21
| ARI | FG | BILL GRAMATICA 38 YD, 14:16
Drive:
7 plays,
41 yards in
2:28
Key Plays:
Blake 39-yard pass to Boldin on 3rd-and-9 to Detroit 20 DETROIT 28-24
| 4th Quarter | DET | TD | BILL SCHROEDER 5 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 3:17
Drive:
6 plays,
36 yards in
2:51
Key Plays:
J Hall recovery of Blake fumble at Arizona 36 Harrington 13-yard pass to Schroeder to Arizona 24 Harrington 20-yard pass to Schlesinger to Arizona 4 DETROIT 35-24
| DET | TD | DRE BLY 48 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (JASON HANSON KICK), 4:10 DETROIT 42-24
|
Passing
| Cardinals |
Att
|
Cmp
|
Yds
|
Td
|
Int
|
Lg
| Blake, Jeff | 46 | 28 | 363 | 3 | 1 | 71 |
| Lions |
Att
|
Cmp
|
Yds
|
Td
|
Int
|
Lg
| Harrington, Joey | 30 | 17 | 195 | 4 | 0 | 27 |
|
Rushing
| Cardinals |
Att
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Smith, Emmitt | 13 | 64 | 4.9 | 22 | 0 | Shipp, Marcel | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 11 | 0 | Blake, Jeff | 3 | 12 | 4.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Lions |
Att
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Gary, Olandis | 12 | 44 | 3.7 | 19 | 0 | Rogers, Charles | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | Bryson, Shawn | 5 | 8 | 1.6 | 3 | 0 | Cobourne, Avon | 3 | 4 | 1.3 | 3 | 0 | Harrington, Joey | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 | Schlesinger, Cory | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Receiving
| Cardinals |
Rec
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Boldin, Anquan | 10 | 217 | 21.7 | 71 | 2 | Jones, Freddie | 6 | 65 | 10.8 | 20 | 1 | Shipp, Marcel | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 8 | 0 | Gilmore, Bryan | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 11 | 0 | Hodgins, James | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 7 | 0 | Smith, Emmitt | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 7 | 0 | Kasper, Kevin | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 23 | 0 | Foster, Larry | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | Johnson, Bryant | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Lions |
Rec
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Rogers, Charles | 4 | 38 | 9.5 | 13 | 2 | Schroeder, Bill | 4 | 36 | 9.0 | 13 | 1 | Bryson, Shawn | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 26 | 0 | Schlesinger, Cory | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | 20 | 1 | Ricks, Mikhael | 2 | 43 | 21.5 | 27 | 0 | Cobourne, Avon | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
|
Tackles-Solo-Assists Sacks-Yds (unofficial)
| Cardinals |
T
|
S
|
A
|
Sk-Yd
| Thompson, Ray | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0-0 | Fisher, Levar | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0-0 | Jackson, Dexter | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0-0 | Barrett, David | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0-0 | Pace, Calvin | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0-0 | McKinnon, Ronald | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0-0 | Davis, Russell | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0-0 | Hill, Renaldo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0-0 | Wilson, Adrian | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0-0 | Wakefield, Fred | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-0 | Tanner, Barron | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-0 | Darling, James | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | Rhinehart, Coby | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 |
| Lions |
T
|
S
|
A
|
Sk-Yd
| Harris, Corey | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0-0 | Bly, Dre | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0-0 | Wyrick, Jimmy | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0-0 | Holmes, Earl | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0-0 | Hall, James | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0-0 | Green, Barrett | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0-0 | Bailey, Boss | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0-0 | Wilkinson, Dan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1-9 | Goodman, Andre | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0-0 | Gooch, Jeff | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-0 | Walker, Brian | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-0 | Curry, Donte' | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | Porcher, Robert | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | Walker, Bracy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | Rogers, Shaun | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | Smith, Otis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 |
|
Interceptions
| Cardinals |
INT
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
|
None
|
| Lions |
INT
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Bly, Dre | 1 | 48 | 48.0 | 48 | 1 |
|
Punting
| Cardinals |
No.
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
TB
|
In20
|
Lg
| Player, Scott | 4 | 163 | 40.8 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| Lions |
No.
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
TB
|
In20
|
Lg
| Jett, John | 6 | 222 | 37.0 | 1 | 1 | 41 |
|
Punt Returns
| Cardinals |
No.
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Boldin, Anquan | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 14 | 0 |
| Lions |
No.
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Drummond, Edward | 3 | 77 | 25.7 | 57 | 0 |
|
Kickoff Returns
| Cardinals |
No.
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Kasper, Kevin | 5 | 136 | 27.2 | 37 | 0 | Anderson, Damien | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Lions |
No.
|
Yds
|
Avg
|
Lg
|
Td
| Drummond, Edward | 5 | 119 | 23.8 | 33 | 0 |
|
Kicking
| Cardinals |
XP/XPA
|
FG/FGA
|
Dist(Made/Fail)
| Gramatica, Bill | 3/3 | 1/1 | 38 |
| Lions |
XP/XPA
|
FG/FGA
|
Dist(Made/Fail)
| Hanson, Jason | 6/6 | 0/0 | |
|
Fumbles
| | | | |
Rec
| Cardinals |
No.
|
Lost
|
Forced
|
O
|
D
| Blake, Jeff | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Boldin, Anquan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | | |
Rec
| Lions |
No.
|
Lost
|
Forced
|
O
|
D
| Curry, Donte' | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Hall, James | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Officials
|
Referee- Bill Carollo,
Umpire- Tony Michalek,
Head linesman- Steve Stelljes,
Line judge- Ben Montgomery,
Field judge- Steve Zimmer,
Side judge- John Parry,
Back judge- Bob Waggoner |
Attendance - Time
| 60,691
; 3:26 |
Team Statistics
| Cardinals | Lions | First downs | 21 | 16 | Rushing | 4 | 6 | Passing | 13 | 10 | Penalty | 4 | 0 | 3rd-Down Efficiency | 9
-
15 | 6
-
13 | 4th-Down Efficiency | 0
-
1 | 1
-
1 | Total Net Yards | 439 | 261 | Total Plays | 68 | 53 | Average Gains | 6.5 | 4.9 | Net Yards Rushing | 95 | 66 | Rushes | 20 | 23 | Average Per Rush | 4.8 | 2.9 | Net Yards Passing | 344 | 195 | Completed-Attempted | 28
-
46 | 17
-
30 | Yards Per Pass | 7.2 | 6.5 | Sacked-Yards Lost | 2
-
19 | 0
-
0 | Had Intercepted | 1 | 0 | Punts-Average | 4
-
40.8 | 6
-
37.0 | Return Yardage | 18 | 125 | Punts-Returns | 3
-
18 | 3
-
77 | Kickoffs-Returns | 6
-
152 | 5
-
119 | Interceptions-Returns | 0
-
0 | 1
-
48 | Penalties-Yards | 12
-
80 | 6
-
36 | Fumbles-Lost | 3
-
2 | 0
-
0 | Time Of Possession | 34:06 | 25:54 |
RECAP:
Joey Harrington already is making an
impression on his new coach.
Harrington passed for four touchdowns to help make Steve
Mariucci a winner in his debut as Detroit coach as the Lions
posted a 42-24 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, who
received a huge afternoon from rookie wide receiver Anquan
Boldin.
Mariucci was coaching his first game for the Lions after being
fired last season by San Francisco. He was taking over one of
the NFL's worst teams, a club that went 5-27 the last two
seasons.
"I told the team this is round one in a 16-round title
fight," Mariucci said. "It feels good but now lets keep our
sleeves rolled up and keep working. It's just the beginning but
it's what I was looking forward to seven months ago."
Harrington - the Lions' first-round pick last season - made his
new boss look good. He completed 17-of-30 passes for 195 yards,
with two of his touchdowns going to first-round pick Charles
Rogers.
"I can't say enough about the offensive line," Harrington said.
"I felt pressure maybe twice all day. When you go through a
game and barely get touched, it's amazing."
"I was impressed with Joey's efficiency and decision making,"
Mariucci said. "He had no sacks and no interceptions. He spread
the ball out to a lot of receivers and I don't remember forcing
him the ball into coverage."
While Rogers was selected second overall, it was Boldin - the
Cardinals' second-round pick - that had the best game among the
rookies. Boldin had a monster day with 10 catches for 217
yards and a touchdown.
Boldin's receiving yardage was a rookie record, breaking the
mark set by Washington's Hugh Taylor, who had 212 against
Philadelphia on September 28, 1947.
second most in Cardinals
history, behind only Sonny Randall's 256 yards in 1962.
"I'm disappointed with the performance because it was in a
loss," Boldin said. "Today was just my day. Next week might be
someone else's day."
"Anqaun is a very special player," Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis
said. "But because it didn't come in a team win, it doesn't
mean much to him."
Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher who joined the
Cardinals after 13 seasons in Dallas, carried 13 times for 64
yards.
"It did feel strange," Smith said. "But it's worse now because
when you lose it's like that for 52 other guys in the locker
room."
After Jeff Blake found Boldin with a seven-yard TD pass in the
first quarter, the duo hooked up for a much bigger play three
plays into the second half.
Blake hit Boldin coming across the middle and the Florida State
product cut down the left sideline and raced 71 yards for a
touchdown, giving the Cardinals a 21-14 lead.
Blake, who came over from Baltimore as a free agent, had a big
game in his debut for his new team as he completed 28-of-46
passes for 363 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
The Lions made their own big play in the third quarter, when
Eddie Drummond returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown, tying
the contest at 21-21 with 8:21 left in the period.
"It makes me feel good to know I can change the momentum of a
game," Drummond said. "Some of the guys were hassling me,
`When are you finally going to break one, you've come close
so many times.'"
A miscue by Boldin helped lead to the go-ahead score. He muffed
a punt and Donte' Curry recovered for the Lions at the Falcons
35.
Two plays after Boldin's miscue, Harrington found fullback Cory
Schlesinger with an eight-yard TD pass to give the Lions a 28-21
lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
Arizona pulled within 28-24 with under a minute left in the
third quarter on a 38-yard field goal by Bill Gramatica.
But on the Cardinals' ensuing possession of the fourth quarter,
Blake fumbled and defensive end James Hall recovered at the
Arizona 36.
Arizona had three turnovers and committed 12 penalties for 80
yards.
"We had self-inflicted wounds, espcially penalties and
turnovers," McGinnis said. "They were the difference. They
won the football game and we had a hand in letting them do it."
Six plays later, Harrington tossed a five-yard TD pass to Bill
Schroeder to make it 35-24 with 11:43 remaining.
Two plays after Harrington's TD, cornerback Dre' Bly sealed the
win when he brought back an interception 48 yards for a
touchdown.
"Some things we did this game, we didn't do all preseason -
turnovers and penalties," Blake said. "And I'm responsible for
two of those turnovers."
Blake got the Cardinals off to a rousing start, tossing a
seven-yard touchdown pass to Boldin 5:48 into the contest. It
was the Cardinals' first touchdown on an opening drive in 96
games.
Harrington answered on the Lions' second possession, when he
found Rogers in the back of the end zone for a four-yard
touchdown pass.
Early in the second quarter, Harrington found Rogers, who made
a diving catch across the middle, for a 13-yard TD and a 14-7
lead.
Rogers, who received double coverage at times, finished with
four catches for 38 yards.
Blake hooked up with tight end Freddie Jones for a 12-yard
touchdown with 5:35 left in the half, tying the contest at
14-14.
Scott's Game Commentary:
The Steve Mariucci era began on a positive note as the honolulu blue and silver outscored the Cardinals 28-10 in the 2nd half. Joey Harrington looked live a seasoned vetern as he threw for touchdowns, two of them to rookie Charles Rogers. Rogers pro debut started off great as he made a spendid diving catch in the endzone and also had another touchdown. On a sad note, the running back by committee combined for only 64 yards as Gary, Coubourne and Bryson struggled to get any momentum going. It wouldn't be a suprise to see Mariucci go with just one running back next week. As expected, the secondary was horrid. CB Dre Bly, playing in his first game, got burned on several plays. On a positive note, he interceped and ran a pass back for a touchdown that sealed the victory for the Lions. Returner Eddie Drummond had a pivotal punt return for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter that tied the game at 21. From there, they outscored the Cardinals 21-3 and went on to a 42-24 victory. Although it was a good start to the season, the next four games (Green Bay, Minnesota, Denver, San Francisco) will show what this team is really made of.
Grades:
Offense: --- B. Joey Harrington had one of his best games as a Lion as he threw for four touchdowns and wasn't sacked one time. Charles Rogers had a great start to his NFL career by catchint two touchdown passes and showing he could very well be the next Randy Moss in the NFL. The running back situation is a mess. For all those people that said the Lions woud be alright without Stewart (myself included), were dead wrong! The Lions have a big hole in the RB position and it'll be another year before they can fill the hole. All in all, it was a good performance by the offense compared to what they did in 2002. Let's see how they perform on the road next week in Lambeau.
Defense: --- C. The interception return for a touchdown by Bly was the only bright spot on what was an embarrassing showing by the "D". They gave up 439 yards which against one of the worst teams in the NFL at home. It is very scary to imagine what they will give up against the upper tier teams in the NFL. The bottom line is the Lions defense will end up costing a few games this year due to the lack of depth at cornerback. Losing Chris Cash was a big loss. The Lions definitely overpaid for Dre Bly as he is nothing but a mediocre cornerback. Hopefully he can improve on his performance against the Cardinals. We'll definitely see how good the "D" really is against the Pack given Brett Favre ususally torches them at Lambeau.
Special Teams: --- A-. Drummond's punt return for a touchdown with the Lions down seven was a game turning play! Jett had some spectacular punts. Hanson botched a kickoff out of bounds but it didn't matter. If there has been one constant the past few years, it has been the special teams.
Coaching: --- A. Although Mooch never said this was a must win game, it really was. There is no way the Lions could have lost at home to the Cardinals and salvaged the year. But, with a 18 point victory and the offense clicking, Mooch should feel good heading into the Green Bay game. I was impressed with Mooch's comments that this game means little if they can't pull out a victory in Green Bay.
Overall: --- B. The Lions needed to beat the Cardinals or they would be facing another 3-13 season again.The real test is if they can go .500 in their next four games. Realistically, they'll be lucky to beat Minnesota at home given the way the Vikings handled the Pack this week. If the Lions can beat Green Bay, Denver or San Francisco on the road, it would be shocking, to say the least. Although the Lions are 1-0 and tied with the Vikings for 1st place, lets not overlook that they have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. IF they could not even stop the Cardinals at home, just imagine when they go up against good teams on the road. On the plus side, if Harrington continues to play the way he has been and if Rogers lives up to his #2 pick overall, in a few years, the Lions could have one of the best QB/WR tandems in the NFL. But, i'll be shocked if the Lions can stay within 7 points on Sunday. I hope they can prove me and everyone else wrong!

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