SCORING

FINAL	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
St Louis	0	20	0	0	20
Detroit	3	7	17	3	30

Scoring
1st Quarter
DET	FG	JASON HANSON 39 YD, 12:01 Drive: 13 plays, 53 yards in 7:06 Key Plays:   Pinner 10-yard run to Detroit 44   Schlesinger 4-yard run on 4th-and-1 to St Louis 43   Harrington 19-yard pass to Kircus to St Louis 24   Bryson 12-yard run to St Louis 14 DETROIT 3-0
2nd Quarter
STL	TD	BRANDON MANUMALEUNA 8 YD PASS FROM MARC BULGER (JEFF WILKINS KICK), 0:08 Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards in 3:07 Key Plays:   Bulger 25-yard pass on 3rd-and-8 to Holt to Detroit 42   Bulger 29-yard pass to Cleeland to Detroit 13 ST LOUIS 7-3
DET	TD	BILL SCHROEDER 13 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 3:10 Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards in 3:02 Key Plays:   Harrington 9-yard pass to Schroeder on 3rd-and-8 to Detroit 47   Harrington 22-yard pass to Fitzsimmons to St   Louis 31   Harrington 18-yard pass to Ricks to St   Louis 13 DETROIT 10-7
STL	FG	JEFF WILKINS 51 YD, 8:54 Drive: 12 plays, 39 yards in 5:44 Key Plays:   Bulger 16-yard pass to Faulk on 3rd-and-9 to St   Louis 45   5-yard offsides penalty on Lions' Holt on 4th-and-4 to Detroit 44 ST LOUIS 10-10
STL	TD	MARSHALL FAULK 2 YD RUN (JEFF WILKINS KICK), 11:23 Drive: 2 plays, 5 yards in :45 Key Plays:   Flowers blocked punt at Detroit 5 ST LOUIS 17-10
STL	FG	JEFF WILKINS 36 YD, 14:37 Drive: 8 plays, 34 yards in 1:28 Key Plays:   A   Williams recovery of Hakim fumble at St   Louis 48   Bulger 14-yard pass to Holt on 3rd-and-9 to Detroit 37   Bulger 19-yard pass to Looker to Detroit 18 ST LOUIS 20-10
3rd Quarter
DET	TD	AZ-ZAHIR HAKIM 13 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 3:17 Drive: 3 plays, 24 yards in 1:50 Key Plays:   Green recovery of Bulger fumble at St   Louis 24   Harrington 11-yard pass to Smith to St   Louis 13 ST LOUIS 20-17
DET	TD	CASEY FITZSIMMONS 2 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 9:30 Drive: 8 plays, 51 yards in 3:53 Key Plays:   Hakim 35-yard run to St   Louis 20   Harrington 10-yard pass to Pinner to St   Louis 10 DETROIT 24-20
DET	FG	JASON HANSON 38 YD, 12:04 Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards in 1:25 Key Plays:   Bailey interception at Detroit 28 DETROIT 27-20
4th Quarter
DET	FG	JASON HANSON 50 YD, 0:31 Drive: 6 plays, 14 yards in 2:12 Key Plays:   Swinton 19-yard punt return to St Louis 46   Harrington 10-yard pass to Hakim to St Louis 35 DETROIT 30-20

Statistics

Passing
Rams Att Cmp Yds Td Int Lg Bulger, Marc 31 18 170 1 1 29 Warner, Kurt 11 4 23 0 0 8	Lions Att Cmp Yds Td Int Lg Harrington, Joey 36 26 238 3 1 22

Rushing
Rams Att Yds Avg Lg Td Faulk, Marshall 12 35 2.9 9 1 Harris, Arlen 1 6 6.0 6 0 Bulger, Marc 1 -7 -7.0 0 0	Lions Att Yds Avg Lg Td Pinner, Artose 18 51 2.8 10 0 Hakim, Az-Zahir 2 43 21.5 35 0 Bryson, Shawn 3 9 3.0 12 0 Smith, Paul 2 5 2.5 3 0 Schlesinger, Cory 1 4 4.0 4 0 Harrington, Joey 2 0 0.0 1 0 Swinton, Reggie 1 0 0.0 0 0

Receiving
Rams Rec Yds Avg Lg Td Faulk, Marshall 6 40 6.7 16 0 Holt, Torry 5 54 10.8 25 0 Looker, Dane 3 35 11.7 19 0 Manumaleuna, Brandon 3 24 8.0 8 1 McDonald, Shaun 2 10 5.0 5 0 Furrey, Mike 2 1 0.5 7 0 Cleeland, Cameron 1 29 29.0 29 0	Lions Rec Yds Avg Lg Td Hakim, Az-Zahir 5 58 11.6 13 1 Smith, Paul 5 45 9.0 12 0 Fitzsimmons, Casey 4 36 9.0 22 1 Ricks, Mikhael 3 32 10.7 18 0 Pinner, Artose 3 10 3.3 10 0 Schroeder, Bill 2 22 11.0 13 1 Bryson, Shawn 2 11 5.5 13 0 Kircus, David 1 19 19.0 19 0 Schlesinger, Cory 1 5 5.0 5 0

Tackles-Solo-Assists Sacks-Yds (unofficial)
Rams T S A Sk-Yd Tinoisamoa, Pisa 11 8 3 0-0 Butler, Jarametrius 8 8 0 0-0 Wistrom, Grant 6 6 0 1-8 Williams, Aeneas 5 5 0 0-0 Pickett, Ryan 4 4 0 0-0 Archuleta, Adam 4 3 1 0-0 Duncan, Jamie 4 3 1 0-0 Polley, Tommy 3 3 0 0-0 Little, Leonard 3 3 0 0-0 Coady, Rich 2 2 0 0-0 Fisher, Travis 2 2 0 0-0 Young, Brian 2 2 0 0-0 Lewis, Damione 1 1 0 0-0	Lions T S A Sk-Yd Bly, Dre 8 8 0 0-0 Green, Barrett 5 5 0 1-7 Bailey, Boss 5 5 0 0-0 Smith, Otis 5 4 1 1-14 Holmes, Earl 5 3 2 1-12 Hall, James 3 3 0 0-0 Walker, Brian 2 2 0 0-0 DeVries, Jared 2 2 0 0-0 Holt, Terrence 2 2 0 0-0 Rogers, Shaun 1 1 0 1-7 Gooch, Jeff 1 1 0 0-0 Walker, Bracy 1 1 0 0-0 Evans, Doug 1 1 0 0-0

Interceptions
Rams INT Yds Avg Lg Td Tinoisamoa, Pisa 1 11 11.0 11 0	Lions INT Yds Avg Lg Td Bailey, Boss 1 -2 -2.0 0 0

Punting
Rams No. Yds Avg TB In20 Lg Landeta, Sean 4 187 46.8 0 0 52	Lions No. Yds Avg TB In20 Lg Harris, Nick 2 73 36.5 0 0 40

Punt Returns
Rams No. Yds Avg Lg Td Furrey, Mike 1 4 4.0 4 0	Lions No. Yds Avg Lg Td Swinton, Reggie 4 54 13.5 19 0

Kickoff Returns
Rams No. Yds Avg Lg Td Harris, Arlen 6 144 24.0 31 0	Lions No. Yds Avg Lg Td Drummond, Edward 2 48 24.0 25 0 Schlesinger, Cory 1 23 23.0 23 0 Swinton, Reggie 1 21 21.0 21 0

Kicking
Rams XP/XPA FG/FGA Dist(Made/Fail) Wilkins, Jeff 2/2 2/2 51 36	Lions XP/XPA FG/FGA Dist(Made/Fail) Hanson, Jason 3/3 3/3 39 38 50

Fumbles
Rec Rams No. Lost Forced O D Bulger, Marc 2 2 0 0 0 Furrey, Mike 1 0 0 1 0 Tinoisamoa, Pisa 0 0 1 0 0 Williams, Aeneas 0 0 0 0 1 Turley, Kyle 0 0 0 1 0	Rec Lions No. Lost Forced O D Hakim, Az-Zahir 1 1 0 0 0 Bly, Dre 0 0 1 0 0 Rogers, Shaun 0 0 1 0 0 Smith, Otis 0 0 1 0 1 Green, Barrett 0 0 0 0 1

Officials

Referee- Johnny Grier, Umpire- Ed Coukart, Head linesman- James Wilson, Line judge- Jeff Bergman, Field judge- Eddy Powers, Side judge- Doug Rosenbaum, Back judge- Scott Green

Attendance - Time

61,006 ; 3:11

Team Statistics	Rams	Lions
First downs	13	21
Rushing	4	5
Passing	8	15
Penalty	1	1
3rd-Down Efficiency	5 - 15	3 - 12
4th-Down Efficiency	1 - 2	2 - 2
Total Net Yards	187	342
Total Plays	60	66
Average Gains	3.1	5.2
Net Yards Rushing	34	112
Rushes	14	29
Average Per Rush	2.4	3.9
Net Yards Passing	153	230
Completed-Attempted	22 - 42	26 - 36
Yards Per Pass	3.3	6.2
Sacked-Yards Lost	4 - 40	1 - 8
Had Intercepted	1	1
Punts-Average	4 - 46.8	3 - 24.3
Return Yardage	15	69
Punts-Returns	1 - 4	4 - 54
Kickoffs-Returns	6 - 144	4 - 92
Interceptions-Returns	1 - 11	1 - 15
Penalties-Yards	7 - 35	6 - 50
Fumbles-Lost	4 - 2	1 - 1
Time Of Possession	26:32	33:28

RECAP

Kurt Warner could not rescue the St. Louis Rams.

The Rams squandered away home-field advantage in the playoffs as Marc Bulger struggled before leaving with an injury in a stunning 30-20 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Riding a seven-game winning streak and needing a victory to ensure that the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC would go through the Edward Jones Dome, where they have won 14 straight games, the Rams wasted a 20-10 halftime lead against the lowly Lions.

"It's very disappointing, particularly in the second half," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "There were so many mistakes in this game in so many different areas. This team wasn't prepared. That's my responsibility. They weren't focused, not like they need to be. We will regroup and make the repairs."

The loss by the Rams (12-4) allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to gain homefield. St. Louis still has a first-round bye.

Bulger made plenty of costly mistakes, losing two fumbles and throwing an interception in the second half. His turnovers led to 10 points for the Lions (5-11), who closed a disappointing season under coach Steve Mariucci.

"It was as important as a playoff game, trying to win it for a purpose," Mariucci said. "The purpose was to gain homefield advantage so we had to match that intensity and make it important for us so that became our playoff game, too."

Bulger, who was under pressure for much of the game, was knocked out of the contest with an injured left forearm after getting sacked by cornerback Otis Smith with just under 13 minutes remaining.

Bulger, who finished 18-of-31 for just 170 yards and one touchdown, said his injury is not serious.

"There's a big bruise on my forearm, but I think everybody in this locker room has huge bruises like that," Bulger said. "It won't be a long-term thing."

The injury brought on Warner, the Rams' discarded former Super Bowl and NFL MVP who had not played since Week One. But Warner could not rally the Rams as he completed just 4-of-11 passes for 23 yards.

"For whatever reason, we didn't come out and play our best football today," Warner said. "We've done that a few times this year and were able to get by."

It was a struggle for much of the game for the Rams' high-powered offense that manged just 194 yards and 13 first downs. Detroit employed a blitzing style the entire game.

Torry Holt, the NFL's leading receiver was held to five catches for 54 yards. Marshall Faulk also was not much of a factor as he rushed for just 35 yards on 12 attempts.

Joey Harrington, who has come under criticism in his second season in Detroit, picked the final week to have one of his best games. He went 26-of-36 for 238 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Scott's Game Commentary:

This was almost as shocking as three years ago when the Bears stunned the Lions to prevent them from making the playoffs. How could the Lions, losers of three ugly games in a row, beat the St. Louis Rams who had won seven games in a row? Not even to mention that the Rams needed a victory for home field througout the playoffs. Joey Harrington, who was just awful the past few games, played his best game since the first game of the year and threw to nine different players. It did not appear the Lions were headed to victory. After playing a great 1st quarter, a few blunders on special teams (penalty and blocked punt) led to 10 points for the Rams. At the half, St. Louis was up 10 and it appeared the honolulu blue and silver were going to mail it in for the rest of the season. To my disbelief, they played one of the most exciting halves of football in several years against one of the best teams in the NFL. Like they did against the Packers, the Defense made some huge plays and created three turnovers, including a vicious hit by Otis Smith that knocked Bulger out of the game. Dre Bly had another great game and made up for his costly mistakes last week. Jason Hanson was Mr. Automatic once again and helped give the Lions a 10 point 4th quarter lead which they easily held onto. I'm still in a stake of shock that the Lions were able to win this game. Unfortunately, it could have a bad impact on their draft position. Regardless, there was no better way to finish a 3rd straight miserable season with a victory over the Rams.

Grades:

Offense: --- B+. Season: D. I guess the Offense heard me calling them the worst in Lions history last week! They easily played their best game of the year since the levled the Cardinals in Week 1. Joey Harrington was near flawless throwing three touchdowns with only one interception. Artose Pinner made some good moves, but is nothing more than a backup running back. Hakim played one of his best games of the year and probably will be back next year. The same cannot be said for Bill Schroeder who will have a tough time finding a spot on any NFL roster with his pitiful performance this year. The Lions had 21 first downs and 342 yards against the Rams compared to 8 first downs and 106 yards a week ago. But this has been the story for every NFL team this year. Every week is a different week. If Charles Rogers can contribute next year and if the Lions can pickup a decent running back in the offseason, the offense will be much better in 2004.

Defense: --- A-. Season: C. The Defense could not of performed any better in the 2nd half as they shut down the Rams high scoring offense. The Defense only gave up two touchdowns, one of which was a result of a blocked punt. They shut down Holt and Faulk, who were both expected to shred the Lions defense. Dre Bly played another great game and for the year was definitely the best player on the Lions roster. Boss Bailey definitely gets my nod for Lions rookie of the year. He has a great future ahead of him. The Defense did a great job pressuring Bulger and had four sacks, one of their best games of the year. All in all, the Defense was near flawless, but still needs to have more consistency for 2004.

Special Teams: --- D+. Season: B-. Getting a punt block led to seven easy points for the Rams. An offsides penalty kept a Rams drive going that resulted in a field goal. But, Jason Hanson made two clutch kicks in the 2nd half that sealed the game for the Lions. Eddie Drummond returned a few kicks before leaving the game yet again with an injury.

Coaching: --- A. Season: C-. I got to hand it to Maricucci for not mailing it in against the Rams. He had his team ready against a Rams squad that was suppose to blow them out. No one thought this game was going to be close, but the same was true when the Lions played the Packers on Thanksgiving. All in all, Maricucci did an average job coaching the Lions this year. Not sure they would of been any better or worse if Mornhinweg were still the head coach.

Overall: --- B. Season: D. Another miserable season comes to an end with the Lions shocking the St. Louis Rams. Although the Lions looked great against the Rams, lets not forget the past three games. The Lions looked like the worst team in the NFL. Fortunately, with parity and free agency, the Lions may have a shot at .500 next year. But for that to happen, they must land a decent running back and have a strong draft. It would also be great to sign Boss Bailey's older brother Champ, although that is a long shot. If there has been one consistent thing the past three years, it has been injuries. The Lions had the most players on injured reserved this year. Can you imagine if Stewart, Rogers, Cash and Goodman were all healthy? There is no doubt in my mind the Lions would have won a few more games. Unfortunately, the injury bug has gotten the best of them since Millen took over. Speaking of Millen, Ford Sr. said before the game that Matt is coming back for another year. That went in one ear and out the other as I knew there was no way he was getting fired. I do believe that Millen must have a strong offseason and the Lions better improve on their 5-11 record this year. One year from now, we should have a much better idea if he will be back for his 5th and final year as president of the Lions. I would like to wish everyone a safe and healthy New Year. The web page will be updated in the offseaon if there are any relevant Lions moves. So make sure to check back :-)

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