Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Here are our grades from the Detroit Lions' come-from-behind 24-23 win over the New Orleans Saints today at Ford Field.

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford didn't have his best day, but he deserves credit for not panicking when the Lions went down 13 points midway through the third quarter. He threw a nice ball to Corey Fuller for the game-winning touchdown, high and in the back of the end zone, where no one else could get it. He also was sharp on a third-quarter TD drive, going 6-for-6, making a nice back-shoulder throw to Golden Tate and appearing to check to a run on third-and-2. On the negative, Stafford threw two more interceptions, including one in the first quarter on which he stared down his intended receiver on a rollout play. Grade: B

Running backs

Joique Bell had a couple of nice rushes, including an 11-yarder around right end to set up the Lions' third-quarter touchdown, but the running game was ineffective overall. Bell averaged 2.7 yards on his 18 carries, and Reggie Bush finished with just four carries for 10 yards. Bell did break two tackles to turn a short pass into a first down early in the second quarter, but he dropped a pass in the third quarter, and Bush had a drop on the same drive. Grade: D-plus

Receivers/tight ends

There's no way that the Lions would have come back if not for Tate's 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 3:38 to play. Tate had a career day -- 10 catches for 154 yards -- and Fuller made a nice grab for his first career touchdown, but the Lions struggled to get open most of the day against an ordinary Saints secondary. Jordan Thompson watched an interception bounce off his hands in the red zone in the fourth quarter, and Brandon Pettigrew couldn't get his hands on another near TD pass. Grade: C-plus

Offensive line

The Lions did a better job in pass protection, though they still gave up three sacks. Larry Warford whiffed on a block of Junior Galette on one sack, just after the two-minute warning in the first half. The run blocking wasn't great overall, either, but Riley Reiff, Pettigrew and fullback Jed Collins cleared a lane on Bell's 1-yard touchdown run. Warford also had a holding penalty that was declined. Grade: B-minus

Defensive line

The Lions didn't any sacks from their defensive line, but they made things tough on Drew Brees on the final two drives. Darryl Tapp forced an incomplete pass with a good rush after the Lions cut their deficit to 23-17, then had a hands-to-the-face penalty on the next play. C.J. Mosley forced a fumble with a big hit in the second quarter, and Ndamukong Suh batted down a pick-play pass that might have gone for a big gain. Suh also had an offsides penalty, and Ziggy Ansah hesitated for a second on a play-action toss with the Saints pinned deep during the first quarter or he might have had a sack. Grade: B

Linebackers

DeAndre Levy had 11 tackles, two for loss and made a big first-quarter takedown of Josh Hill on a third-down play to keep the Saints just outside of field-goal range. Levy also beat Terron Armstead to stuff Pierre Thomas for a 3-yard loss on a third-and-1 on the second-to-last play of the third quarter. Tahir Whitehead drew a personal foul for flipping Mark Ingram (Flint) on his back as Ingram stood over him, taunting after a run. Whitehead wasn't great in pass coverage and didn't get the defense set before the Saints picked up a third-and-10 in the first quarter. Grade: B-minus

Defensive backs

The Lions got very good play from safeties James Ihedigbo and Glover Quin today. Quin's fourth-quarter interception led to the go-ahead touchdown, and Ihedigbo had a sack, recovered a fumble and made another tackle for loss. Darius Slay broke up Brees' final pass with a reach-around deflection, but he had a rough afternoon overall. He drew a bad pass-interference penalty that dug the Saints out of second-and-20 and set up their first touchdown, and his tackling allergy showed up early. Rashean Mathis also had a defensive holding penalty. Grade: B-plus

Special teams

Sam Martin had five more touchbacks on kickoffs and dropped a great coffin-corner punt in the third quarter that was marked out of bounds at the 1-yard line. Matt Prater made his only field goal, from 21 yards, but he banked it in off of the left upright. Jeremy Ross probably should have returned an early punt that he fair caught, and Don Carey (running into the kicker) and Julian Stanford (holding) drew special teams penalties. Grade: A-minus

Coaching

Give Jim Caldwell credit for keeping his players in the game when things looked hopeless in the fourth quarter. Caldwell also made a wise gamble to accept a third-down holding penalty that knocked the Saints out of field goal territory, even though he risked the Saints converting a long third down. Joe Lombardi wasn't perfect in his play calling, but he was right to run the ball on the Lions' final touchdown drive as a way to milk the clock with Brees on the other side of the field. Grade: B-plus