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Detroit Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford Looks To Bounce Back This Week After A Poor Performance In The Season Opener On Monday Night.

First Quarter

The San Francisco 49ers looked destined for six on their opening drive only to have linebackers Jarrad Davis and Devon Kennard find Garappolo for two straight sacks. The Detroit Lions defense still left a lot to be desired in the first quarter outside of the two sacks. The Niners seemed to move the ball downfield with ease. On the offensive side, quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Kenny Golladay continued to show that they are developing a magnificent chemistry to start the year. Detroit was able to escape quarter one with a 7-3 lead thanks to a beautiful tiptoe catch and a little pirouette by Kenny G.

Second Quarter

The Lions started to turn around a poor performance on the defensive side in the second quarter. After a fumble by Stafford, the Lions defense forced a field goal and continued to look solid throughout the end of the half. The Lions were bailed out by a big facemask penalty on the final drive of the game but unfortunately had to settle for a field goal and a 10-13 deficit into the locker room. The story of the half for the Lions… four sacks, including one from former 49er Eli Harold.

Third Quarter

Just after a quarter of decent football by the Lions defense, we were treated to some of the worst run defense in recent team history. Sam Martin pinned the Niners at their own 3 but the porous defense made that irrelevant. 49ers running back Matt Breida had been doing well most of the day but a 67-yard TD run really blew the game open. The Lions offense ran the ball pretty well to this point but the lack of points and pace was not enough to get them all the way into the end zone. The Lions left themselves a large mountain to climb trailing 27-13 with only one quarter to play.

Fourth Quarter

It all started with a personal foul on running back LeGarrette Blount. The Lions orchestrated a comeback of epic proportions that was just short in the end. Stafford and the offense got the ball with 1:08 to play and a chance to tie with a field goal. Unfortunately, a couple of incompletions to running back Theo Riddick did the team in at the end, but for the first time in head coach Matt Patricia era, we saw some fight out of the Lions. All fans can do is hope to see some more of this kind of intensity as the season goes on. Statistically, the Lions are now only a 12% chance to make the playoffs.

Biggest Surprise

Stafford had a solid game overall but as former Lion Chris Spielman repeated on today’s FOX broadcast, “Matthew Stafford just doesn’t miss this many deep throws.” It seemed to be a theme today as it was last week, just not quite enough was there and not enough plays were made. The Lions can’t afford to leave so many plays on the field if they want to be playing in January.

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