Johnson’s score lifts Lions past Buccaneers
November 17th, 2007 by Chuckie
Detroit, MI - Jon Kitna completed 16-of-20 passes for 147
yards and Calvin Johnson provided the game-winning touchdown with a 32-yard
fourth-quarter touchdown scamper as the Detroit Lions held on for a 23-16 win
over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field.
Kevin Jones rushed 15 times for 76 yards and a touchdown and also caught six
passes for 34 yards, while Johnson added two catches for 37 yards. Detroit
(4-2) controlled the ball for just 24 minutes, but forced a pair of costly
Buccaneer turnovers and also blocked a punt on its way to establishing a 23-7
lead.
"It wasn't pretty," Lions head coach Rod Marinelli said. "We just fought.
Coach Gruden and his staff did a nice job of controlling the time of
possession - we couldn't get our offense on the field - but our defense
fought and fought. My only focus is getting the franchise turned around.
That's what I'm locked in on."
Jeff Garcia was remarkably accurate, completing 37-of-45 pass attempts --
including a franchise-record tying 18 in a row during the first half -- for
316 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but the Bucs (4-3) squandered multiple
scoring opportunities and were victimized by seven penalties for 60 yards.
"Fumbles and penalties at the wrong time," Garcia said of the Bucs' self-
destruction. "Just unfortunate breaks. Give credit to their defense for not
necessarily breaking throughout the game. I thought their front four did a
good job of coming hard off the edge...they did a good job of rallying, making
tackles, doing what they needed to keep us out of the end zone. But I think
we were our own worst enemy today, too, at crucial times. That's one of the
things we've been good at this year, not turning the football over. That's
things we've been good at this year, not turning the football over. That's
disappointing because in a game like this, that becomes so critical. It
definitely came back to haunt us tonight."
Earnest Graham rushed 19 times for 92 yards and also tied a franchise record
with 13 catches for 99 yards, but like much of the Tampa offense, couldn't
find his way into the end zone.
Ike Hilliard had nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, and Joey Galloway
caught five passes for 46 yards as the Bucs racked up 422 yards of total
offense.
offense.
"Jeff Garcia was superb today," Bucs head coach Jon Gruden said afterward. "I
"Jeff Garcia was superb today," Bucs head coach Jon Gruden said afterward. "I
don't know how much better you can play than that. All in all we moved the
don't know how much better you can play than that. All in all we moved the
ball very well when we had the ball. We didn't finish drives worth a damn
today. That should be the storyline of the day. We're a better team than
that."
After a Jason Hanson field goal gave Detroit a 16-7 lead with 4:13 to play in
the third, Garcia hit Galloway for a key third-down conversion on Tampa's
ensuing drive, moving the ball out past midfield. Graham bulled ahead for two
yards on a 4th-and-inches, and after Michael Bennett burst through the middle
for 18 yards, the Bucs had 1st-and-goal from the Detroit one-yard line with a
chance to cut the lead to two.
However, Garcia fumbled the next snap, and Jared DeVries corralled it at the
seven-yard line to thwart another promising Buccaneers drive. Jones carried
four times for a combined 26 yards, and then the Lions went to their first-
round draft choice for the difference-making score with 6:28 to go.
Johnson laid out to snag an 18-yard pass on a skinny post from Kitna for a
first down at the Bucs 32. On the next play, lined up split wide to the left,
Johnson took a handoff on an end-around, got to the corner, stiffarmed a
linebacker and waltzed into the end zone while leaving Tampa defensive backs
in his wake.
"That's why he was drafted No. 2 overall," Kitna said of Johnson. "He stiff-
armed one of the best linebackers in the league (Derrick Brooks), made another
armed one of t guy (Tanard Jackson) miss and then dragged one of the NFL's leading tacklers
(Barrett Ruud) into the end zone. What else can you say about it?"
Tampa drove inside Detroit's 20 again on its next possession, but the drive
appeared to be halted when Garcia's shovel pass fell incomplete on a 4th-and-4
from the 15. But, a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty moved the chains,
and Garcia hit Maurice Stovall for a four-yard touchdown to make it 23-13.
The Bucs still needed a two-point conversion to make it a one-score game, but
Garcia's pass for Anthony Becht was off-target. They did recover the onsides
kick that ensued, and Tampa moved into position for a 48-yard field goal from
kick that ensued, and Tampa moved into position for a 48-yard field goal from
Matt Bryant.
However, Bryant's second onsides attempt squirted downfield and was finally
recovered by the Lions, who proceeded to kill the clock.
Tampa drove into Lions territory on its opening possession, but Jimmy
Bidwell's punt was blocked by Corey Smith and recovered at the Buccaneers 37
by Casey Fitzsimmons to set the Lions up with excellent starting field
position. Kitna and the offense moved the ball inside the 20, and Hanson
drilled a 34-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Detroit's defense forced its league-leading 15th takeaway on Tampa's second
drive, as Shaun Rogers burst through the middle of the offensive line and
scooped up a fumble by Graham.
scooped up a fumble by Graham.
The Lions took over at the Tampa 49, and Kitna hit Roy Williams for nine yards
and then found Johnson for 19. Jones finished the drive with a 17-yard run
around the right end and a one-yard plunge into the end zone for a 10-0
advantage with 2:51 left in the first.
The Bucs responded with an eight-play, 81-yard drive to trim the lead to 10-7.
Garcia's five-yard touchdown pass to Hilliard just over two minutes into the
second was set up by an earlier 39-yard completion that Hilliard took inside
the Detroit 20.
Kitna and the Detroit offense went three-and-out, and Garcia proceeded to lead
the Bucs on another lengthy drive, this time going 58 yards in 16 plays that
took nearly nine minutes off the clock. But, Bryant hooked a 40-yard field
goal wide left and Tampa had nothing to show for its ball control.
Kitna completed six straight passes to move the Lions offense inside the Tampa
Kitna completed six straight passes to move the Lions offense inside the Tampa
Bay 30 and set up a 42-yarder from Hanson, giving Detroit a six-point lead
heading into the locker room despite having controlled the ball for only 8:15
of the first half.
Detroit mounted a time-consuming drive of its own on its second possession of
the third quarter en route to another field goal. T.J. Duckett carried three
times for 24 yards, and one of only two completions on the drive - an 18-
yarder from Kitna to Mike Furrey - moved the ball inside the Tampa 20. The
drive stalled when Kitna was sacked to force 3rd-and-13, but Hanson was true
from 32 yards for a 16-7 advantage with a little over four minutes to play in
the third.
Game Notes
Lions linebacker Ernie Sims had 13 tackles, while Dewayne White had seven
tackles and three sacks...Bucs wide receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Jones each
left the game with injuries; Clayton tweaked an ankle in the first quarter and
was said to be able to return, but never did; Jones reportedly sprained a
knee...Galloway eclipsed 10,000 career receiving yards with his fourth catch
of the game in the third quarter.
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