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DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER
21: Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions drops back to
pass during the second quarter of the game against the Green
Bay Packers at Ford Field on September 21, 2014 in Detroit,
Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) |
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Lions
stuff
Packers
19-7
By Noah
Trister
AP
Sports
Writer
DETROIT
- If
Detroit's
defensive
front
plays
like
this, it
may not
matter
how
banged
up the
secondary
is.
Don
Carey
returned
a fumble
40 yards
for a
touchdown,
and
Detroit's
defensive
front
stuffed
Green
Bay on
Sunday,
leading
the
Lions to
a 19-7
victory
over
Aaron
Rodgers
and the
Packers.
The
Lions
(2-1)
came
into the
game
with a
secondary
decimated
by
injuries,
but that
didn't
much
matter
with
Rodgers
under
constant
pressure.
He was
sacked
twice
and
threw
for only
162
yards,
and
Green
Bay
(1-2)
wasn't
any
better
when
running
the
ball.
Reggie
Bush
added a
26-yard
scoring
run in
the
fourth
quarter
for
Detroit,
which
had
never
beaten
Green
Bay with
Rodgers
healthy
for the
whole
game.
The
Packers
managed
only 223
yards of
offense
and lost
despite
forcing
three
turnovers.
Detroit
linebacker
Stephen
Tulloch
left
with a
knee
injury
that
appeared
to occur
as he
was
celebrating
a sack.
Safety
James
Ihedigbo
(neck)
and
cornerback
Cassius
Vaughn
(ankle)
were
inactive
for
Detroit,
which
has also
lost
defensive
backs
Bill
Bentley
and
Nevin
Lawson
to
season-ending
injuries.
It
seemed
as if
was an
almost
ideal
opportunity
for
Rodgers,
but the
Packers
were
never
able to
take
advantage.
They
tried to
establish
the run
a bit
early,
and that
backfired
when
Eddie
Lacy's
fumble
was
scooped
up by
Carey.
The
defensive
back
went all
the way
to the
end zone
for a
7-0
lead.
Carey
hadn't
played
in
Detroit's
first
two
games
this
season
because
of a
hamstring
injury,
and he
left
this
game
with a
hamstring
problem
as well.
It
wasn't
clear if
he'd
aggravated
the same
injury,
but his
brief
contribution
proved
critical
in what
turned
into a
defensive
struggle.
Detroit
quarterback
Matthew
Stafford
was 22
of 34
for 246
yards.
His
second
interception
-- on
third-and-long
in the
second
quarter
--
actually
worked
out in
the
Lions'
favor.
His deep
pass for
Calvin
Johnson
was
intercepted
near the
goal
line by
Davon
House,
and
although
the play
was
initially
ruled a
touchback,
a review
gave
Green
Bay the
ball at
its own
1-yard
line.
The
Packers
tried a
run with
Lacy,
and
linebacker
DeAndre
Levy
caught
him in
the end
zone for
a safety
that put
Detroit
ahead
9-7.
Green
Bay had
won 15
of the
past 17
meetings
with
Detroit,
and the
Packers
were 9-1
with
Rodgers
playing.
The one
loss he
took
part in
came in
2010,
when he
left the
game in
the
first
half
with a
concussion.
Last
season,
Rodgers
was out
with a
fractured
collarbone
when
Green
Bay lost
to the
Lions
40-10 on
Thanksgiving.
Rodgers
threw a
10-yard
touchdown
pass to
Andrew
Quarless
in the
first
quarter
Sunday,
but the
Packers
never
scored
again.
Tulloch
went out
in the
first
quarter.
After
sacking
Rodgers,
he
jumped
through
the air
and
looked
as if he
was
trying
to mimic
the
Green
Bay
quarterback's
"title
belt"
celebration,
but then
he fell
to the
ground.
Tulloch
tried to
play on,
but left
the game
a short
while
later.
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