By Michael Stets
Matthew Stafford threw a pair of touchdown passes to Marvin Jones, and the Lions snapped a three-game losing streak, defeating the Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers, 30-17, on Monday Night Football at Lambeau Field.
Stafford, 29, joined Dan Marino, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as the fourth quarterback to throw 200 touchdown passes before the age of 30 when he hit Jones for a 25-yard score in the first quarter. He was 26-33 on the night, passing for 361 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions in an outstanding performance.
“Well, we’ve seen him do it so often,” Lions head coach Jim Caldwell told Jim Brandstatter on the Lions Radio network after the game. “He’s a talented guy that can do what he does. He throws it as well as anyone. He can thread the needle. He can throw touch passes. He’s got it all. And he can get outside the pocket if he has to. It was great to see him in a rhythm, but the receivers caught the ball for him and those guys made some plays.”
That they did.
Jones and Golden Tate each had over 100 yards receiving, and both hauled in seven catches against the Packers. The Lions struggled running the ball once again, though, totaling 64 yards on 33 carries for a pedestrian average of 1.9 yards a carry. But, Ameer Abdullah, who fumbled twice during the game, scored on a four-yard run in the first quarter to give the Lions a 14-0 lead.
After the Packers’ Mason Crosby connected on a 35-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the second quarter, the Lions took a 14-3 lead into halftime.
Matthew Prater scored the only points of the third quarter on a 44-yard field goal, and connected again in the beginning of the fourth from 19 yards to extend the lead to 20-3.
The Packers didn’t get into the endzone until quarterback Brett Hundley, who was making his second start, scored on a a 1-yard touchdown run with 9:52 left to play. Hundley was 26-38 on the night and passed for 245 yards. Jordy Nelson, the Packers No.1 receiver, was held in check for the most part, finishing with 4 receptions for 38 yards.
Hundley’s touchdown cut the lead to 20-10, but the Lions answered right back on the ensuing possession. Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter called a screen pass at an opportune time, catching the Packers in a blitz, and Stafford hit Theo Riddick, who ripped up the field for a 63-yard gain. Two plays later, Stafford connected with Jones for his second touchdown pass of the night, an 11-yard scoring strike to go up 27-10 with 8:06 left to play.
The Lions led 30-10 after a 31-yard field goal by Prater with just under two minutes left to play. And in the final seconds, Packers running back Jamal Williams scored on a 1-yd touchdown run to close out the scoring.
“I’m proud of the guys and the way they played,” Caldwell said. “They started fast and we answered when we had to in a number of different situations. So, overall, just an outstanding team effort.”