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Week 11 Game Recap: Detroit Lions 22, Carolina Panthers 31
What you need to know
| Detroit Lions |
QB Daunte Culpepper had a promising start but failed to impress throughout the game. He ended up throwing a touchdown on the opening drive, and running for one later in the game, but also fumbled the ball and threw two interceptions.
RB Kevin Smith looked great again this week, running for 112 yards. He failed to get into the end zone after running the ball four times from the 13 yard line on one drive. Smith showed the ability to be elusive and was impressive against the Panthers.
WR Calvin Johnson had three catches and a 29 yard touchdown reception on the opening drive, but only caught three additional passes the remainder of the game.
| Carolina Panthers |
QB Jake Delhomme did not need to do much more than hand the ball off against the Lions. He only threw the ball 19 times, and completed an unimpressive ten passes for 98 yards.
RB DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart split carries, but both produced relevant fantasy games as they combined for 250 yards rushing and three touchdowns. They tore apart the Lions and burst through holes like they were playing against a practice squad.
WR Steve Smith was targeted ten times of Delhomme's 19 passes. It was clear that Carolina designed plays to get Smith the ball as usual. TE Jeff King caught a touchdown pass in the red zone.
What you ought to know
| QB Daunte Culpepper, Pass: 20 - 35 - 207 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 5 - 13 - 1 |
Culpepper started off the game quickly, leading the Lions to a touchdown by completing a 29 yard pass to Calvin Johnson. He was not able to consistently get the ball downfield however, as he only threw for 207 yards on 35 attempts. Culpepper struggled late in the game when he tried to force some things and ended up throwing a late interception and losing a fumble. Culpepper also ran for a touchdown from the one yard line.
| RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 24 - 112 - 0, Rec: 2 - 23 - 0 (4 targets) |
Smith ran the ball often and fairly effectively on the day. He made a couple of defenders miss tackles, showing some level of elusiveness. Smith racked up 112 yards, but failed to get into the end zone, despite one series running the ball four consecutive times from the 13 yard line and getting a first down.
| RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 5 - 5 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Johnson saw little action on the day, serving as the second running back behind Kevin Smith. He was not successful running the ball when he was in though, as he only got five total yards on five carries.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rec: 6 - 65 - 1 (10 targets) |
Johnson had a solid game, but was fairly quiet after getting out of the gates with a 29 yard touchdown reception. He only caught three more passes after the opening drive. The Panthers seemed to focus on stopping Johnson rather than worrying about the run and it ended up shutting Johnson down for the most part.
| WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (6 targets) |
McDonald was targeted the second most among Detroit players, yielding six targets, three catches, and 30 yards. He served as the second wide receiver, but was unable to create space from his routes against the Carolina secondary.
| WR John Standeford, Rec: 2 - 48 - 0 (4 targets) |
Standeford saw targets late in the game and seemed to gain some trust from Culpepper, getting targeted on three straight plays. He only caught two balls, but one of them went for 32 yards.
| TE Casey Fitzsimmons, Rec: 3 - 11 - 0 (4 targets) |
Fitzsimmons was the fullback and snuck out of the backfield a couple of times to bring in three catches for 11 yards.
| TE Michael Gaines, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (2 targets) |
Gaines caught both of the balls thrown his way for a total of 21 yards, but one of the two balls he caught he turned the ball over to the Panthers via a fumble.
| TE John Owens, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Owens seemed to be target on check downs and while Culpepper was pressured, catching only one pass. The other two targets thrown his way were Culpepper's two interceptions.
| PK Jason Hanson 3 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
Hanson made three field goals including an impressive 56 yard kick.
| DET Rush Defense |
The Detroit run defense was a sad sight, giving up 264 yards on the ground and allowing both DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to have over 120 yards rushing apiece.
| DET Pass Defense |
The Lions held Delhomme to 96 yards passing, but that was largely because they could not force the Panthers to have to pass the ball.
| QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 10 - 19 - 98 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
Delhomme had a quiet day passing the ball because the Panthers were so successful running the ball. He only threw the ball 19 times for 96 yards. He made no mistakes, but it was not a pretty game for Delhomme.
| RB Jonathan Stewart, Rush: 15 - 130 - 1, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Stewart split carried with DeAngelo Williams on the day, but that did not stop him from producing a monster game of 130 yards and a touchdown on a measly 15 carries. He hit holes hard and fast and had no problems getting into the secondary as he averaged eight yards per carry. He had a 22 yard touchdown run that put his day over the top, however it was against a weak run defense.
| RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 14 - 120 - 2 |
Williams split time with Jonathan Stewart in the backfield. He was still able to gain 120 yards and score two touchdowns, one of them coming on an impressive 56 yard run where he looked to be an elite back. The Lions have a way of making running backs look like that though, as Williams produced those numbers on only 14 carries.
| WR Steve Smith, Rush: 1 - 16 - 0, Rec: 6 - 59 - 0 (10 targets) |
Smith was the only receiver for the Panthers to see the ball more than three times, and he saw it ten so that shows you how much they want to get him the ball. He also ran the ball on an end around once. He did not score, but he did haul in six catches and ended with 75 all purpose yards.
| WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (2 targets) |
Muhammad was not a beneficiary of the weak Lions' run defense, as he only received two targets from Delhomme and ended up the game with one catch for 16 yards.
| TE Jeff King, Rec: 2 - 19 - 1 (3 targets) |
King caught the lone passing touchdown for the Panthers on a 15 yard pass from Delhomme. He had the second highest target total on the team with three targets.
| PK John Kasay 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
Kasay made a 29 yard field goal and four extra points for a solid, unexciting day.
| CAR Rush Defense |
The Panthers gave up a lot of yards to Kevin Smith, but it was mainly because they focused on not letting Calvin Johnson beat them. The allowed 112 yards to Smith on 24 carries, but made a couple of key stops against the Lions.
| CAR Pass Defense |
Carolina looked great against the pass after the first drive, getting three sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble against Culpepper.
