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Week 15 Game Recap: Detroit Lions 21, Indianapolis Colts 31
What you need to know
| Detroit Lions |
Detroit played hard and were even tied with the Colts early in the fourth quarter. While the effort may have been there, the talent, once again, was not. They were unable to prevent the Colts from marching right back down the field for the go ahead touchdown or adding a field goal with under one minute to play to seal the deal.
QB Dan Orlovsky made his first start since having his thumb broken in two places by the Bears in early November but played well enough to win. He completed 23 of 34 for 233 yards and one touchdown, while he avoided sacks, fumbles, and interceptions.
Calvin Johnson had a monster day, and even with double coverage on virtually every play he still picked up 110 yards and a TD off his career high nine receptions. To the Lions' credit, they targeted Johnson throughout the game. RB Kevin Smith is Detroit's' only other big play player. He scored their second touchdown, averaged 4.4 yards per carry, and grabbed six passes for 31 yards.
The Detroit defense did their best to pressure Manning. They sacked him once, knocked him down to the ground half a dozen other times, and even drew a roughing the quarterback penalty. They simply did not have the manpower to shut down the Colts' offense when they needed to.
| Indianapolis Colts |
Indianapolis did not play an especially crisp game, but managed to keep their playoff hopes alive with their seventh straight victory. Winning that many consecutive games is a great feat, but it's business as usual for these guys. This is the fifth consecutive season that Indianapolis has managed to win at least seven games in a row, an NFL record.
Center Jeff Saturday returned to the lineup after missing two games with a leg injury and the Colts' running game clicked even without Joseph Addai in the lineup. Dominic Rhodes scored two touchdowns on dive plays while rushing for 86 yards on 20 carries. He also caught four passes for 30 yards.
Peyton Manning was his typical methodical self. He posted a QB rating of 110 based on 28 of 37 for 318 yards and one touchdown. More importantly, when the Lions tied the game in the fourth quarter, Manning rallied the Colts to a must win victory.
TE Dallas Clark led all receivers with 12 grabs for 142 yards, while Reggie Wayne added 104 yards on seven catches. The Indianapolis run defense was sloppy without S Bob Sanders and the Colts' pass defense failed to register a sack or an interception.
What you ought to know
| QB Dan Orlovsky, Pass: 23 - 34 - 233 - 1 TD / 0 INT |
Orlovsky played well enough to win for almost any team but Detroit. He did not throw an interception or fumble the ball and avoided getting sacked by the Colts' lethal passing rushers. His QB rating of 96.8 was legitimate, as he completed 23 of 34 for 233 yards and one touchdown. In early November against the Bears he broke the thumb on his throwing hand in two places but still played the entire game. Hollywood would have made him the winning quarterback but this is the NFL and the Lions lost by four.
| RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 20 - 88 - 1, Rec: 6 - 31 - 0 (8 targets) |
Smith appears to have all the tools to become a great player in the NFL. He ran for 88 yards, scored a touchdown, and averaged 4.4 yards per carry. His longest run went for 25 yards and was second on the team to Calvin Johnson with six receptions for 31 yards.
Smith has now averaged over 80 total yards in five of the last six games but he is still averaging over four yards per carry for the NFL's 31st ranked rushing offense.
| RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 |
Johnson had two carries for two yards, one in the first quarter and one in the third. While the Lions tried to give him a larger role in this offense earlier this season, Kevin Smith has emerged as the primary workhorse.
| RB Aveion Cason |
The veteran returned two punts for 14 yards and five kickoffs for a 27.4 average.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rec: 9 - 110 - 1 (16 targets) |
His nine catch performance is a career high and his potential seems almost unlimited. He has raw talent but he is also reported to be serious about improving and putting in the necessary work. His 33 yard touchdown catch came on a slant pattern where he quickly beat the corner inside, caught the bullet pass in stride, and split the safeties running full stride. He was hit low around the five yard line, spun around and dove into the end zone.
Last week the 6'5", 239 pound receiver surpassed the 1,000 yard mark for the first time. Although his 65 catches are low for an elite receiver, Johnson has scored in seven of the past nine games. Remarkable numbers when you consider that the Lions' QB committee has been sacked an NFL worst 50 times this season.
| WR John Standeford, Rec: 4 - 36 - 0 (4 targets) |
The second year undrafted free agent from Purdue caught four passes for 36 yards filling in for the injured Shaun MacDonald.
| WR Keary Colbert, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) |
The recently signed free agent was targeted twice in the fourth quarter but only made one catch. He turned the wrong way on the other target and the pass was nearly intercepted.
| TE Michael Gaines, Rec: 2 - 39 - 0 (3 targets) |
Gaines caught two passes 39 yards, including one play that covered 33 yards.
| TE Casey Fitzsimmons, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (3 targets) |
The veteran caught an eight yard pass in the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter, after Kevin Smith scored a touchdown to make the score 21--19 Indianapolis, FitzSimmons scored the two point conversion to tie the game. On that play the quarterback rolled out to the right and then threw back left as Detroit set up a TE screen. After avoiding one would be tackler Fitzsimmons easily lumbered into the end zone.
| PK Jason Hanson 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Hanson's 51 yard FG set an NFL record for being the eight straight field made from at least 50 yards away. For his career, Hanson has now kicked 41 field goals from 50+ yards, which moves him ahead of both Morten Andersen and Jason Elam for the most all time. He also was good on a more modest 30 yard field goal and converted both PATs.
| DET Rush Defense |
The Colts ran 29 times for 109 yards and three touchdowns with their starting running back in street clothes. The Detroit run defense has allowed 15 rushing touchdowns in their last six games.
| DET Pass Defense |
The good news is they held Peyton Manning to just one TD pass. The bad news is they lost the game anyway as Manning hit 23 of 38 for 318 yards. They did manage to pressure him some, racking up one sack, half a dozen QB knockdowns, and one roughing the passer penalty. They also forced him to demonstrate his signature giraffesque style on a four yard scramble.
The Lions cut ties with veteran CB Brian Kelly, their $8.5 million off-season acquisition. Detroit decided to go with younger players who are paid less and are capable of playing at least as badly.
| QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 28 - 37 - 318 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0 |
Peyton Manning was his typical methodical self and posted a ho-hum (for him) QB rating of 110. He passed 37 times and completed 28 for 318 yards and one touchdown. He barely missed a second TD pass when Reggie Wayne caught a 39 yard pass but was tackled at the Lions' one yard line. Manning opened the game with a 14 play drive for a touchdown. When Detroit tied the score in the fourth quarter he responded by leading his team on a seven play 88 yard drive for the go ahead score. As a demonstration of his consistency, Manning called seven passes and seven runs on the Colts' first touchdown drive. On their last touchdown drive he called four passes and three runs.
It has been his improving play over the past seven games, as much as anything, that enabled the Colts to get back into the playoff hunt after their 3--4 start. Through the first seven games Manning had ten touchdown passes and nine interceptions. Over the last seven games he has thrown 13 TDs and just three picks.
| RB Dominic Rhodes, Rush: 20 - 86 - 2, Rec: 4 - 30 - 0 (5 targets) |
Indianapolis was happy to get Rhodes back under contract after his escapade in Oakland last season. He is well schooled in this offense and is able to step into the number one running back spot and produce quality numbers. His 20 carries and 4.3 yard per carry average were enough to keep the Lions' defense from blitzing every play. The Colts also trust him near the goal line and his two touchdowns came on short dive plays.
If you were one of those fantasy owners needing playoff help at running back you could have done worse than Dominic Rhodes. He scored two touchdowns on dive plays while rushing for 86 yards on 20 carries. He also caught four passes for 30 yards. Rhodes' career numbers have actually been slightly better for the Colts than Joseph Addai. Rhodes has averaged 16.4 carries and 64.1 yards in regular season games, Addai 16.0 and 62.0. Rhodes has also gained over 100 yards seven times, two more than Addai.
| RB Chad Simpson, Rush: 7 - 17 - 1, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
Simpson was reported to be out of this game with a sprained ankle but took over as backup running back when Addai was ruled inactive. He carried seven times and punched in a short touchdown. He may return to punt return duties because Keiwan Ratliff turned the ball over twice.
| RB Najeh Davenport |
The veteran running back was signed on Tuesday to add depth to their banged up running back corpse. He returned five kickoffs for a 21.4 yard average.
| RB Joseph Addai |
Addai was inactive for this game with a shoulder injury.
| WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 7 - 104 - 0 (9 targets) |
Another strong game from Reggie Wayne as he caught seven balls for 104 yards. With the game tied in the fourth quarter, Manning tried to hit him with the go ahead touchdown pass down the left sideline. The play covered 39 yards but Wayne was tackled at the one yard line, setting up Rhodes' second touchdown of the afternoon.
| WR Marvin Harrison, Rec: 2 - 22 - 0 (6 targets) |
Harrison caught a pass on the Colts' opening drive of the game but he saw a few opportunities throughout the game. He obviously was not the focal point of the offense against the Lions. His second catch of the game, however, which kept alive the Colt's critical fourth quarter game winning drive, moved him into third place on the NFL's all time career pass catching list behind only Jerry Rice and Chris Carter. Harrison now has 1,095 receptions and counting.
| WR Anthony Gonzalez, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (2 targets) |
In limited action the second year slot receiver only caught one pass for six yards.
| TE Dallas Clark, Rec: 12 - 142 - 1 (13 targets) |
After dropping an easy, short pass in the first quarter, Clark caught the next 12 passes thrown his way which set a new career high for catches in a single game. His 142 yards was also a career best. He made a great catch in the back of the end zone, leaping up high between defenders to catch the pass and making sure to come down with both feet in before getting slammed out of bounds. He also made great one handed stab of another pass and just had one of those games where he was playing out of his mind.
| TE Gijon Robinson, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
There is a buzz around the Indianapolis camp about this undrafted free agent from Missouri Western. He did not put up great numbers in this game but they like his long term potential.
| PK Adam Vinatieri 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points |
His 31 yard field goal with :44 seconds left sealed the victory, and was perfect on all four PATs.
| IND Rush Defense |
Kevin Smith took advantage of Bob Sanders not playing to pick up some nice gains as the NFL's 31st ranked rushing offense only gained 90 yards but averaged over four yards per attempt. Playing from behind almost the entire year has affected the productivity.
| IND Pass Defense |
The Colts did not have a great game and would have been a poor start for your fantasy playoff team. They recorded zero sacks and zero interceptions but they managed to recover two fumbles.
They have allowed five touchdown passes through 14 games and since the NFL went to a 16 game schedule in 1978, no team has allowed fewer than nine. Dwight Freeney still has 9.5 sacks for the year.