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Week 7 Game Recap: Detroit Lions 21, Houston Texans 28
What you need to know
| Detroit Lions |
The Lions' lack of efficiency on offense in the first half and nearly picture perfect offense from the Texans led to a 21-3 Houston lead at halftime. Detroit picked it up a bit in the second half, where they outscored Houston 18-7 and cut the lead to seven with around four minutes left. The game ended with a late hook and ladder attempt that Detroit fumbled away.
QB Dan Orlovsky showed improvement from last week, but two big plays in the passing game made his stats look a little more impressive than they actually were. Orlovsky threw for 265 yards and connected with WR Calvin Johnson on a 96 yard scoring play in the fourth quarter, but shaky offensive play in the first half was too much for Detroit to overcome.
RB Kevin Smith scored on the ground for the Lions, taking it in from 26 yards out in the third quarter.
WR Calvin Johnson had the club's only score on the aforementioned 96 yard scoring strike and had a team high 154 receiving yards, but on just two receptions.
| Houston Texans |
Houston was nearly flawless offensively in the first half, where they scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. QB Matt Schaub connected with TE Owen Daniels from two yards out for the first score, and RB's Ahman Green and Steve Slaton each added one yard scoring runs as the Texans took a 21-3 lead into halftime.
Luckily for Houston, they had a big enough lead in the second half that their shaky play offensively after the break didn't come back to haunt them. After half time, the Texans punted on four of their five possessions and were outscored 18-7 as the Lions cut the lead to seven.
WR Andre Johnson had a huge game with 11 receptions for 141 yards and the duo of Slaton and Green combines for 142 yards on the ground, along with their touchdown runs.
What you ought to know
| QB Dan Orlovsky, Pass: 12 - 25 - 265 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 10 - 0 |
It was a tale of two halves for Orlovsky. In the first half, he and the Lions offense couldn't get anything going, and they quickly fell behind 21-3 at half. He did throw for 122 yards in the first half, but Detroit wasn't giving him any help in the running game, and 58 of those passing yards came on one play. In the second half, Orlovsky was able to lead three scoring drives, one of which included a 96 yard touchdown pass to WR Calvin Johnson for his only touchdown of the game. He finished 12 of 25 for 265 yards, one touchdown, zero interceptions and one lost fumble. He did have two rushes for ten yards on the ground as well.
| RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 10 - 61 - 1, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets) |
Kevin Smith led Detroit in rushing with 61 yards on ten attempts, including a 26 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Smith was targeted twice in the passing game, where he caught one pass for seven yards.
| RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 6 - 8 - 0 |
Johnson was used sparingly in the running game and finished with just six rushes for eight yards and was not a factor at all in the passing game with zero targets.
| WR Mike Furrey, Rec: 6 - 89 - 0 (8 targets) |
Furrey was targeted a team high eight times and finished with six receptions for 89 yards. With Calvin Johnson drawing constant double teams, Furrey seemed to find the open spots in the zones as he led the team in receptions.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0, Rec: 2 - 154 - 1 (6 targets) |
Calvin Johnson was targeted only six times, but he responded with two receptions for 154 yards, including a fourth quarter 96 yard touchdown reception. Nearly all of his targets came on deep routes, but unfortunately for Johnson and the Lions, only one resulted in a score. Johnson also added a two point conversion reception following his long score and was used on an end around for a two yard loss.
| WR Shaun McDonald (6 targets) |
McDonald was targeted six times, but did not record a reception. His -7 receiving yards came on a hook and ladder attempt on the last play of the game. WR Mike Furrey caught the pass and lateraled the ball to McDonald, who lost seven yards on the play.
| TE Michael Gaines, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (3 targets) |
Gaines was targeted three times and finished with two receptions for 11 yards.
| PK Jason Hanson 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Hanson connected on two field goals, both from 54 yards out, and added one extra point to finish with seven points.
| DET Rush Defense |
The Lions rush defense wasn't all that bad against the Texans, all things considered. They did allow 150 yards on 34 attempts and two rushing scores, but they were on the field for just over 40 minutes of the game. The Texans were able to use a balances mix of run plays and passes to control the clock and do as they pleased offensively, and the defense just could not come up with many stops. Also, they did play better in the second half, despite being on the field an awful lot, as they only gave up seven second half points.
LB Ernie Sims led the way with six solo tackles and four assists for the Detroit defense.
| DET Pass Defense |
Detroit simply could not apply enough pressure on Houston QB Matt Schaub or do much of anything to stop their passing game. Schaub threw for 267 yards and two scores and WR Andre Johnson was simply unstoppable. The Lions clearly had trouble covering both Johnson and TE Owen Daniels, who caught both Schaub touchdown passes. They did register three sacks and forced two fumbles, one of which they recovered.
DL Dewayne White led the Lions defensive line with seven solo tackles, three assists, a sack and a forced fumble.
| QB Matt Schaub, Pass: 26 - 31 - 267 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 1 - 0 |
Matt Schaub continued his strong play of late as he completed 26 of 31 passes for 267 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He led three scoring drives in the first half, all of which totaled more than 70 yards, and the Texans took a big lead into half time. Both of his touchdown passes went to TE Owen Daniels from one and two yards out, the second of which proved to be the difference in the game. Schaub did have two fumbles and lost one, but Detroit was unable to turn it into any points.
| RB Steve Slaton, Rush: 17 - 80 - 1, Rec: 3 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) |
Slaton was aided in the rushing attack by Ahman Green, but still got over half of the carries between the two backs. He finished with 17 carries for 80 yards and a one yard touchdown, and added three receptions for nine yards on three targets in the passing game. Slaton was eating up big chunks of yardage in the first half, where he rushed nine times for 72 yards and added his scoring run.
| RB Ahman Green, Rush: 14 - 62 - 1, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) |
Ahman Green shared the load in the running game and finished with 14 rushes for 62 yards and a one yard touchdown run. Green also caught his only target for three yards receiving. He seemed to be the healthiest he's been all year and he ran hard, made sharp cuts and showed he's still got something left in the tank.
| WR Andre Johnson, Rec: 11 - 141 - 0 (13 targets) |
Andre Johnson looked like a man among boys. He was targeted a team high 13 times, and he came down with 11 receptions for 141 yards. While he didn't get in the end zone, he did draw a pass interference call on an end zone target that led to a Houston score. Johnson looked to be open on nearly every play, despite a mix in coverages, and nine of his receptions resulted in first downs.
| WR Kevin Walter, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0, Rec: 3 - 27 - 0 (4 targets) |
Walter was targeted four times as he finished with three receptions for 27 yards. Three of his targets came on third downs.
| WR Andre Davis, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (1 targets) |
Davis caught one pass for 15 yards on his only target in the game.
| TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 6 - 66 - 2 (8 targets) |
Daniels was a big part of the game plan against the Lions. He was targeted eight times and finished with six receptions for 66 yards and touchdown receptions of one and two yards. Daniels was targeted on early downs, third downs, in the red zone and on deep patterns downfield and he responded with a productive game.
| PK Kris Brown 0 - 0 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Brown did not attempt a field goal, but finished four of four on extra point attempts to finish with four points.
| HOU Rush Defense |
Houston did give up a touchdown run to RB Kevin Smith, but for the game, they allowed just 77 yards on 19 attempts. Those numbers were a reflection of the lack of time this unit was on the field, as Detroit totaled just under 20 minutes of possession.
LB Zach Diles totaled five solo tackles and one assist and LB DeMeco Ryans added five solo tackles to lead the Houston front seven.
| HOU Pass Defense |
The Texans were exposed a bit in their pass defense, as WR Calvin Johnson burnt them for a 96 yard score in the fourth quarter. However, the good news for Houston was that the Johnson score was the only real game changing play Detroit was able to convert on offense. Again, time of possession was heavily in their favor. The Texans did register two sacks for the game, but stud DL Mario Williams was quiet with just one solo tackle and one assist.