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| Other Week 14 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at SF | BUF at KC | CAR at NE | CIN at MIN | DEN at IND | DET at BAL | GB at CHI | MIA at JAX |
| NO at ATL | NYJ at TB | PHI at NYG | PIT at CLE | SD at DAL | SEA at HOU | STL at TEN | WAS at OAK |
Week 14 Game Recap: Detroit Lions 3, Baltimore Ravens 48
Detroit Lions
| QB Daunte Culpepper, Pass: 16 - 34 - 135 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 7 - 11 - 0 |
Daunte Culpepper struggled against a good Baltimore defensive performance in Week 14. The Ravens kept the pressure up against Culpepper, who did try several passes deep downfield -- often in Calvin Johnson's direction -- but his timing and accuracy were decidedly off. Culpepper lacked accuracy and good timing as he threw two interceptions and could have easily given up more against a good Baltimore scheme. The Ravens, even without cornerback depth and with Ed Reed on the sideline, held Culpepper under 150 yards and controlled his numbers all game long. Culpepper will head back to the bench as soon as Matthew Stafford can play once again, which might be as soon as next week.
| RB Kevin Smith, Rush: 21 - 69 - 0, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (2 targets) |
Kevin Smith was running hard and posting some good runs right up until his unfortunate injury at the start of the fourth quarter. Smith caught a short pass, planted to make a cut and his knee gave out. After getting medical attention he was eventually carted off of he field and most are expecting that his season is done with a severe knee injury.
| RB Maurice Morris, Rush: 3 - 11 - 0, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) |
Maurice Morris came on in relief of the injured Kevin Smith to post modest numbers in the fourth quarter on five touches. Morris is the most likely candidate for Detroit to use the rest of the season as their top rusher and receiver out of the backfield assuming that Smith is done for the year due to his knee injury.
| RB Terrelle Smith, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (3 targets) |
Fullback Terrelle Smith caught one of three short targets in Week 14 for a three yard gain.
| RB Aaron Brown, Rush: 1 - 12 - 0 |
Aaron Brown had just one carry in Week 14, a 12-yard gain in the first quarter on a play that started near midfield. Brown will get some interest this week on waiver wires as many are wondering how the Lions will address the likely loss of Kevin Smith as their starting tailback. Maurice Morris filled in with Smith out, but now that there is the potential to give other running backs reps in practice, Brown may see more chances on offense.
| WR Calvin Johnson, Rec: 4 - 37 - 0 (13 targets) |
Calvin Johnson grabbed only four out of 12 targets for a minimal 37 yards in Week 14, but he was targeted several times deep down the field by backup QB Daunte Culpepper. Johnson was often double-teamed with coverage, as the Ravens dared Detroit to try and win the game without their best wide receiver. Johnson should start to get healthier performances once Matthew Stafford comes back, which may be as soon as next week as Detroit faces the Arizona Cardinals.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rec: 3 - 39 - 0 (4 targets) |
Dennis Northcutt caught two passes over the middle on the same second quarter drive in Week 14, racking up 35 yards on the two grabs. Northcutt later added a short catch in the final period to close out his fantasy numbers for the week.
| WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Bryant Johnson had two targets in the second quarter of the Week 14 contest against the Baltimore ravens, grabbing one for a short gain of eight yards. He was not a significant contributor after that drive.
| TE Will Heller, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (5 targets) |
Will Heller caught the first pass by Daunte Culpepper in Week 14, a 10 yard catch and run by Heller in the first quarter. Despite four more targets the rest of the game, Heller was only able to grab one of them for just a six yard gain. Heller (and all Lions tight ends) are barely worth a roster spot in most fantasy leagues.
| TE Dan Gronkowski, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Dan Gronkowski caught one of the three short targets in the second half for a four yard gain.
Baltimore Ravens
| QB Joe Flacco, Pass: 13 - 20 - 230 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Joe Flacco had moderate numbers against Detroit in Week 14, which may surprise some people when they see the final score was 48-3. Flacco had just one touchdown pass on the day, a 62-yarder where Derrick Mason caught a short pass at midfield, avoided two would-be tacklers and ran the 50 yards to the end zone without anyone offering any resistance. Flacco had three additional big pass plays to Todd Heap (31 yards), Ray Rice (30) and Demetrius Williams (34) which accounted for most of the remainder of his yardage for the day. Flacco was only asked to drop back 20 times as the defense and Ray Rice's rushing were enough to seize control over Detroit as Baltimore cruised to a blowout victory. The game did appear to boost Flacco's confidence, something he could use to his advantage with games against Chicago and in Pittsburgh over the next two weeks.
| QB Troy Smith, Pass: 2 - 3 - 10 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 14 - 1 |
Troy Smith came in to mop up the remaining playing time in a big blowout for the Ravens over the Detroit Lions in Week 14. Smith ran a touchdown in himself in the final period, running around the right side and going in untouched for a 15-yard score. Smith only threw the ball three times as he was mostly concerned with keeping the clock running and handing the ball off to his running backs.
| RB Ray Rice, Rush: 13 - 166 - 1, Rec: 4 - 53 - 0 (7 targets) |
Ray Rice exploded against the Detroit Lions, gashing their defense for big play after big play throughout the first half. Rice had 151 yards on just nine carries before intermission, including a 59-yard touchdown right through the middle of the line and down the left hash marks for an easy score. Rice was given most of the second half off to relax as Baltimore was quickly up 27-3 by the middle of the third quarter and it was not even that close of a game. Rice gets to rest up and get ready for a good matchup at home against the Bears in Week 15.
| RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 12 - 76 - 2, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Willis McGahee stepped in for Ray Rice after he was done torching the Lions defense in Week 14, but McGahee continued the onslaught with 76 yards and two scores of his own. McGahee found the end zone twice in the second half as he pounded the ball through the middle against a Detroit team that just could not stop the run all afternoon. McGahee will likely not see this much playing time the rest of the way with Rice getting most of the work, but he does make for a nice handcuff and is a decent desperate fantasy running back in the right matchups.
| RB LeRon McClain, Rush: 6 - 32 - 1 (1 targets) |
LeRon McClain was the third option once again for Baltimore in the backfield, getting six touches as compared to Ray Rice (17 touches) and Willis McGahee (13). McClain did get a short touchdown right after a big pass play to Demetrius Williams set the Ravens up at the Detroit three-yard line, but aside from that short score and a 20-yard gain in the first quarter there was not too much work for McClain even in a blowout victory.
| RB Jalen Parmele, Rush: 5 - 17 - 0 |
Justin Parmele had five fourth quarter carries as he was used to help run out the clock in Baltimore's blowout victory over Detroit in Week 14.
| WR Derrick Mason, Rec: 5 - 94 - 1 (6 targets) |
Derrick Mason benefited from poor tackling by Detroit in Week 14 as he caught a pass near midfield and then split two would-be tacklers that slammed into each other, leaving Mason all alone with the ball with no one near him as he cruised the rest of the 62 yard play for the touchdown. While the rest of his Week 14 was modest (four catches, 32 yards aside from the score), Joe Flacco is looking at Mason and Ray Rice as the first two options in the passing game by a wide margin, and now with Mark Clayton out due to a knee injury for Week 14 and possibly longer this trend may even get more severe. Mason also looked to be a bit banged up after the 62-yard score, so keep an eye on the injury and practice reports this week.
| WR Demetrius Williams, Rec: 2 - 45 - 0 (4 targets) |
Demetrius Williams made two catches in Week 14 against Detroit, highlighted by a leaping grab between defenders down near the goal line between defenders that set up LeRon McClain's three-yard touchdown run on the next play. Williams could easily see more playing time going forward as Mark Clayton may miss additional time due to a knee injury.
| WR Kelley Washington, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0 |
Kelley Washington gained one yard on an end around but failed to get any targets in the passing game. Washington may get more chances going forward as Mark Clayton is out with a knee injury.
| TE Todd Heap, Rec: 2 - 38 - 0 (2 targets) |
Todd Heap snagged a nice 31-yard pass down the left sideline that moved the Ravens into the Red Zone in the third quarter, but the big tight end appeared to injure himself on that catch. Heap finished out the game as he is a tough tight end who is very much a "gamer" and does not like to miss any playing time, so he should be a go for next week against the Bears.