Live blog: Lions drop home opener to Titans, 16-15
It was an ugly game full of penalties and injuries for the Lions.
And by the end of it, it was an even uglier loss as Detroit dropped its home opener and fell to 1-1 on the season following Sunday' 16-15 loss to the Titans.
The Lions had three timeouts and 1:13 left to work with but it all came crashing down when Matthew Stafford was picked off by Titans' Perrish Cox with 22 seconds remaining.
Titans take 16-15 lead on late TD
After the Lions' offense wasn't able to get the job done following the Titans' scoring drive, the pressure shifted back to the defense.
The Titans marched down the field with a 13-play, 83-yard drive and took a 16-15 lead on Marcus Mariota's 9-yard touchdown strike to Andre Johnson with 1:13 left. The Titans attempted the 2-point conversion but failed.
It will be up to Matthew Stafford and Co. to get the Lions within field goal range once again for Matt Prater. Detroit has all three of its timeouts.
On the Lions' prior possession, the Titans held Detroit to its second three-and-out of the game. Matthew Stafford completed an 8-yard pass to Golden Tate, but rookie Dwayne Washington was stuffed for a 2-yard loss and Stafford was unable to hook up with Tate down the right sideline. The drive only took 1 minute 36 seconds off the clock.
Lions clinging to 15-10 lead over Titans
The Lions were unable to answer the Titans' scoring drive on their ensuing possession. Matthew Stafford completed back-to-back passes for 18 yards and Theo Riddick had two carries for 13 yards as the Lions approached midfield.
But the drive fizzled out as Stafford was sacked for a 6-yard loss by Karl Klug and followed with an incompletion to set up a third-and-16. The Lions weren't able to convert and punted away to the Titans' 9-yard line.
The Lions' defense held firm, though, and forced a quick punt on the Titans' next possession. After Darius Slay was called for a defensive pass interference, Mariota threw two incompletions and Rishard Matthews was tackled after a meager 3-yard reception, ending the drive.
The Lions still lead the Titans, 15-10, with under nine minutes remaining.
Titans find end zone, trim Lions' lead to 15-10
After not even coming close to snuffing the end zone through the first three quarters, the Titans scored a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 30-yard touchdown reception by tight end Delaine Walker from Marcus Mariota. The score capped a 5-yard, 75-yard drive that took less than two minutes off the clock and cut the Lions' lead to 15-10 with 14:54 left in the game.
Mariota and rookie running back Derrick Henry did most of the heavy lifting. Mariota started it with a 20-yard completion to Rishard Matthews and Henry added three carries for 20 yards. Another Lions' penalty aided the drive -- a defensive pass interference on Nevin Lawson that resulted in five yards.
Quin INT leads to FG, 15-3 lead
On the Titans' first drive of the second half, safety Glover Quin came up with a turnover as he intercepted Marcus Mariota's pass down the right sideline at the Detroit 28.
The Lions turned that turnover into three points as Matt Prater connected on a 27-yard field goal to cap a 14-play, 63 yard drive to extend Detroit's lead to 15-3 with 1:40 left in the third quarter.
With Ameer Abdullah out, rookie Dwayne Washington got some extended reps and got the drive off to a promising start, converting a first-and-20 with a 28-yard run after Laken Tomlinson was called for another holding penalty.
The Lions converted two more third downs -- including a 24-yard run by Matthew Stafford on a third-and-14 -- to set up first-and-10 at the Titans' 21.
A roughing the passer penalty by the Titans gave the Lions the ball with a first-and-goal situation from the 10. Stafford completed just one of his next three throws for one yard before Prater came on for the field goal.
Lions start second half with Abdullah
The Lions' first possession of the second half was much like their first drive of the game -- quick and short.
After picking up a first down on two plays, the Lions were called for an illegal shift and Matthew Stafford was sacked for a 1-yard loss to bring up a second-and-16 they eventually weren't able to convert.
The drive last just five plays for 14 yards.
The Lions started the third quarter without running back Ameer Abdullah, who wasn't on the sidelines and was listed with a foot injury. His return is questionable.
Penalties negate TDs, Lions lead 12-3 at halftime
The Lions enter halftime with a 12-3 lead, but it should've been more.
Receiver Marvin Jones broke pair of tackles along the right sideline on a 47-yard reception to set the Lions up with a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line.
Two plays later, receiver Golden Tate drew a pass interference call on a slant over the middle to make it first-and-goal at the one.
That's when everything fell apart. The Lions had two touchdowns negated after being called for three consecutive penalties.
The first came as Matthew Stafford rolled out to his right and found tight end Eric Ebron in the back of the end zone for a 1-yard score, but Ebron was called for an offensive pass interference.
On the next play, Stafford connected with Anquan Boldin for an 11-yard touchdown, but it was negated by offensive holding on Laken Tomlinson.
Then a holding call on Boldin pushed the Lions back from a first-and-goal situation at the 1 to the Titans' 26. The drive eventually ended with Matt Prater kicking a 42-yard field goal to put the Lions up 12-3 at the 1:04 mark.
The Lions were flagged for 10 penalties for 80 yards in the first half. Detroit will receive the ball to start the second half.
Lions 'D' stiffens, pushes Titans out of FG range
After the Lions' drive stalled at Tennessee's 39-yard line and coach Jim Caldwell elected to punt on a fourth-and-3, Sam Martin pinned the Titans at 7-yard line.
On the first play of the drive, Titans' DeMarco Murray got loose for a 67-yard run and was chased down by Darius Slay at the Lions' 26.
The Lions' defense stiffened from there, stuffing Derrick Henry for no gain and sacking quarterback Marcus Mariota for a 12-yard loss on a combined effort from Haloti Ngata and Devin Taylor. The sack helped push the Titans out of field goal range, but Tennessee's punt was downed at the Lions' 1.
With two minutes left to play in the first half, the Lions still lead the Titans, 9-3.
Titans FG cuts Lions' lead to 9-3
The penalties are piling up for the Lions' defense. With the Titans facing a third-and-11 from their 38-yard line, quarterback Marcus Mariota was stopped well short after a five-yard gain. But cornerback Darius Slay was called for a defensive holding to give the Titans new life and a fresh set of downs near midfield.
Two plays later on a second-and-5, Titans running back Derrick Henry was tackled for a 7-yard loss but it was negated due to an offsides penalty on Devin Taylor.
As the Titans approached the red zone, an illegal crackback block pushed the Titans back into a second-and-25 at the Lions' 39. But Tennesse was able to get into field goal range for Ryan Succop, who knocked one in from 46 yards to cap a 14-play, 47-yard drive and cut the Lions' lead to 9-3 with 7:12 left in the second quarter.
Boldin TD gives Lions a 9-0 lead
The Lions' quick-strike offense drove right down the field following the safety, marching 79 yards in eight plays and scoring on a 24-yard touchdown reception by Anquan Boldin from Matthew Stafford to make it 9-0 with 4:15 left in the first quarter.
Stafford was sharp on the drive, completing four passes for 72 yards. Ameer Abdullah's 14-yard touchdown run was wiped out by a holding penalty on Eric Ebron.
But it didn't matter. Two plays later, Stafford scrambled out to his left and flicked the ball into the end zone to Boldin.
Taylor's safety gives Lions a 2-0 lead
After the Lions' quick three-and-out, Sam Martin buried the Titans at their 10-yard line and an offensive holding pushed Tennessee back up against their own end zone at the 5 to start their second drive.
And Devin Taylor made the Titans pay. On the Titans' first play of their second drive, Taylor burst around the edge and took down DeMarco Murray in the end zone for a safety, giving the Lions a 2-0 lead with 7:20 left in the first quarter.
Titans, Lions come up empty on opening drives
It wasn't the type of start the Lions' defense was looking for. They were called for an offsides on the very first play and gave up a pair of first downs before Titans' Marcus Mariota found a wide-open Delaine Walker for a 32-yard gain to set Tennessee up at the Lions' 37-yard line.
But the defense held from there as Khyri Thornton stuffed running back DeMarco Murray for a 2-yard loss to force a third-and-4 before Devin Taylor and Kerry Hyder converged to sack Mariota for a 2-yard loss. But the Titans' 10-play, 60-yard drive came up empty as Ryan Succop missed the ensuing 51-yard field goal.
The Lions started their first drive at their 41-yard line but couldn't do anything with the good field position, gaining one yard on an Ameer Abdullah run before Matthew Stafford threw two straight incompletions for a quick three-and-out.
With 7:20 left in the first quarter, the game remains scoreless.
Levy inactive
The Lions will be without linebacker DeAndre Levy in today's home opener against the Titans. After every defensive snap in last week's season-opening 39-35 win over the Colts, Levy missed all three practices leading up to the game with a quad injury. Rookie Antwione Williams is likely to start in his place.
Also out for the Lions are tight end Cole Wick, cornerback Adairius Barnes, guard Joe Dahl, offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas, defensive end Anthony Zettel and running back Zach Zenner.
Lions pregame
The Lions look to improve to 2-0 as they host the Titans in their home opener at Ford Field on Sunday. Kickoff is 1 p.m. (CBS/WJR). Follow the action with live updates from James Hawkins of The Detroit News.
Hawkins, Justin Rogers, Bob Wojnowski and John Niyo all predict the Lions will come away with the win against a young Tennessee team.
In case you missed it, check out the game preview here.