Late interception gives Detroit 31-28 victory over Rams

Rafael Bush picked off Case Keenum in the final minute to give Detroit their 3rd win of the year.

Matthew Stafford threw four touchdowns in Detroit’s 31-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Rafael Bush picked off a late Case Keenum throw for the 1st turnover of what was an unexpected shootout. Golden Tate exploded after a slow start to the season, with 8 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown. The Lions played extremely well on offense but could do little to slow down the Rams the entire game up until the final drive. Keenum had probably the game of his career, but like last week, Detroit made plays when it mattered most to pull away late. Coach Caldwell should get some credit for his aggressive decisions that set the tone early. He smartly took the points late in the fourth and that would prove to be the difference in the game. Read my notes from the thrilling game below.

1ST QUARTER

Zach Zenner got the start at halfback and popped off a 15-yard run to begin the Lions’ first drive. Coach Caldwell elected to go for it on 4th and 1, converting with another Zenner run. Golden Tate took a screen pass 34-yards all the way to the Rams’ 7 yard line. On the next play, Marvin Jones got away with a slight push-off on a back-shoulder throw from Stafford for an early Detroit touchdown. 7-0 Detroit. Todd Gurley opened the Rams’ drive with a 15-yard run, going virtually untouched through the first level of the Lions’ defense. A’Shawn Robinson filled in for an injured Haloti Ngata and couldn’t get comfortable early. L.A. seemed to be running right at the rookie out of Alabama.

The Rams basically ran the ball at will on their first drive, getting down into Lions territory rather easily. Case Keenum booted out to his right on a play-action, throwing across his body to Kenny Britt who fought his way into the end zone for a 20-yard TD grab. Andre Roberts took the ensuing kick return out to the 28 yard line. Corey Robinson and Taylor Decker each committed penalties but were let off the hook by a defensive hold on the Rams. Justin Forsett took his second carry nine-yards. Tate dropped a short pass on 2nd and a negative run on 3rd down resulted in a Lions punt. Case Keenum was extremely efficient, starting 7-8, and getting the Rams to midfield. | End of 1st Quarter: Lions-7, Rams-7. |

2ND QUARTER

Benny Cuningham beat Kyle Van Noy out of the backfield for a nice gain to open the 2nd quarter. Detroit was getting hardly any pressure and very little push up the middle, despite Ziggy Ansah’s return. L.A. continued to use a balanced offensive attack to get inside the Lions 20-yard line. Gurley caught the ball on a drag route and took it 1-yard-line and then Keenum booted out to the right and walked into the end-zone, giving the Rams a 14-7 lead. On the next drive, Tate had a nice catch and was given a few carries, with so many injuries at RB. Stafford made a man miss, then found Zenner on a screen pass that he took 15-yards for a 1st down. Cooter called a beautiful fake pitch to Tate which Stafford sold well, before pitching to Zenner who took it for a nice gain up the sideline.

Anquan Boldin made a few short grabs and the Lions were faced with another 4th down. This time, a 4th and goal from the two yard line. Stafford couldn’t find his first read so he scrambled away to his right, lofting it up as he was hit to Andre Roberts — who impressively came back to the ball with his man draped all over him to haul in the 2 yard TD. The game was tied at 14-14 when the Rams took over with three minutes left in the 1st half. Darius Slay got burned by Kenny Britt for a 45-yard reception downfield. Devin Taylor got a strip on Keenum but couldn’t find the ball and L.A. recovered the fumble. Glover Quin got called for a hit to the head to give the Rams the ball at the nine. Kerry Hyder Jr. blew up an end-around to Tavon Austin. The Rams opted to go for it on 4th down just outside the goal-line and got stuffed to end the half. | Halftime: Lions-14, Rams-14. |

3RD QUARTER

Gurley got stuffed by Hyder to start the Rams first drive of the second-half. Two back-to-back false start penalties had the Rams in a third and long, at their own 5 yard line. Rams were forced to punt. Stafford got the Rams to jump offsides, and with a free play, he bombed it to Golden Tate who hauled it in for a 61-yard gain inside the Rams two yard line. Anquan Boldin caught a touchdown in the slot on a quick pass from Stafford. The Lions took a 21-14 lead. On the Rams’ next drive, Detroit challenged a 47-yard bobbling catch from Kenny Britt. It was a bizarre looking play and I don’t blame Caldwell for wanting to look at it, even though it held up.

Lance Kendricks corraled a pretty throw from Keenum for a 15-yard TD grab. Keenum looked as good as Stafford up to this point, and the Rams tied the game up at 21, midway through the 3rd quarter. Detroit took over at the 25 yard line. The Rams forced the first Lions 3-and-out of the game. Keenum continued to pick apart the Lions’ poor pass defense. Detroit was extremely inconsistent on the defensive side of the ball. As the quarter was ending, the Rams had the ball deep in Lions territory. | End of 3rd Quarter: Lions-21, Rams-21. |

4TH QUARTER

The Rams had the ball with a third and one, at the Detroit nine. Keenum found Britt on a slant and he abused the Lions’ secondary for his second touchdown — and what seemed like his hundredth broken tackle. Detroit got the ball back with 14 minutes left in the fourth and started out their drive with a Marvin Jones drop. Stafford hit Andre Roberts on a critical third down conversion after an offsides shortened a 3rd down. A holding penalty on Detroit backed them up for a 1st and 20, but Zenner ran for 19 yards on a well-executed draw play. A pass interference call against the Rams converted a long third down. Stafford scrambled for a first down inside the Rams 20, with over seven minutes remaining in the fourth.

Stafford hit Golden Tate on a quick-throw and he took it all the way into the end zone. Detroit tied it at 28. The Lions swatted the Rams’ first pass and Darius Slay broke up a third-down throw from Keenum to force a Rams punt with just over five minutes left in the game. Detroit took over around their own 40. Stafford connected with Bolden on third down to get near field-goal range. Zenner powered through the line for a nice 8-yard gain. A toss to Zenner up to the right side–with a great block from Michael Burton — gave Detroit a first down. Matthew Stafford took a sack from Aaron Donald. The Lions decided to pass on 3rd and 13, and Golden Tate nearly got the first down but came up just inches short. The Lions kicked the field goal with 1:30 left to go up 31-28. Safety Rafael Bush intercepted the ball on the second play of the Rams drive and the Lions held on to win. | Final Score: Lions-31, Rams-28. |

3 STARS OF THE GAME

3. Kenny Britt

Kenny Britt kept the Rams in the game all day. He broke loads of tackles, he converted big 3rd-downs and he made two pretty TD grabs. Britt finished with 7 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

2. Golden Tate

This was the game we’ve all been waiting to see from Tate. He was explosive, he broke tackles and he came up big in the clutch for the second straight week. Tate caught eight balls for 165 yards and a touchdown. Tate nearly had a 2nd touchdown but it was called back on a shoe-string tackle.

1. Matthew Stafford

I was going to go with Tate here, but Stafford was nearly perfect with 4 touchdowns and zero turnovers. It took yet another late-game drive from Stafford and the suddenly-explosive Lions offense for Detroit to pull out the close win. Stafford finished 23-31, for 270 yards, 4 TDs and a 139.8 quarterback rating. The Lions are 3-3 and Stafford now has 14 TDs, to 4 INTs.

Follow Matt Urben on Twitter @MattUrben88