Being down 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Detroit Lions’ comeback falls short against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, 27-24.
The Lions may be the king of the jungle, but the Detroit Lions are the kings of the fourth quarter comeback. At least they were until they were abruptly dethroned by the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in a 27-24 defeat.
Both the Lions and the Panthers were 3-1 heading into this Week Five matchup. Detroit welcomed Carolina into Ford Field, which has not exactly been a home field advantage for the Pride this season.
After leading in this game 10-3 in the second quarter, the Lions were suddenly down 17-10 at halftime as the Panthers put up two passing touchdowns to end the first half. Carolina’s lead got even bigger in the third quarter, as they would score 10 more unanswered points.
Down 27-10 to start the final frame, the Lions frantically mounted yet another fourth quarter comeback for which they have been so effective doing as of late. Scoring 14 points off of two Matthew Stafford touchdown passes to tight end Darren Fells, the Motor City cut the lead down to just three points late in the fourth. Unfortunately, time ran out on the Lions and they were forced to notch their second loss of the young season.
After a bit of a slow start, Stafford ended the day posting 229 passing yards and two scores in the loss. Running back Ameer Abdullah struggled on the ground, gaining just 31 yards on 10 carries. Marvin Jones Jr. led all Lions wide receivers with six catches for 54 yards.
Defensively, Detroit allowed Carolina quarterback Cam Newton to throw for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Safety Tavon Wilson led the team with 10 tackles. And both defensive end Ziggy Ansah and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata recorded a sack in the contest.
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The 3-2 Detroit Lions will now head to Louisiana to play the 2-2 New Orleans Saints, who are currently on a bye this week, next Sunday, October 15th at 1:00 p.m. EDT.