Lions at 49ers: Despite showing more fight, Detroit falls short again

The Detroit Lions looked to bounce back in Week 2 versus Jimmy Garappolo and the San Francisco 49ers. But they instead fell way short once again.

The Detroit Lions went into their Week Two matchup against the San Francisco 49ers looking to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to the lowly New York Jets last Monday night. How did they far out west? Let’s find out.

On Detroit’s opening possession, the Lions moved the chains for six plays but the San Francisco defense tightened up and forced a 38-yard Sam Martin punt.

The Lions defense came into the game and immediately gave up massive yardage on the ground and through the air (a common trend throughout the game). Also, Teez Tabor and Quandre Diggs were both called for defensive penalties which extended the opening drive for the 49ers.

Ultimately though, Jarrad Davis and Devon Kennard sacked Jimmy Garappolo on consecutive plays and the Lion defense pushed San Francisco into settling for a field goal for the game’s first score.

During Detroit’s second go with the ball, Theo Riddick impressively converted a 3rd & 7 pass from Matthew Stafford and delivered a nice stiff arm to his defender as he rumbled for the first down. Stafford went on to strike Kenny Golladay with a gorgeous 30-yard touchdown pass. Golladay was wide open on the play and after being spun around by the cornerback, Golladay kept his balance along the sideline and found his way to the end zone. After a lengthy deliberation, the referees confirmed the call on the field as a Detroit touchdown, 7-3 Lions.

After giving up a touchdown toss to Garappolo, Lion rookie defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand stopped Alfred Morris in the backfield for a two-yard loss and forced San Francisco into another punt. During Detroit’s subsequent offensive series, Stafford lost a fumble to the 49ers as he worked to convert a 3rd & 3. After the turnover, Detroit’s defense bent but didn’t break as they made San Francisco settle for yet another field goal which made the score 13-7.

Late in the second quarter, Lion linebacker Christian Jones got to Garappolo for a sack and San Francisco ultimately punted. A 49er facemask penalty helped to push Detroit deeper into San Fran territory and after missing a touchdown attempt to Marvin Jones in the end zone, Matt Prater came in for a 27-yard field goal to make the score 13-10 going into the break.

At the opening of the third quarter, the Lions gave up a would-be 101-yard kickoff return touchdown but the score would be nullified due to a facemask penalty on the returner. Still, though, the return set the 49ers up with great field position and Garappolo capitalized with an 11-yard touchdown score to Garrett Celek.

Detroit’s rookie left guard Frank Ragnow sealed the edge for fellow rookie, Kerryon Johnson‘s 21-yard scamper during Detroit’s opening second-half drive. Bad penalties hurt Detroit during that series but they were able to maneuver into Prater’s territory as he came in and knocked a 43-yard field goal right down the middle to bring Detroit within a touchdown, 20-13.

Despite the Motor City offense’s attempt to keep the game close, San Francisco’s Matt Breida absolutely scorched Detroit’s defense for a 66-yard touchdown run which pushed the Lion deficit to 14 points.

After LeGarrette Blount got himself tossed from the game during an upsetting sequence, Stafford connected through the air with Tate on a 67-yard pitch and catch and on the next play, Marvin Jones caught a five-yard touchdown which made the score 30-20.

Jarrad Davis was able to get to San Fran’s quarterback once again for another sack and Detroit’s defense forced another punt. On the punt return, Jamal Agnew ran it back 73 yards for the touchdown but two illegal blocks called on Detroit prevented that score from counting.

Nevertheless, Detroit drove the ball down the field and tight end Michael Roberts caught a 15-yard touchdown from his quarterback and suddenly Detroit was only down by 3, 30-27.

Rookie cornerback Tracy Walker III picked off Jimmy G but a heartbreaking defensive holding call on Quandre Diggs nullified the huge interception for the Lions. Kennard was able to sack Garappolo again and Detroit got one last chance to win the game. On 3rd & 2 with 25 seconds left, Theo Riddick dropped a crucial catch and did so again on 4th down and Detroit lost a close game.

Despite the Detroit Lions showing more of a fight this week, they still fell just shy of their first win of Matt Patricia’s tenure. Week 3 will pit the Lions again Patricia’s former team, the New England Patriots.