SCORING

FINAL	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Green Bay	7	10	14	6	37
Detroit	7	10	0	14	31

Scoring
1st Quarter
DET	TD	AZ-ZAHIR HAKIM 72 YD PUNT RETURN (JASON HANSON KICK), 2:33 Drive: - plays, - yards in - DETROIT 7-0
GNB	TD	MARQUES ANDERSON 78 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (RYAN LONGWELL KICK), 7:43 Drive: - plays, - yards in - GREEN BAY 7-7
2nd Quarter
GNB	TD	DONALD DRIVER 21 YD PASS FROM BRETT FAVRE (RYAN LONGWELL KICK), 0:04 Drive: 10 plays, 82 yards in 6:14 Key Plays:      Favre 8-yard pass to Driver on 3rd-and-3 to Green Bay 33 Favre 19-yard pass to Driver on 3rd-and-7 to Detroit 32 GREEN BAY 14-7
DET	FG	JASON HANSON 33 YD, 5:00 Drive: 4 plays, -5 yards in :56 GREEN BAY 14-10
GNB	FG	RYAN LONGWELL 46 YD, 9:45 Drive: 12 plays, 53 yards in 4:45 Key Plays:      Favre 24-yard pass to Glenn on 3rd-and-6 to Green Bay 48 GREEN BAY 17-10
DET	TD	LAMONT WARREN 39 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 11:47 Drive: 4 plays, 64 yards in 2:02 Key Plays:      Drummond 31-yard kickoff return to Detroit 36 GREEN BAY 17-17
3rd Quarter
GNB	TD	ROBERT FERGUSON 8 YD PASS FROM BRETT FAVRE (RYAN LONGWELL KICK), 7:04 Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards in 7:04 Key Plays:      Favre 12-yard pass to Glenn on 3rd-and-2 to Green Bay 48 Davenport 11-yard run to Detroit 41 Davenport 3-yard run on 3rd-and-1 to Detroit 29 GREEN BAY 24-17
GNB	TD	BUBBA FRANKS 3 YD PASS FROM BRETT FAVRE (RYAN LONGWELL KICK), 13:30 Drive: 4 plays, 41 yards in 1:29 Key Plays:      McKenzie interception at Detroit 41 GREEN BAY 31-17
4th Quarter
GNB	FG	RYAN LONGWELL 34 YD, 4:33 Drive: 11 plays, 44 yards in 4:44 Key Plays:      Favre 13-yard pass to Davenport to Detroit 48 GREEN BAY 34-17
DET	TD	CORY SCHLESINGER 1 YD RUN (JASON HANSON KICK), 6:37 Drive: 4 plays, 45 yards in 2:04 Key Plays:      Foster 50-yard kickoff return to Green Bay 45 Harrington 12-yard pass to Hakim to Green Bay 26 GREEN BAY 34-24
DET	TD	JAMES STEWART 52 YD PASS FROM JOEY HARRINGTON (JASON HANSON KICK), 13:23 Drive: 8 plays, 95 yards in 2:02 Key Plays:      Harrington 9-yard pass to Hakim on 3rd-and-7 to Detroit 17 Harrington 12-yard pass to Hakim to Detroit 34 GREEN BAY 34-31
GNB	FG	RYAN LONGWELL 47 YD, 13:45 Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards in :22 GREEN BAY 37-31

 Statistics

Passing Green Bay Att Cmp Yds Td Int Favre, Brett 47 31 357 3 1   Detroit Att Cmp Yds Td Int Harrington, Joey 35 15 182 2 4

Rushing Green Bay Att Yds Davenport, Najeh 22 84 Mealey, Rondell 5 7 Fisher, Tony 3 5 Favre, Brett 1 1   Detroit Att Yds Stewart, James 14 88 Schlesinger, Cory 5 12 Warren, Lamont 1 0 Hakim, Az-Zahir 1 5

Receiving Green Bay Rec Yds Driver, Donald 5 94 Franks, Bubba 9 62 Glenn, Terry 4 55 Ferguson, Robert 2 45 Davenport, Najeh 4 31 Mealey, Rondell 3 24 Walker, Javon 1 20 Fisher, Tony 1 11 Bailey, Karsten 1 10 Martin, David 1 5   Detroit Rec Yds Stewart, James 2 56 Warren, Lamont 3 43 Hakim, Az-Zahir 5 41 Anderson, Scotty 2 21 Schlesinger, Cory 2 14 Ricks, Mikhael 1 7

Tackles-Assists-Sacks (unofficial) Green Bay T A S Sharper, Darren 4 0 0 Wayne, Nate 4 1 0 Williams, Tyrone 3 0 0 Holliday, Vonnie 3 0 0 McKenzie, Mike 3 2 0 Diggs, Na'Il 3 0 0 Nickerson, Hardy 2 1 0 Edwards, Antuan 2 2 0 Hunt, Cletidus 2 0 1 Brown, Gilbert 1 0 0 Warren, Steve 1 0 0 Johnson, Joe 0 1 0 Anderson, Marques 0 1 0   Detroit T A S Claiborne, Chris 10 3 0 Cash, Chris 6 1 0 Pritchett, Kelvin 4 2 0 Walker, Brian 4 3 1 Goodman, Andre 4 0 0 Lyght, Todd 3 2 0 Kirschke, Travis 3 0 0 Harris, Corey 2 4 0 Kriewaldt, Clint 2 2 0 Campbell, Lamar 2 0 0 Walker, Bracy 2 1 0 Schroeder, Bill 1 0 0 Elliss, Luther 1 1 0 Porcher, Robert 1 1 0 Green, Barrett 1 3 0 Hall, James 1 1 0 Gooch, Jeff 0 1 0 Williams, Brian 0 1 0 Devries, Jared 0 2 0

Interceptions Green Bay INT Yards Anderson, Marques 1 78 Sharper, Darren 1 0 McBride , Tod 1 0 McKenzie, Mike 1 0   Detroit INT Yards Claiborne, Chris 1 43

Fumbles Lost Green Bay Favre, Brett 1 Walker, Javon 1   Detroit Schlesinger, Cory 1

Opponent's Fumbles Recovered Green Bay Anderson, Marques 1   Detroit Porcher, Robert 1 Cash, Chris 1

Attendance - Time

61,505 ; 3:26

Team Statistics	Green Bay	Detroit
First downs	22	14
Rushing	4	5
Passing	18	7
Penalty	0	2
3rd-Down Efficiency	12 - 21	3 - 13
4th-Down Efficiency	0 - 0	0 - 0
Total Net Yards	442	271
Total Plays	79	57
Average Gains	5.6	4.8
Net Yards Rushing	95	95
Rushes	31	21
Average Per Rush	3.1	4.5
Net Yards Passing	347	176
Completed-Attempted	31 - 47	15 - 35
Yards Per Pass	7.4	5
Sacked-Yards Lost	1 - 10	1 - 6
Had Intercepted	1	4
Punts-Average	4 - 40.8	5 - 44.6
Return Yardage	93	115
Punts-Returns	5 - 15	2 - 72
Kickoffs-Returns	5 - 122	8 - 218
Interceptions-Returns	4 - 78	1 - 43
Penalties-Yards	12 - 88	4 - 24
Fumbles-Lost	3 - 2	1 - 1
Time Of Possession	38:54	21:06

News: 9/23/02

The Lions didn't accomplish a thing on Sunday. Don't be fooled for a minute.
   They needed a victory, not a close loss. It has become, for the most part, the trademark of the Matt Millen-Marty Mornhinweg era.
   Once fans cried for Wayne Fontes' head because he couldn't consistently get the team to the second round of the playoffs. Now, many fans will accept a 37-31 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field as if some progress was made.
   If you listened closely at the water cooler today, you would have heard two things from fans who have allowed their standards to drop. And both would have disturbed you:
   * Wasn't that an exciting game?
   * Well, at least the Lions didn't get blown out this week.
   Professional sports has a short menu -- win or lose. The Lions lost for the third time in three games this season and have lost 17 of their last 19 games since M&M rode into town.
   "I'm tired of the effort talk," running back Lamont Warren said. "It's all about the W's -- wins. We have to figure out a way to win."
   Winning is the cure-all. Beating the Packers in the first regular-season game at Ford Field would have accomplished so much.
   Not from the standpoint of moving up in the standings. But it would have stopped the noise that has become so much of the Lions' season.
   The Lions, and with good reason, were hearing it from everywhere -- fans, the local and national media and even NBC's Jay Leno on a nightly basis after back-to-back noncompetitive losses at Miami and Carolina.
   So instead of talking about the NFL's longest uninterrupted series, the talk continues to be about whether Millen and Mornhinweg know what they're doing.
   The focus here clearly has been lost on two fronts. Football actually is secondary. And worse, winning has now moved to third.
   The circus that is Millen and Mornhinweg now occupies the top spot. Even the Fox "NFL Sunday" crew couldn't come here and ignore what is an obvious problem. They never even talked about the game.
   "Look, I know Matt Millen and this football team isn't up to his standards," Fox's Howie Long said before the game. "That being said, he is the one who is responsible for it."
   And while one game doesn't make a season, a victory would have returned the focus back to the gridiron, where it belongs.
   And if there was a chance to beat the Packers, it was Sunday. First, the Packers' defense had been almost as bad as the Lions. See the fourth-quarter statistics. Secondly, the Packers were without starting running back Ahman Green. And finally, Brett Farve has a history of playing poorly in this town.
   Even with all that going for the Lions, they still couldn't win. That's troubling.
   "It's about winning and losing," linebacker Chris Claiborne said. "It's real clear-cut. That's all people see is wins and losses."
   People who see Sunday as anything other than a loss have lost focus on what pro football is all about.
   Apparently, though, that's where we are in Lions country, where closeness counts. It's hardly an accomplishment.

RECAP:

Before heading to the buses after a nerve-racking day at work Sunday, Brett Favre decided to make one last stop to the trainers' room. Good move. The Green Bay quarterback had a swollen throwing hand, a limp, a strawberry-red left forearm wrapped in ice and a grin — because he could leave town with a win. Favre wasn't exactly the guest of honor as the Detroit Lions christened their sweet new downtown den, Ford Field. In fact, he got the same kind of rude treatment he received at the Pontiac Silverdome, where he won just three of 10 regular-season starts. But after the Packers (2-1) survived a furious, fourth-quarter Lions rally to post a 37-31 decision,Favre was indeed a gracious visitor.

"It was just as loud as the old place," said Favre, who passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns. "It may have been louder, because their fans were so juiced up. I know one thing: Their defense never gave up. They were knocking the crap out of me. I had to tell those guys that after it was over. They played hard."

Play hard. Lose hard. The Lions (0-3) have done it again. And now, with a new stadium and new rookie starting quarterback to grow in Joey Harrington, they are demonstrating the same inability to finish strong.

"There's no consolation in losing," said Mornhinweg, whose squad was blown out by a combined score of 80-28 the last two weeks. "Yet we keep laying it on the line every Sunday. That effort will pay off."

Detroit seemed up for the challenge. They were tied at halftime 17-17.

Yet the Packers pounced on the Lions to open the second half. To finish a 12-play, 72-yard drive, Favre pump-faked to freeze defenders before firing a thread-the-needle, third-down strike to Robert Ferguson for an 8-yard touchdown. On the next series, Favre zipped another third-and-long bullet to Ferguson, who spin-moved from two would-be tacklers and sprinted to the 3. That set up Favre's lob of a touchdown pass to Bubba Franks.

Then Green Bay marched 44 yards on its next drive, with Favre converting on two third-down passes, to set up a 34-yard Ryan Longwell field goal that made it 34-17 with 10:27 remaining. Ballgame?

Not quite. With the stadium half empty, Detroit got a 50-yard kickoff return from Larry Foster. That jump-started a quick, 45-yard drive capped by Cory Schlesinger's 1-yard touchdown dive — set up by a 21-yard pass interference penalty against Na'il Diggs that placed the ball on the Green Bay 1.

Inside the two-minute warning, running back James Stewart accented a splendid game with a zig-zagging, 52-yard touchdown reception. Suddenly, with 1:37 left, the Packers were sweating with their lead trimmed to 34-31.

After Longwell booted a 47-yard field goal and Foster returned a short kick to midfield, the Lions got the ball back at the Packers' 48 with 1:15 left.

Harrington completed a 14-yard pass to Scottie Anderson. Two plays later, he threw to tight end Mikhael Ricks, who ran down a middle seam with a step on Diggs at the goal line. But a potential, 34-yard, game-winning touchdown slipped off Ricks' finger tips.

Said Mornhinweg: "We'll start making those plays at some point."

An interception killed the drive.

Tough loss. Tough lessons.

Scott's Game Commentary:

Just like last years Packers game, the Lions came back from a big 4th quarter deficit, but could not pull out a victory. This year, they were down 17 and it seemed like the honolulu blue and silver were looking at their 3rd striaght blow out loss. Larry Foster setup the Lions first touchdown of the 2nd half with a 50 yard kickoff return and Joey Harrington found James Stewart open in the back field who ran for a 52 yard touchdown. After the Lions recovered the on side kick, it was called back due to Chris Claiborne jumping offside. At that point, I left the game thinking it was over, but the defense held the Pack to a field goal and Joey Harrington's pass into the end zone was just off the finger tips of TE Mickael Ricks, which would of won the game. Harrington's next pass was his fourth interception and the Lions once again lost the game, although they didn't get blown out. It was nice to see the Lions play a competitive game for the first time this year, but a loss is a loss and they are 0-3 going into next weeks game against the New Orleans Saints, who are the hottest team in the NFC this season.

Grades:

Offense: --- B-. Joey Harrington made his first NFL start and looked like a rookie, although he showed some very positive signs. His 39 yard touchdown pass to Lamont Warren to tie the game was a beautiful pass. Although he had four interceptions, two of them were desperation passes right before the half and at the end of the game. The offensive line played much better than it did the prior two games and only gave up one sack. James Stewart had a great day as he had 144 all purpose yards and a touchdown. Still, the offense has to learn to convert on 3rd down more than 25% of the time. All in all, the offense put up 24 points, which should be able to win most games. Hopefully this wasn't a one game fluke.

Defense: --- F. Giving up 117 points in three games is just ludicrous! If that is not bad enough, how about giving up a three game average of 405 yards a game. The defense finally got their one and only sack of the season which came from Brian Walker. The defense finally got some turnovers against the Pack...Chris Claiborne, who had the best game of his career, excluding when he jumped offsides on the on side kick, had an interception that setup a Jason Hanson field goal. The defense also held the Pack's running game in check, granted Amhan Green did not play. The secondary continues to look like the worst one in the NFL. Favre had a field day disecting the Lions secondary, which featured two rookies (Goodman & Cash) and a NFL journey man (Lyght) in the secondary. The bottom line is the defense cannot stop the pass and it is not going to get any better next week with Aaron Brooks, one of the best QB's in the NFC coming into Ford Field.

Special Teams: --- B+. Hakim got the Lions their first lead of the year with a 72 yard punt return for a touchdown. Larry Fosters 50 yard kickoff return setup another touchdown. Hason made his only field goal attempt thus far this year and did a great job on the on side kick, although Chris Claiborne decided to jump offside which resulted in a subsequent failed on side kick.

Coaching: --- C. Mornhinweg may of dodged the falling knife this week, but if the Lions continue to lose, the Ford's will make Millen give Mornhinweg his walking papers. He kept on saying in his post game confernce that the Lions played well and he was very excited on some of the positives that came out of the game. But, he keeps on forgetting that the only thing the fans of Detroit care about are W's and L's! Bottom line: his team is 0-3 and the road will not get any easier for their first victory.

Overall: --- D. The Lions almost pulled off a miracle against the Pack, but came up short just like last year. The only positive that they can take out of this game was they did not get blown out. If they had, I think Mornhinweg would of been fired. Joey Harrington, with a good offensive line and decent receivers is going to be a great QB down the road. The most glaring hole on the Lions is the defense and until the unit can stop the pass, the Lions are going to have a hard time getting a victory. Next up are the New Orleans Saints, one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now. Matching talent for talent, the Saints should easily blow out the Lions next week and I expect them to easily beat the Lions. Although I said last week the Lions first good chance at a victory was against the Cowboys, they just may be able to pull one out against the Vikings in a few weeks on the road. Minnesota has been if not more of a disappointment than the Lions and was one of the two teams they beat last year.

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