Detroit Lions beat Atlanta Falcons, 23-22: Game thread replay
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4:11 p.m.: Stafford’s 11-yard pass to Hockenson with no time left and Prater’s 48-yard extra point kick gave the Lions a 23-22 win as the Lions improve to 3-3. Stafford threw a 32-yard pass to Golladay to the Atlanta 8, which was held up after official review. After a spike to stop the clock, the Lions had one last chance from the 11. Hockenson made a major mistake by failing to get out of bounds on a 13-yard catch that cost the Lions precious seconds.
4 p.m.: Gurley scores on a 10-yard run to give the Falcons a 22-16 lead with 1:04 left. The Falcons gashed the Lions with consecutive 16-yard passes to Gage that put them within field goal range at Detroit’s 21.
3:48 p.m.: After a 23-yard return by Powell, the Falcons start from their 24 with 3:09 left.
3:47 p.m.: Prater converts a 49-yard field goal to give the Lions a 16-14 lead with 3:16 left.
3:44 p.m.: Okwara gets a strip sack that Flowers recovers at the Atlanta 32 with 5:29 left.
3:40 p.m.: Prater misses a 46-yard field goal wide right with 7:32 left. The Lions make a heads-up call by winning a challenge on the Falcons having 12-men on the field after they were stopped on third down. The successful challenge helped put Lions in field-goal range. It was Prater’s first miss from under 50 yards this season. The Falcons take over from their 36.
3:24 p.m.: The Lions bend but don’t break when they stop the Falcons on fourth-and-5 from the Detroit 13. The Lions blitz Ryan and Trey Flowers breaks up a pass to Ito Smith. The Lions take over from their 13 with 11:57 left in the fourth quarter.
3:08 p.m.: The Lions go three-and-out when Stafford can’t connect with Amendola on third-and-7. The Falcons will start from their 6 after a 60 yard punt with 3:57 left in the third quarter.
3:02 p.m.: Romeo Okwara gets the Lions’ first sack when he takes down Ryan on a coverage sack on third-and-5 from the Atlanta 31. After a punt and a 1-yard loss on Agnew’s return, the Lions will start from their 26 with 4:47 left.
2:58 p.m.: Brand Powell gets stopped at the Atlanta 15 on strong coverage by Jarrad Davis and the Lions coverage team. That’s where the Falcons start with 7:28 left.
2:55 p.m.: The Lions cut the Falcons’ lead to 14-13 with 7:34 left on Prater’s 51-yard field goal. The Lions gave up their first two sacks off the game. The second one, by Deion Jones on third-and-5 from the Atlanta 24, forced the Lions to settle for the field goal. Golladay saved the drive when he made an incredible catch on third-and-11 when he went up and grabbed Stafford’s pass for a 29-yard gain to the Atlanta 40 and held on despite being hit in the back while in midair.
2:47 p.m.: After a 17-yard return by Agnew, the Lions start from their 14 to open the third quarter.
2:33 p.m.: Matt Prater’s 50-yard field goal cuts the Falcons’ lead to 14-10 at halftime. The Lions marched quickly to the Atlanta 32 on 10-yard pass to Hockenson, followed by an 18-yard pass to Kenny Golladay and then a 20-yard pass to Marvin Jones.
2:27 p.m.: Lions will start from their 25 with 29 seconds left after a touchback. The Lions have two time-outs left before halftime.
2:23 p.m.: Ryan hits Ridley on a 3-yard pass for a touchdown and the Falcons take a 14-7 lead with 29 seconds left. The Falcons go 98 yards on a 14-play drive. They wiggled out of a three-and-out from their 4 when Ridley lined up in the slot and easily beat Amani Oruwariye for a 27-yard catch. On second-and-9 from the Atlanta 32, Danny Shelton got great penetration but whiffed on an easy sack and allowed Ryan to complete an 11-yard pass.
2:09 p.m.: The Lions get stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the Atlanta 3 when Peterson is stopped for no gain with 6:17 left. The Lions wasted a huge opportunity after they made a big conversion on third-and-3. Stafford hit wide-open Amendola for a 36-yard gain, and the Lions got another 15 yards on the play when Grady Jarrett is called for roughing the passer. That gave the Lions the ball at the Atlanta 11.
2 p.m.: Jamal Agnew returns the kickoff 22 yards to the Detroit 21, where the Lions start with 10:48 left in the second quarter.
1:57 p.m.: The Flacons tie it at 7 on Gurley’s goal-line run on third down with 10:55 left. Jeff Okudah was called for pass interference on Ryan’s deep pass to Calvin Ridley in the end zone on third-and-9 from the Atlanta 16. The Lions appear to force a three and out, but Hurst catches a deflection that’s originally ruled incomplete. But Raheem Morris wins the replay challenge and the call is reversed. The Falcons convert fourth-and-2 from midfield on Ryan’s 9-yard pass to Hurst.
1:40 p.m.: So much for that momentum. The Lions go three-and-out when Danny Amendola drops an easy pass for a first down. After Fox 51-yard punt, the Falcons take over from their 11 with 1:43 left.
1:34 p.m.: Momentum. The Lions’ defense force a three-and-out on the Falcons after a 2-yard run by Todd Gurley and two incompletions. The Lions take over from their 37 with 3:20 left.
1:28 p.m.: D’Andre Swift scored on a 3-yard run and the Lions take a 7-0 lead with 4:16 left. The Lions get a big break when cornerback A.J. Terrell appears to sack Stafford on third-and-goal from the Atlanta 7, but he’s called for roughing the passer and the Lions get a fresh set of down from the 3. The Lions look a lot better on this drive starting with Stafford’s 16-yard pass to T.J. Hockenson on the first play. They convert on third-and-9 with Stafford’s bullet to Marvin Jones up the middle for 23 yards to the Atlanta 31.
1:28 p.m.: Lions force a three-and-out on Falcons and receiver Russell Gage gets helped off the field after his leg gets pinned under Reggie Ragland. Lions take over from their 29 after a punt with 8:55 left.
1:12 p.m.: The Lions go three-and-out after Adrian Peterson gets dropped for a 1-yard loss and Matthew Stafford’s pass to tight end Isaac Nauta falls incomplete on third-and-4. After a Jack Fox punt into the end zone, the Falcons will start from their 20 with 10:44 left.
1:10 p.m.: The Falcons were headed to a three-and-out, but they converted on third-and-9 when Jeff Okudah slipped and fell, which allowed Matt Ryan to make an easy completion to tight end Hayden Hurst to the Atlanta 31. But the Falcons can’t covert on their next third down when Okudah breaks up a short pass to Russell Gage on third-and-5. After a punt the Lions start their first drive from the Detroit 24 with 12:31 left in the first quarter.
1:03 p.m.: Lions win toss and defer. Falcons receive and start from their 18.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions beat Atlanta Falcons, 23-22: Game thread replay
