The Detroit Lions welcomed the youngest team in the NFL, the St. Louis Rams, to kick off their season at Ford Field.

The opening drive of the game for Detroit started at their own 20 yard-line. Matthew Stafford helped drive the Lions down to the Rams own three yard-line. On first down, Stafford dropped back and was picked off by rookie Janoris Jenkins who returned the interception 34 yards. On the Rams ensuing drive, rookie kicker, Greg  Zuerlein, hit a 48 yard field goal to give the Rams an early 3-0 lead. Luckily for the Lions, they answered back quickly with a score of their own, Joique Bell rushed for a one-yard touchdown to regain the lead 7-3.

Unable to respond, the Rams gave the Lions the ball back after a three and out. Similar to their first drive, Stafford dropped back on St. Louis’ 16 yard-line, and was intercepted by Jo-Lonn Dunbar.  Once again, the Rams took advantage after forcing a second interception, and kicker Zuerlein hit 29 yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-6. Stafford jogged back onto the field to help regain the lead for the Lions. On first and 10, running the no huddle offense, Stafford dropped back into Shotgun formation and looked to connect with wideout Calvin Johnson, and again, Stafford was picked off by Rams defensive back Cortland Finnegan who returned it for a touchdown, giving the Rams a 13-7 lead. Before the end of the first half, Lions kicker, Jason Hanson kicked a 42 yard field goal through the uprights to go into the half down 13-10.

In a low scoring third quarter, Hanson tied the game up after hitting a 45 yard field goal. After forcing the Lions to punt, the Rams regained possession at Detroit’s 47 yard-line. Onsecond and nine from Detroit’s 23, in Shotgun, Sam Bradford dropped back and connected with wideout Brandon Gibson for a 23 yard touchdown, sending the Rams back ahead, 20-13.

With 9:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, Stafford did a good job of leading his offense down the field. On the Rams 5 yard line, running back Kevin Smith punched in a five yard touchdown run to tie the game back up. The Rams rookie kicker answered back on the ensuing drive with a 46 yard field goal to regain the lead 23-20 with less than two minutes left.

Starting at their own 20 yard-line, Stafford connected with wideout Calvin Johnson for a 20 yard completion.  The quarterback continued to strategically move the ball down field for the Lions. Once again, on second and seven, Stafford connected with Johnson for an 18 yard completion up the middle. Stafford quickly brought the offense to the line to spike the ball and stop the clock. On second and five, Stafford dropped back and found running back Kevin Smith wide open for an easy completion and a  27-23 victory.

Although throwing three first half interceptions, Stafford stayed focused when it mattered most and threw his only touchdown pass to win the game. The Lions will have any even tougher matchup next week on the road against the San Francisco 49ers.

For additional game and player stats click here.

Image Courtesy of  Detroit Lions

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Before agreeing with management on a buyout of the final year of his contract in January of 2011, former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher had held the longest tenure in the league at his position – 16 years. So when Tennesee entered the 2011 season under first-year head coach Mike Munchak, no one expected them to finish with a winning record of 9-7 in a loaded AFC and just narrowly miss out on making the postseason for the first time since 2008.

The man who played a major role in the Titans’ success last year was the wily old veteran, former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who led his team to a Super Bowl XL appearance against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tennessee signed Hasselbeck to a three year, $21 million deal last July. He went on to start all 16 games in 2011, throwing for solid totals of 3,571 yards and 18 touchdowns.

But the Tennessee organization came to the conclusion this preseason that with Hasselbeck’s 37^th birthday quickly approaching at the end of the month and second-year quarterback Jake Locker waiting in the weeds, this was the perfect time to move toward the future and give Locker the starting job.

Locker impressed the coaching staff by completing 34 of 66 pass attempts for 542 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in five short appearances last season.

Pro Bowl running back Chris Johnson, who ran for a league high of 2,006 yards just two years prior, got off to a more than disappointing start in 2011 after holding out for all of training camp and the entire preseason. He did, however, manage to finish with 1,047 rushing yards.

The most significant offseason loss from the Titans upcoming roster is former one-time Pro Bowl cornerback Cortland Finnegan, who signed a five year, $50 million contract with the St. Louis Rams this past March. The Titans hope that they will be able to maintain their quality defense without him, as they finished eighth overall in scoring defense last year, giving up an average of 19.8 points per game.

Seven-time Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson was added to the mix after signing a three year deal with the Titans following his release from the Minnesota Vikings in March. Hutchinson over the years has been widely regarded as one of the best linemen in the game.

The Titans’ 2012 first round pick, Kendall Wright, a wide receiver out of Baylor, is expected to be Locker’s main target for years to come. Tennessee selected him with the 20^th overall pick.

With a young quarterback taking the reins for the first time, the Titans will expect growing pains and should be grateful to finish around the .500 mark by season’s end.

Image Courtesy of  Official Tennessee Titans

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