|
| | | | | | | | Tuesday, September 12, 2000
Skins shocked by Lions
Associated Press
PONTIAC, MICH. -- Daniel Snyder's trophy collection got a bit corroded
Sunday.
Snyder's $100 million Redskins were beaten 15-10 Sunday by Detroit as the
Lions capitalized on major mistakes by Deion Sanders and another future Hall of
Famer, Bruce Smith.
|  | | Jason Hanson's leg provided all the scoring Detroit needed against the Skins. |
Jason Hanson kicked five field goals, including a
54-yarder that might have been good at 60
yards. The defense sealed the win with four
interceptions of Brad Johnson, three in the final
quarter and one with 48 seconds left by Terry
Fair.
But Sanders and Smith were another reason for
the defeat.
Much of the yardage that Detroit gained came
on throws toward Sanders, staying away from
second-year-man Champ Bailey on the other
side. Bailey had two interceptions, one of them a
one-hand grab at the Washington 6 late in the
half on a ball that went through Herman Moore's
hands.
"They came at me every which way they could," Sanders said. "This is the worst
I've ever played in my 12-year career. I don't remember being this bad, giving up
this many catches. How many yards did they have passing? Two hundred yards?
That's all? About 180 of it was mine."
Both Smith and Sanders had key penalties on Detroit's drive for its final field goal
-- Sanders a 15-yard facemask call after Charlie Batch's pass to Johnnie Morton
and Smith a dubious roughing-the-passer call that kept the drive alive after an
incomplete pass on third-and-17. Smith appeared to be in the air as Batch
released the ball.
"I'm still befuddled over the call," Smith said. "He (referee Jeff Triplette) told me I
can't leave my feet. I've never heard of that call before."
Sanders even made a mistake on a punt with two minutes left, failing to catch a
ball that rolled another 10 yards and forced the Redskins to start their final drive
from their own 11.
"We didn't design a game plan that said 'Let's throw against Deion.' That would be
stupid," Detroit coach Bobby Ross said. "But we felt we had to be very
aggressive, so we had to go against him. The other guy's no treat. That Bailey kid
is unbelievable."
"It was in our plan that if my reads took me in that direction, that's where I was
going," Batch said. "You can't totally avoid him -- not as good as the rest of that
secondary is."
The Detroit defense, meanwhile, limited Washington's offense to one touchdown.
Johnson was 23-of-35 for 245 yards with those four interceptions, one on a ball
thrown so high and off target that Lions safety Kurt Schulz probably could have
called a fair catch on the play.
Batch, playing his first game after missing all of the preseason with a broken knee
bone, was 16-of-31 for 194 yards and was intercepted twice.
"Sometimes, the first time out after having
not played you actually play better," said
Washington coach Norv Turner, whose
expertise is tutoring quarterbacks. "There's
not a lot of pressure on you. You're certainly
fresh. You're relaxed."
The win was the second straight in the
regular season by the Lions (2-0) over the
Redskins (1-1) after 16 losses dating back
to 1965. Washington beat Detroit 27-13 in
the playoffs last January.
The closest Detroit got to the end zone was
a play that looked for awhile like it might tilt
the game in Washington's favor.
On the first play of the second quarter, with
the Lions leading 3-0, Johnson dropped
back to pass and threw in the direction of
Larry Centers.
The ball was deflected and 319-pound
defensive tackle Kelvin Pritchett grabbed it,
juggled it, then rumbled down the left
sideline. He dodged several tacklers and appeared to be all but in the end zone
when 326-pound guard Tre Johnson dove at his ankles and pulled him down just
inside the 1.
After two runs by James Stewart, the Lions were 2 yards away. Then Batch's
third-down pass went awry, and Detroit had to settle for Hanson's 20-yard field
goal.
On the next series, Washington went 75 yards on 13 plays, eating up 8 minutes
and 33 seconds, and went ahead on Johnson's 5-yard third-down pass to
Stephen Alexander.
Hanson put the Lions ahead 9-7 on the first drive of the third quarter on his
54-yarder. Brett Conway countered with a 26-yarder late in the period after
Bryant Westbrook stopped Adrian Murrell inches short of a first down at the 9.
Desmond Howard's 44-yard kickoff return set up the next score, Hanson's
37-yard kick that made it 12-10 3:24 into the fourth quarter.
Then came the final drive and the big mistakes by Smith and Sanders.
Game notes
Although the Lions are 2-0, they have yet to score an offensive touchdown. Last
week, their two scores came on a kickoff return and an interception. ... Brad
Johnson's four interceptions were the most of his career. His only three-pick game
came last season against the Eagles. ... Sunday was the first time in Hanson's
nine-year career that he had scored every point in a Lions victory. The five field
goals were one short of the team record that he shares with Garo Yepremian. ...
Detroit lost two starters to injury. Pro Bowl linebacker Stephen Boyd left the
game with a strained back, while guard Tony Semple sprained his right ankle
when Batch stepped on it.
| | |
| | |
| 
 |
