STATE FARM STADUM
WEEK 3: SUNDAY, SEPT. 27, 2020
The following are post-game notes and quotes from the Detroit Lions’ 26-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020.
POST-GAME NOTES
LIONS SCORING PLAYS
- First Quarter: K Matt Prater kicked a 37-yard field goal with 8:27 left in the quarter to give Detroit a 3-0 lead.
- Second Quarter: QB Matthew Stafford threw a five-yard touchdown to TE Jesse James with 6:15 left in the half. K
Matt Prater converted the extra point to give Detroit a 10-7 lead. - Second Quarter: QB Matthew Stafford threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to WR Kenny Golladay with 31 seconds
left in the half. K Matt Prater made the extra point to give Detroit a 17-13 lead. - Third Quarter: K Matt Prater’s 24-yard field goal extended Detroit’s lead to 20-16 with 5:27 left in the quarter.
- Fourth Quarter: K Matt Prater connected on a 35-yard field goal to tie the game at 23-23 with 6:44 left in the
contest. - Fourth Quarter: K Matt Prater kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Lions to a 26-23 victory.
TEAM NOTES
The Lions… - Logged three interceptions in the same game for the first time since doing so on Dec. 16, 2017 vs. Chicago. The last time they recorded multiple interceptions in the same game was Dec. 31, 2017 vs. Green Bay. This is also the first time they’ve had two first-half interceptions against a team since also doing so vs. Arizona on Sept. 10, 2017. The last time Detroit had two first-half interceptions on the road was Jan. 3, 2016 at Chicago, which also coincides as the last time the team had three interceptions in a road game.
- Intercepted Cardinals QB Kyler Murray three times, tying Murray’s single-game most.
- Had a linebacker, cornerback and safety record an interception. This marks the first time they’ve had a linebacker,
cornerback and safety each record an interception since doing so on Nov. 20, 2011 vs. Carolina. - Held Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald to zero receiving yards for only the second time in his 253-game career and first
time since Oct. 31, 2004 at Buffalo. This is Fitzgerald’s lowest output when recording at least one reception.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
LB JAMIE COLLINS SR. - Finished with six tackles (one solo), one quarterback hit, two pass defenses and one interception.
- Recorded his first interception with the Lions and the 11th of his career in his 99th career game. He is the fifth player
in NFL history, and first since 1992, to log at least 25.0 sacks and 11 interceptions through 99 career games.
P JACK FOX - Punted four times for 222 yards (55.5 avg., 50.5 net), landing three punts inside of the 20-yardline and booming a long of 65 yards.
- Became the first punter in team history (since at least 1960) to launch a 65-yard punt in consecutive games.
WR KENNY GOLLADAY - Recorded six receptions for 57 yards (9.5 avg.) and one touchdown.
- Recorded his 20th career receiving touchdown in his 43rd-career game, tying WR Calvin Johnson for the second-most
receiving touchdowns a Lions player has had in their first 43 career games. - His 169 career receptions rank as the fourth-most in Lions history through 43 games, and his 2,787 yards are the
third-most.
S DURON HARMON
- Finished with five tackles (three solo), two pass defenses and one interception.
- Recorded his first interception with the Lions and the 18th of his career on his 30th career pass defense, meaning
60% of his pass defenses had resulted in interceptions up to that point. - Recorded the fourth game of his career with at least two pass defenses.
TE T.J. HOCKENSON - Logged four receptions for 53 yards (13.3 avg.), with a long of 27 yards.
- Became the first tight end in Lions history to produce at least 50 receiving yards in each of the first three games of a
season. - Caught at least four passes for 50 yards for the third-straight game, becoming the first Lions tight end to do so since
TE Brandon Pettigrew did so in 2010.
CB JEFF OKUDAH - Finished with six tackles (all solo), two tackles for loss, one pass defense and one interception, which he returned for 36 yards.
- Became the sixth player in Lions history to produce their first NFL interception within their first two career games played. The most recent player to do so was CB Aaron Berry in 2010.
- Is the first cornerback in team history (since at least 1999), and second rookie in team history, to record a game with at least five tackles, two tackles for loss and one interception.
- Recorded 36 interception return yards. This is the most by a Lions rookie in a game since S Louis Delmas had a 101-yard interception return vs. Arizona on Dec. 20, 2009. The last Lions rookie cornerback to have at least 36 interception return yards in a game was CB Bryant Westbrook with 64 yards on Dec. 7, 1997.
DE ROMEO OKWARA - Finished with two solo tackles, 1.0 sack, one quarterback hit and one tackle for loss.
- Recorded his first sack of the season to bump his career total to 11.0, tied with DE Kenechi Udeze for the fourth-
most by a Nigerian-born player in NFL history.
RB ADRIAN PETERSON - Finished with 22 carries for 75 yards (3.4 avg.) and added one reception for 10 yards.
- Passed Hall of Fame RB Barry Sanders (3,062) for the seventh-most rushing attempts in NFL history.
- Recorded a 27-yard rush on his first carry of the game, becoming the first player in NFL history (Super Bowl era)
aged 35-or-older to record a rush of 20-or-more yards in three-straight games. Dating back to last season, he has a
rush of 20-plus yards in four-straight games for the first time since 2015. - Recorded at least 75 rushing yards for the 100th time in his career, the third-most in NFL history.
K MATT PRATER - Finished 4-of-4 on field goals and 2-of-2 on extra points for 14 points scored on the day.
- Prater converted his 15th-career game-winning field goal on a 39-yard kick as time expired to lift Detroit to a 26-23
victory.
QB MATTHEW STAFFORD - Finished 22-of-31 (71.0) for 270 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions for a passer rating of 119.0.
- Completed his 29th-career fourth-quarter comeback, the most in the NFL since he entered the League in 2009. He
also produced his 35th game-winning drive, the second-most in the NFL in that span. - Moved into a tie with QB Dave Krieg (261) for the 18th-most passing touchdowns in NFL history.
- Accounted for his 82-career multi-touchdown game and the 39th road game with at least two passing touchdowns.
- Finished the first half with over a 78.0 completion percentage and at least two passing touchdowns for the first time
since doing so in 2015.
DB TRACY WALKER - Finished with 11 tackles (nine solo) and one solo special teams tackle.
- Became the first Lions player to notch at least 11 defensive tackles and one special teams tackle in a game since LB
Tahir Whitehead did so against the Jets on Sept. 28, 2014, and the first Lions defensive back to do so since CB Anthony Henry did so against the Saints on Sept. 13, 2009.
Lions QB Matthew Stafford:
On what it feels like to get back in the win column:
“It’s nice, obviously. I thought it was a total team win. Our defense played outstanding, getting three turnovers for us. Honestly we probably should have scored 40 there. They gave us some great opportunities and we weren’t able to capitalize in the red zone, which is something we need to make sure we work on, and make sure we’re better at next week. A chance to end the game on offense is what I want. That’s what we all practice for, a chance to go out there and control the game at the end of it and win it. Great operation by our special teams late in the game to get the win. But it feels good to get one.”
On the emotional high and low of the two penalty calls at the end of the game:
“We just had to move on to the next play. It is what it is. We’re all fighting tooth and nail. They get us for a holding penalty on a play that would have given us a lead. But to be honest with you, I think there was probably a minute and a half left there. So it was probably great that we didn’t score there and we just got to finish the game on offense and kick it and the game be over with. That’s what you live for as an offensive player. Obviously loved the throw and catch, it was a whole lot of fun. Marvin (Jones) did a great job of bringing it down. But then Hock (TJ Hockenson) on the next one, coming back and fighting through some stuff, getting the penalty and new set of downs for us was huge”
On how ‘It is was it is’ was not what was going through his brain:
“You have to force yourself to think it, I have to be honest if I sat there and worried about that last one, maybe I do something dumb on the next play. Obviously, we don’t want penalties, we try not to have them, probably had one or two too many pre-snappers today. Just proud of the guys bouncing back.”
On the difference of having WR Kenny Golladay back and getting RB/WR Jamal Agnew more involved:
“I’ll speak on Kenny first. He’s obviously a big time weapon for us. He made a great play in the red zone. Just an undersized safety and just tried to throw one up to a good spot for him. He went up and made a great play and got in which was awesome. Agnew, he’s doing a great job for us. He, Danny (Amendola), I thought Marvin Jones and the whole group of guys at skill did a great job, backs included. For Marvin, he didn’t get a bunch of opportunities early in the game. He’s a guy that wants to help us win. He made two huge plays on the last drive. That’s what it’s all about. Watch a guy go out there and block his tail off and then get some opportunities late in the game and capitalize on them. I was just proud of everybody, that’s the attitude we took. Just one play at a time, play the next one and we got it done.”
On having a strong mentality in the last couple drives and ending on offense:
“I’ve been doing this a long time and I feel really comfortable in that situation. That’s the situation I want. I hate sitting on the bench watching another phase try to win the game for us. I love it. We had an opportunity week one to try and get it done. Got close but didn’t get it done. We had another opportunity today and I wasn’t about to let that slip through my fingers. Just glad we operated at the level we did late in the game on offense. Obviously a lot of stuff to clean up but just proud of how we finished the game and closed it out.”
On if the mentality was any different this week compared to past weeks:
“No. I felt like we were successful in it earlier on in the season as well. In the second game, we didn’t have a chance in the second half to do anything like that. But in the first game I think we scored two minutes before the half, had a chance to score late in the game, did it again today. I was happy we were getting points when it’s crunch time.”
On getting the monkey off their backs with the win:
“Starting a season 0-2 is not the way we wanted to start it. We had chances in both those games to take control of the game and we didn’t. Our defense played outstanding today, getting three turnovers I can’t say enough. That’s huge for us. We really should have scored more points than we did. But happy that we got the chance late in the game as an offense to go out there and win the game and we we’re able to do it. That’s what I try to hang my hat on. When the game is on the line I want the ball and I know we do on offense so it was great to get it done. Just happy we were able to do it.”
On K Matt Prater and him getting a little redemption:
“I’m happy for him. He’s as clutch as they get. I’ve been around him long enough to know that he loves that moment. That moment has Matt Prater written all over it. I’ve watched him do it from 58 in Minnesota to send us into over time. 59 before the half in Chicago, whatever it was, 54 or something crazy on a cold day. I’m never worried about Prater. He jogs out on the field, I feel like it’s points. I feel like our whole team feels like it’s points. (Don) Muhlbach and (Jack) Fox operating at a high level to give him a good snap and a hold and then we just let him do what he does. Glad to have him as a teammate. He’s helped me out late in games a bunch of times.”
Detroit Head Coach Matt Patricia
Opening statement:
“Really proud of the players, give all the credit to them. They came out and really played hard. They tried to execute to the best of their ability. We obviously played a great Cardinals team. Everybody knows how explosive they are; everybody knows how dynamic they are on defense. I think our guys had great determination today to come out and play well. Proud of them, happy for them. It’s a long season. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but there were a lot of great plays out there and guys trying to do everything they could to help the team win, all the way across the board and in all phases. I thought at the end of the game we did some really good situational stuff too. Excited for the guys, excited for the players, excited for the fans back home, and certainly excited for Sheila (Ford Hamp) for her first win as owner.”
On the importance of winning the turnover differential:
“Turnovers are critical every single week. We talk about it throughout the course of the week. We just haven’t had them on defense. It’s something that was really important to us, and the guys did a great job of making plays. Again, give credit to the guys on the field. They’re the ones that did it. I’ll say, here’s the best part about all of it, you have turnovers like that, it’s great, and the Duron (Harmon) comes up to me after the game – and this is why you love him – because he was like,
‘I owe you one. That’s my fault on the touchdown.’ He didn’t even care, and I was like, ‘Alright well, we won. We’re good. We’ll move forward.’ All he cares about is trying to be perfect all the time and trying to make the best plays. That’s the stuff that has to breed into everyone else on the team, and I think those guys are. I appreciate his leadership. It was great to have those turnovers.”
On why RB Adrian Peterson was the feature back in the win:
“I think it really was important for us to try to do the best we could to control the game. They’re so explosive on offense, and they’re dynamic with their quarterback (Kyler Murray) and the skill players they have. I thought our offense did a great job of just slowing everything down and trying to really come through when we needed them. Adrian (Peterson), I thought he did a great job. Third week with him on our team, and we feel that he’s running at a high level. We’ve got great backs, though. I trust all of them in that situation, and I thought he did a great job here today.”
On if the turnovers resulted from film study or the player making the plays on the field:
“Let’s give credit to the players for making great plays. I think that they just really did an outstanding job of studying all this week. I think they may have saw a couple of things, but I think they did a great job of making those plays on the field.”
On CB Jeff Okudah’s matchup against WR DeAndre Hopkins:
“They go no-huddle, so they leave Hopkins over there. We knew that ahead of time, so we had some things on purpose over there to that side. Hopkins is a great player. He’s a phenomenal player, and it was a big challenge for us. I think Jeff went out and tried to do everything he could. We knew there were going to be some plays out there, he’s been targeted a lot, but I thought he and Amani (Oruwariye) tried to do everything they could to help us win. That was good, I think there were some plays out there that we’ve got to get fixed, but that’s going to be part of the process here. It’s only his second game in the NFL. We’ve got a long way to go.”
On if his confidence in Okudah grows when he flashes of his playmaking ability on the field:
“I have a lot of confidence in all these guys. It’s the same thing with Amani (Oruwariye) last year, he definitely flashed on a couple of plays. They just get better; they improve; they work hard, and Jeff’s the same. It’s just so early in the season for him, only his second game, and we’ve got a lot of work in front of us. We have another great offense next week who we have to do a good job against. For now, just really happy for the guys in today’s effort.”
On his philosophy for defending QB Kyler Murray:
“I think we’ll probably keep the philosophy to ourselves, but I think the guys did a good job. You can see how dangerous he is when he gets out in space. There were a couple of plays in there, we had a couple of missed tackles on him. He’s got unbelievable quickness, he’s got unbelievable acceleration, and obviously it was big priority for us to make sure we did the best we could to stop him. He’s going try to make plays, but we just have to line up and try to make the next one the best play that we can.”
On the defensive effort as a whole throughout the game:
“Obviously, just give credit to Cory (Undlin) and the defensive staff, they had a lot of confidence in the things that we were doing. They made some really good calls out there on the field, and I thought that was great. On top of that, you could feel from the players that they were determined to try to do everything they could to help the team win and just get the ball back to our offense. I think the players did a great job of just staying the course, not riding the waves, staying consistent all the way through and staying in the moment. That was great to see. We’ve got to build on that.”
On his decision to move T Halapoulivaati Vaitai to guard:
“’Big V’ (Vaitai) hasn’t been out there, so we’re just trying to make sure we got the guys out there that we can based on what the opponent does. Through the course of training camp we move those guys around a little bit, so he played inside a little bit. (Tyrell) Crosby has played the last couple of games. Certainly with the different problems they presented, we were just trying to do the best we could to make everything with the best five guys out there. Honestly, Oday Aboushi has done great job for us out there too. Anyway we went with it, I thought we were good. Certainly, wasn’t sure how long ‘Big V’ (Vaitai) was going to be able to play from that standpoint, so just leaving some consistency on the edge with Crosby was a good idea. that way if we had to move something around based on how much we could keep him out there, we could move him inside as opposed to on the edge.”
