Game Recap
Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions
Thursday, November 27, 2008
*Titans race past winless Lions in Thanksgiving rout*
DETROIT (Ticker) -- Chris Johnson, LenDale White and the Tennessee Titans rebounded from their first loss of the season by carving up the NFL's only winless team.
Johnson and White each ran for two touchdowns Thursday afternoon as the Titans coasted to a 47-10 rout of the Detroit Lions, who moved a step closer toward the first 0-16 season in league history.
Tennessee (11-1) rolled up 292 yards on the ground en route to its highest-scoring output in over four years and the best 12-game start in franchise history.
"We're back on the winning track," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "It's as simple as that. We let one get away from us last week. It's behind us now."
The AFC's leading rookie rusher, Johnson ran for 125 yards on just 16 attempts. The 235-pound White finished with 106 yards on 23 carries.
"Detroit is 0-11. It's no knock on them, but we expected to win this game," White said. "There was no way we were going to come into this game and think we were going to lose. And it's not being cocky. We just knew we were the better team."
The Lions' annual Thanksgiving contest, which quickly deteriorated into a laugher, came just four days after the Titans suffered their first loss of the season - a humiliating 34-13 defeat to the New York Jets.
But the Titans bounced back at the expense of the pitiful Lions (0-12), who are just four losses away from joining the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14) as the only winless teams in NFL history.
"Coming back after a loss and playing on a short week is always a tremendous challenge," Fisher said. "I'm proud of the way our guys responded on Monday and Tuesday. They did what they needed to do to win the football game today."
"We got beat," embattled Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. "We got handled in all areas - coaches, players, offense, defense, special teams. That's a very good football team."
With the win, Tennessee remained at least two games ahead of the Jets (8-3) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) for the best record in the AFC. New York hosts Denver while Pittsburgh visits New England on Sunday.
Tennessee took the lead for good just 90 seconds into the contest on Johnson's first TD of the game, a 6-yard run.
Detroit wide receiver Shaun McDonald lost a fumble on Detroit's second play from scrimmage, and Tennessee wideout Brandon Jones scampered for 28 yards on an end-around on the following play.
One play later, Johnson jogged untouched into the end zone to make it 7-0.
Detroit's Jason Hanson booted a 53-yard field goal to cap the ensuing drive and close the deficit to 7-3.
But Tennessee responded just four plays later, when the speedy Johnson burst up the middle for a 58-yard TD to make it 14-3.
"(The second TD run) was a draw play," Johnson said. "They blitzed to the left side. They shifted their whole defense to the left side. If I could get through the line, I could get up on the safety and hopefully make him miss."
The Titans comically pushed their lead to 21-3 later in the first quarter when defensive lineman Dave Ball intercepted Daunte Culpepper's ill-advised screen pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
White, who openly complained about his lack of playing time against the Jets last weekend, scored on runs of 6 and 2 yards in the second quarter as Tennessee built a 35-3 cushion.
"Things were said last week, but they were all out of frustration," White said. "Traditionally, coach Fisher's teams are running teams - and I think that's our identity here."
Detroit finally found the end zone with 34 seconds left in the first half, when Culpepper found tight end Michael Gaines on a 2-yard play-action TD pass to make it 35-10.
The Lions' lone touchdown came two plays after Cliff Avril forced a fumble by Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins and returned it 10 yards to the Titans' 2-yard line.
Collins' lost fumble and Culpepper's ensuing TD constituted the only negative aspect of the contest for the Titans, who set an NFL record for first-half points in a Thanksgiving game.
"You could tell they were focused and good things were going to happen," Fisher said. "We just didn't want to give up any big plays. When you jump out to a lead like we did, the key is to not just protect, but to keep going and building points."
Tennessee padded its lead in the second half thanks to four field goals from Rod Bironas. The 47 points marked the Titans' highest single-game total since a 48-27 victory over Green Bay on October 11, 2004.
Detroit suffered its largest margin of defeat in 69 Thanksgiving contests. The Lions have lost their last five Thanksgiving games by a combined margin of 179-62. Detroit fell to 33-34-2 all-time on Thanksgiving.
Collins completed 11-of-18 passes for 127 yards for the Titans, who held a 456-154 edge in total yards from scrimmage.
The 35-year-old Collins was replaced in the fourth quarter by Vince Young, who made his first appearance since suffering a knee injury in Tennessee's season opener.
The embattled Young, who has been plagued by health issues and personal problems throughout the season, completed his only pass attempt of the contest - a 54-yard screen to fullback Ahmard Hall.
Culpepper went 13-of-26 attempts for 134 yards. Calvin Johnson finished with 66 yards on five receptions, including an acrobatic sideline catch in the fourth quarter, for Detroit.
"We're 0-12. I don't care about anything else," Johnson said. "When you are 0-12, what else is there to say?"
The Lions recorded just six first downs and went 0-for-11 on third down.
