Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - Matthew Stafford carved up the New England defense, throwing for a pair of touchdowns in Detroit's resounding 34-10 preseason win over the Patriots at Ford Field.
Stafford converted all but two of his 14 pass attempts, finishing with 200 yards through the air.
Lions kicker Jason Hanson capped the game's opening drive with a 33-yard field goal. Stafford then completed Detroit's next series with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Nate Burleson.
Stephen Gostkowski drilled a 33-yard field goal to start the second quarter for New England, but the Lions extended their lead to 17-3 when Stafford hooked up with Tony Scheffler for a 22-yard TD.
After Patriots quarterback Tom Brady countered with a 44-yard TD pass to Wes Welker, the Lions scored 10 points inside the two-minute warning to make it 27-10. Hanson kicked a 46-yard field goal and Shaun Hill threw a nine-yard TD pass to Aaron Brown, which was set up by a Brady interception.
The only player not expected to be on that list is Bell. Because of his illness, he will be unable to play, leaving the Lions with only Aaron Brown, Ian Johnson and Jerome Harrison at running back. All three players are battling to make the roster, so this will be a big game for them.
You'll notice that WR Calvin Johnson is not on the inactives list. He was a game-time decision and will apparently play. He is in the starting lineup, although he probably won't see a ton of playing time.
WR Titus Young is also active. This is the first time he is set to play all preseason.
The Lions take on the New England Patriots tomorrow in a nationally televised (CBS) preseason game, but will be playing without several big name players. The Lions announced on their official Twitter feed six players will for sure not play tomorrow. Those names are as follows:
Best, Fox, Fairley, Smith, and Morris were unofficially ruled out yesterday and others could still be game-time decisions.
Best is supposedly a precautionary move, but we all know how the Lions like to keep injury concerns close to the chest. When a beat reporter is wondering whether it's more serious than they are letting on, it's entirely possible the Lions are hiding something. Best practiced the past couple of days, but Wednesday's practice was helmets only and I haven't read anywhere that he was involved in contact drills on Thursday.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young missed the first two games of the preseason and most of training camp due to a hamstring injury. The good news for both Young and the Lions is that he has practiced every day this week and could make his game debut on Saturday against the New England Patriots. Nothing is for sure right now, but it certainly sounds like Young will play.
"We have done a lot ... doing individual, adding a little bit more; doing some 7-on-7, doing a little bit more here and there. But I think he's at the point where he can go out and get through a whole practice and be able to play in a game."
While Young may be able to play, the same can't be said for running backs Jahvid Best and Maurice Morris. Both players have practiced this week, but neither is expected to play. Best just suffered a concussion last week and Morris just returned from a hand injury. Since it's the preseason there is no need to rush either player back.
