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Saturday, Aug. 12 8:20pm ET
Lions come back late to beat Bills | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) -- With no Charlie Batch, the Detroit Lions had no passing game. Yet they still had dependable Jason Hanson, and that made all the difference. Although three quarterbacks combined for just 37 net passing yards for Detroit, Hanson kicked two field goals, including a 50-yarder with 5:42 remaining, to cap a second-half comeback and lift the Lions to a 15-13 exhibition victory over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night. "That wasn't exactly a thrilling performance," Lions coach Bobby Ross said. Batch, the starter, is recovering from a broken bone in his knee and Mike Tomczak, his backup, sat out with a sore Achilles. That left Stoney Case, Steve Stenstrom and Cory Sauter with a golden opportunity to show what they could do. As it turned out, that wasn't much. Case was 6-of-11 for 35 yards, Stenstrom 3-of-6 for 22 yards with an interception, and Sauter 0-for-3. Two of the three are almost certain to be cut within the next few days. "I think we had some problems offensively," Ross said. "We've got to start deciding what we are going to be doing, and just work on that. We're going to have to water down the reps and get more of them to the guys who are going to be playing next month." Ross said he knew who he was going to cut, but wasn't ready to announce it. "There's a sense of urgency, but not a sense of panic," Ross said. After Detroit (1-1) scored a touchdown in the first quarter, the Bills (1-1) responded with 13 unanswered points in the second quarter. But the Lions rallied by scoring eight points in the fourth quarter. James Stewart scored on a 1-yard run and Hanson added a 33-yarder for the Lions, who also got two points on a safety. "We never got into a throwing rhythm at all," Ross said. "I thought we would, because the passing game looked better this week, but it never clicked." Rob Johnson, who played into the third quarter, hooked up with Eric Moulds on a 72-yard touchdown pass play for Buffalo and Steve Christie kicked two field goals for the Bills. The Bills, who lost six yards while going three-and-out on their first possession, had a second-and-10 situation from their own 2 on their next possession when linebacker Allen Aldridge stepped in front of a pass intended for Shawn Price. Aldridge lumbered nine yards to the Bills 3 before being hauled down by Jonathan Linton. Two snaps later, Stewart slanted into the end zone for a 7-0 Detroit lead. Aldridge, who also snaps on punts, drew a penalty for double-pumping early in the second quarter. After the penalty, Fred Jones blocked John Jett's punt. The Bills took over on Detroit's 28, setting up a 37-yard field goal by Christie. "It was a big play at the time," Jones said. "Nobody touched me. I had to slow up when I was going in there." On the first play of Buffalo's next possession, Johnson found Moulds wide open in broken coverage. Moulds turned the catch into a touchdown and a 10-7 Buffalo lead. "Eric Moulds is a great player," Bills coach Wade Phillips said. "That shows the big-play capability we have. We're plodding along and boom, hit a big play and we're ahead. That was good." Christie capped a 57-yard, 10-play drive with a 32-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the quarter and the Bills went off with a 13-7 lead when Hanson missed from 56 yards out as time expired. Marquis Walker's interception of Alex Van Pelt's pass in the third quarter led to Hanson's first field goal, cutting the lead to 13-10 early in the fourth. Detroit closed to 13-12 on a safety with 9:09 left when tackle Jon Carman was flagged for holding defensive end James Hall in the Bills' end zone. "You can't have holding penalties in the end zone, and you hardly ever see it called," Phillips said. The game marked the 21st time the Bills played the Lions in preseason play, the most for a Buffalo exhibition opponent. The Lions lead the preseason series with a 12-8-1 record. The teams have met only six times in the regular season, with Detroit holding a 2-3-1 edge. | ALSO SEE NFL Scoreboard Buffalo Clubhouse Detroit Clubhouse AUDIO/VIDEO   James Stewart and the Lions are looking to improve before the start of the season.wav: 201 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||