Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) – Matthew Stafford threw an 11-yard touchdown
pass to Theo Riddick with 29 seconds remaining to lift the Detroit Lions to a
20-16 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Ford Field.
The Dolphins had a three-point lead with 3:47 to play, but managed to take
just 34 seconds off the clock before punting it back to Detroit.
Stafford moved the Lions into Miami territory with consecutive passes of 17
yards to Golden Tate and 18 yards to Calvin Johnson at the two-minute warning.
Tate then hauled in a pass on 3rd-and-10 and got just far enough for a first
down at the Miami 17 with a little over a minute left.
Detroit faced another third down soon after and Stafford was forced to move
out of the pocket to his left before flinging a pass to the end zone for
Riddick, who made a sliding grab for the touchdown.
The Dolphins were out of timeouts and reached their own 40 before a completion
and a series of laterals ended out of bounds as time expired.
Stafford was 8-of-11 for 79 yards on the winning drive and finished 25-of-40
for 280 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception for the Lions
(7-2), who were coming off their bye and won their fourth straight game.
Johnson returned for Detroit after a three-game absence because of a high
ankle sprain and caught seven passes for 113 yards, including a 49-yard
touchdown. Tate also had a big day with 11 catches for 109 yards.
The Dolphins (5-4) had a three-game winning streak stopped.
