Kellermann-Strauss Forum » water was sacked 12 times in two games again

DETROIT - It was the type of kick that always seems to go through the uprights against the Detroit Lions.Nobody has ever made a field goal from 68 yards in an NFL game, but when Minnesotas Blair Walsh lined up at that distance on the final play Sunday, there were some nervous folks at Ford Field.Stranger things have happened to us, Detroit offensive lineman Rob Sims said. But maybe this is our time. Maybe things are changing.Walshs kick came up short and wide to the left, and Detroit held on for a 16-14 victory over Minnesota.Matt Praters 33-yard field goal with 3:38 remaining gave the Lions their first lead of the game, and Detroit withstood two more tense possessions for the Vikings.Detroit (10-4) pulled into a first-place tie in the NFC North with Green Bay, which lost to Buffalo earlier Sunday. The Lions are now agonizingly close to a playoff spot.And agonizing is a pretty good way to describe this latest victory.Detroit spotted Minnesota a 14-0 lead before slowly rallying with the help of two second-quarter interceptions. The Lions have won three in a row, and Detroit can clinch a playoff spot with a win at Chicago next weekend.Minnesotas Teddy Bridgewater was 31 of 41 for 315 yards with a touchdown, and the Vikings (6-8) held Detroit to 11 first downs, but after Jason Jones blocked Walshs 26-yard field goal attempt with 7:43 left, the Lions drove 65 yards to set up Praters third short field goal of the game.Trailing for the first time all day, the Vikings had a good chance to take the lead again after Cordarrelle Patterson returned the ensuing kickoff to the Minnesota 49. But a holding call pushed the Vikings back, and Bridgewater eventually threw incomplete on fourth down.The Vikings got the ball again at their 30 with 45 seconds left, but could only make it far enough to set up Walshs long attempt at a game winner. Coach Mike Zimmer decided to go for the field goal instead of a last-ditch pass.Either one is kind of a shot in the dark, but Blair has hit 70-yarders in practice before, Zimmer said. So I figured that was the best chance to win.The Lions lost to Baltimore last year on a 61-yard field goal, and to Buffalo this October on a 58-yarder. They were also on the losing end of Tom Dempseys 63-yarder for New Orleans in 1970.But Walsh couldnt convert. He also missed from 53 yards earlier in the game.Matthew Stafford threw for 153 yards and a touchdown for the Lions.In its last home game of the regular season, Detroit looked flat in the first half, falling behind by two touchdowns and drawing boos from the crowd at Ford Field. The Lions couldnt manage a first down until the second quarter, on their fifth offensive possession.Matt Asiata opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run. Bridgewater added an 8-yard TD pass to Greg Jennings in the second quarter, and the Vikings were in Detroit territory again when Glover Quin intercepted Bridgewater and returned it 56 yards to the Minnesota 11.We did everything we could to hurt ourselves in the first half, in every phase, but GQ made a huge play to get us back into the game, Stafford said.Stafford threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate, and Bridgewaters next pass was behind Jennings and intercepted by Darius Slay, giving the Lions the ball at the Minnesota 32.Praters field goal made it 14-10 at halftime.Prater, who helped stabilize Detroits terrible kicking game when he joined the Lions in October, connected from 30 yards in the third quarter to cut the deficit to one. Jones block in the fourth meant Detroit only needed a field goal to take the lead.Im not going to apologize for a win, and I hope that none of my players come in here and apologize, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. This was an important win for us, and I dont care if we only scored a half-point.NOTES: The Lions went 7-1 at home during the regular season. The previous time that happened was 1995, when the team still played at the Silverdome. ... Bridgewater was sacked 12 times in two games against the Lions this year, including four times Sunday. ... Walshs career long is 56 yards.___Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Stitched Jerseys . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. http://www.jerseysstitchedcheap.com/. -- In the stadium program sold at the Miami Dolphins game on Halloween, Richie Incognito was asked whos the easiest teammate to scare. Wholesale Jerseys Authentic . - The Florida Panthers are getting some Army training to finish off their preparations for the season. China NFL Jerseys . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U.PARIS -- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is making up for lost time at the age of 22. The Russian looked like a safe bet to become a top 10 player when she cracked the top 50 in 2008 and broke into the top 20 two years later. Since reaching a career-high No. 13 ranking in July 2011, Pavlyuchenkova has struggled to fulfil her potential. She might have put her career back on track by defeating third-seeded Sara Errani of Italy 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday in the final of the Open GDF Suez for her sixth career title. "Definitely, now I feel more mature," Pavlyuchenkova said. "My mentality is a little bit different. Last year or a few years ago, I would lose here in the first round, for sure." Pavlyuchenkova captured her first title of the season and her first since winning the Portugal Open in May 2013. The unseeded Russian dictated the points, making 48 winners to 18 for Errani. Errani won seven straight games to rally from a 3-1 deficit in the first set and lead 2-0 in the second. But Pavlyuchenkova responded by also winning seven straight games to even the match and lead 1-0 in the third. In the final set, Pavlyuchenkova hit a backhand return winner to break for a 5-3 lead and sealed the victory with a forehand winner. "That was a very mental match," Pavlyuchenkova said. "That gives me a bit of confidence. But I still need to work harder. That was a fantastic week, but I have to keep it going. I hope my level will be a bit more consistent and that I will keep this level." Pavlyuchenkova won all her matches at this tournament in three sets. She was coached for a brief period last year by Martina Hingis before resuming her partnership with heer dad, Sergey.dddddddddddd "He was my first coach, so he taught me everything Im doing now," Pavlyuchenkova said. "And he was always there for me, even when I had other coaches. He never let me down." Pavlyuchenkova got off to a good start by breaking Errani in the third game. But she made numerous unforced errors to squander that advantage, dropping serve at 3-2 with a wide backhand and at 4-3 with a forehand into the net. Errani hit a backhand drop shot to take the opening set. "I had a lot of emotions going on," Pavlyuchenkova said. "I was just stressing out because I was missing some shots. She was very strong today, so that was frustrating." Errani broke Pavlyuchenkova in the opening game of the second set with a forehand pass. Pavlyuchenkova saved a break point at 2-0 to stay in the match and the momentum suddenly changed. "From 2-0 in the second set, I thought I had a blackout," Errani said. "The ball was heavier. For me, it was difficult. I had some very bad games." Pavlyuchenkova slapped forehand return winners to break serve at 2-1 and 3-2 in the second set before Errani sent a forehand long to lose the set. In the decider, Errani capitalized on a backhand error from Pavlyuchenkova to break for a 2-1 lead. However, Pavlyuchenkova broke back in the sixth game when Erranis backhand sailed long. Pavlyuchenkova has defeated three top 10 players in the same tournament for the first time in her career. She beat Maria Sharapova of Russia in the semifinals and Angelique Kerber of Germany in the quarterfinals. Errani lost in the final of the Paris tournament for the second straight time. ' ' '