NFL Recap (Arizona-Detroit)
Posted: Sun November 1, 1998 at 6:18 p.m. EST
ARIZONA 17, DETROIT 15
PONTIAC, Michigan (Ticker) -- Joe Nedney's career-best
53-yard field goal with 2:46 remaining lifted the Arizona Cardinals past
the woeful Detroit
Lions, 17-15.
The win moved the Cardinals to the .500 mark (4-4) at the midpoint of
the season for the first time since 1991, when they lost their final eight
games.
Nedney's field goal -- his first successful kick of more than 50 yards
-- capped an eight-play, 39-yard drive that included a pivotal pass from Jake Plummer to Larry Centers.
"I didn't have to worry about a breeze. In a situation like that
indoors, you should be able to hit it straight and long," Nedney said. "I
knew it was good. I was working with the special teams coach (Al Everest)
on the longer kicks. I couldn't have played it any better, and I played it
just inside the upright."
"It was a weird game and a big game in a lot of ways," observed
Arizona coach Vince Tobin. "It is very hard to win games on the road in
the NFL. It was a great kick by Nedney. When you play indoors in a dome,
you couldn't have more ideal conditions to kick."
Plummer completed 15-of-25 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
One of the TDs was a 36-yard scoring strike midway through the third
quarter to Rob Moore,
who had five catches for 107 yards.
Detroit (2-6) was victimized by the poor play of rookie Charlie Batch, who threw
three first-half interceptions. He was 10-of-17 for only 71 yards before
being benched for Frank
Reich in the second half.
"Each week we seem to find a way to lose," said Lions coach Bobby
Ross. "This week it was turnovers. We turned the ball over six times and
I don't understand it."
"Coach tried to settle me down but I just created too many turnovers
in the first half," admitted Batch. "I played terrible. I tried to force
one into Herman Moore
in one situation and the other two should not have happened."
Barry Sanders
carried 27 times for 107 yards but was kept out of the end zone, failing to
become the sixth player in NFL history with 100 rushing TDs.
While Sanders got his usual 100-yard game, Moore continued to struggle
without an established signal-caller. He had two receptions for 26 yards
and has just 43 catches this year after recording at least 100 in each of
the last three seasons.
"I did what was asked of me from an assignment standpoint and executed
it to my fullest -- that is all I can do," said Moore. "I'm not going to
get into how many passes are thrown my way. That is not for me to worry
about. I shouldn't have to worry about that."
Arizona took a 14-9 lead into the fourth quarter when Reich engineered
a nine-play, 85-yard drive. The possession was almost lost when Terry Fair, who had a
rough game, muffed a punt but recovered at his own 15. Sanders ran twice
for 10 yards and Reich found Johnnie Morton for 16.
Sanders kept the drive alive with a seven-yard burst on 3rd-and-2 at
the Detroit 49 and the Lions executed the flea flicker to perfection one
play later with Reich finding Morton for 41 yards to the Arizona 1. On the
next play, Tommy Vardell bowled over cornerback Aeneas Williams en route
to the end zone and a 15-9 lead. The Lions went for two but a pitch to
Sanders was off the mark and the play was stopped short.
Reich was 10-of-15 for 119 yards while Morton finished with seven
receptions for 115 yards.
After the Cardinals forged ahead 17-15, Reich was sacked by defensive
end Mark Smith on the
ensuing possession and fumbled. Linebacker Tony McCombs recovered at
the Detroit 16 and the Cardinals were able to run out the clock.
"I have got to play strong in the middle," said Smith, whose role took
on added significance with All-Pro Eric Swann out with a knee
injury. "We lost a great ballplayer but we have got some good guys coming
in. I was just looking to make something happen back there."
The Lions took a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter when cornerback
Bryant Westbrook picked
off a pass and returned it 15 yards to the Arizona 15. Batch found Walter Rasby for nine
yards but Sanders was unable to gain a yard on the next two plays and
Detroit had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Jason Hanson.
Arizona took a 7-3 lead midway through the second quarter by taking
advantage of a fumbled punt by Fair. Beginning at the Detroit 14, Plummer
found Frank Sanders
with a 16-yard scoring strike on 3rd-and-12.
The Lions got within 7-6 on the ensuing possession, moving 50 yards in
nine plays. That drive was kept alive by a nine-yard pass from Batch to
Sanders on 3rd-and-7. But Batch was sacked on 3rd-and-3 from the Cardinals
28 and Detroit again had to settle for a 47-yard field goal by Hanson.
Detroit got to the Arizona 40 in the final minute of the first half
but the drive stalled when Batch's pass to tight end David Sloan was picked off
by defensive back Kwamie
Lassiter.
But the Lions took a 9-7 lead on their first possession of the second
half. With Reich at the helm, they moved 45 yards in nine plays,
culminating in a 44-yard field goal by Hanson.
The Cardinals took the ensuing kickoff and marched 80 yards in four
plays. Plummer found Moore for 21 yards and Johnny McWilliams for 19
before hitting Moore for the Cardinals' longest scoring play of the season.
"It was a little tough in the first half but in the second half we
were able to get the ball to Rob," said Plummer. "It was ugly at times but
we broke out of our big-play slump."
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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