Game Preview
Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
sunday, september 21, 2008 - 4:05 pm
*Lions hope to avoid slow start against 49ers*
DETROIT (0-2) AT SAN FRANCISCO (1-1), 4:05 pm EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- The Detroit Lions are starting poorly and finishing even worse.
The Lions look to break into the win column when they visit the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Having allowed a league-high 82 points, Detroit (0-2) has gotten off to a disastrous start in each of its first two games, falling behind, 21-0, to both the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers.
The Lions showed some fight in both contests, getting within 21-14 before Atlanta pulled away for a 34-21 win behind Michael Turner's 220 yards rushing.
Against the Packers last weekend, Detroit stormed back to take a 25-24 lead, only to see Green Bay return two interceptions by Jon Kitna for touchdowns in a 48-25 romp.
"It's all on me. As a quarterback, you have to be smarter," Kitna said.
One bright spot for the Lions has been second-year wide receiver Calvin Johnson. The No. 2 overall pick in 2007, Johnson had six receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns - and a pair of slam dunks over the crossbar of the goalpost - against Green Bay.
Awaiting Detroit will be former offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who was fired by the Lions in January.
J.T. O'Sullivan, who was a backup to Kitna with the Lions, headed west to join Martz and wrestled the starting job away from former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith.
In his first NFL start, O'Sullivan had a so-so effort in a 23-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but he improved considerably in rallying the 49ers to a 33-30 victory at Seattle last weekend.
Despite getting sacked eight times by the Seahawks, O'Sullivan finished 20-of-32 for 321 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he avoided a turnover after throwing an interception and losing a pair of fumbles against the Falcons.
Along with tightening up their leaky defense, the Lions need to get their ground game untracked, which has been hurt by falling into such big early deficits.
Rookie Kevin Smith has rushed for 48 and 40 yards in the first two games, averaging 3.4 yards a carry. Rudi Johnson, who signed with the team on September 2, also is expected to see more playing time.