ATLANTA — Todd Gurley saw a tantalizing path to the end zone and couldn’t help himself.
He tried to fall down, but it was too late.
Gurley landed on the goal line for a touchdown that, as it turned out, led to another stunning loss for the Atlanta Falcons.
Detroit let Gurley score with just over a minute remaining to get the ball back, giving Matthew Stafford enough time to drive the Lions to the winning TD as time expired Sunday.
Stafford connected with T.J. Hockenson on an ad-libbed, 11-yard scoring pass and Matt Prater, pushed back by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, nailed a 48-yard extra point kick to give the Lions a 23-22 victory.
“Just an amazing game,” Detroit coach Matt Patricia said. “Unreal.”
All too real for the Falcons (1-6), who fired coach Dan Quinn on the heels of becoming the first team in NFL history to lose back-to-back games after leading by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter.
This one only added to the misery.
“Usually you have one or two of those games,” Gurley said. “Not multiple games.”
Trailing 16-14, the Falcons were positioned to run down the clock and kick a chip-shot field goal for the win when they picked up a first down at the Lions 10 with just over a minute remaining.
Detroit had used up all its timeouts on the drive, so there was no further way to stop the clock. Knowing their only chance was to allow a quick TD, the Lions made no attempt to stop Gurley after he took a handoff from Matt Ryan.
“It was great situational defence awareness right there,” Patricia said, going on to praise his defensive players for NOT doing what is normally their job.
Gurley burst through an intentionally gaping hole, with only one defensive player, safety Will Harris, even putting a hand on the runner. Gurley realized what the Lions were doing and tried to fall over, but he landed on the goal line with his ball-carrying hand.
The Lions (3-3) held up their hands to celebrate a touchdown.
By the other team.
“I thought it was perfect,” Patricia said. “Give the players credit. They executed it great. It was a great job by them.”
Gurley knew he had messed up.
“I was mad as hell,” he said. “I was trying not to (score), but my momentum took me in. It’s kind of crazy.”
The Falcons converted a 2-point conversion to make it 22-16, but the Lions still had a chance — especially with a quarterback like Stafford who has led so many comebacks in his career.
“I had my helmet on, thinking the game was probably going to be over,” Stafford said. “They let them score and gave us another chance.”
He drove his team 75 yards in eight lightning-quick plays, connecting with Hockenson on a 13-yard pass, Danny Amendola for 22 yards and Kenny Golladay for a 29-yard gain to the Falcons 11. The game was briefly halted to allow the replay booth official to take a look at Golladay’s catch, which the Falcons argued had been trapped against the turf.
But the call was upheld and the Lions lined up quickly, spiking the ball with 2 seconds left to set up the final play. Stafford was pressured in the pocket, rolled to his left and spotted Hockenson breaking free across the end zone.
Touchdown, Lions, who have won two straight games for the first time since early in the 2019 season.
“Hock did a nice job of kind of getting lost,” Stafford said. “I was able to find him.”
Adding one last bit of drama to a bizarre final quarter, Detroit was penalized 15 yards for its raucous celebration. That backed up the extra-point attempt to the 30-yard line, but Prater knocked it through to win the game.
Stafford finished 25 of 36 for 340 yards. Golladay had six catches for 114 yards.
Ryan was 31 of 42 for 338 yards and a touchdown, while Gurley ran for a pair of touchdowns.
He’d love to have that second one back.
“My job is just going down,” Gurley said. “I’m taking all the responsibility.”
MATTY COMEBACK
Stafford has now led 30 fourth-quarter comebacks and 36 game-winning drives in his career.
He also became the second player in the Super Bowl era to throw two game-winning touchdown passes with no time on the clock.
The other was Tim Couch.
“I love this game. I love competing,” Stafford said. “There’s no more competitive, pressure-packed situation than … no time left.”
INJURY REPORT
Falcons WR Russell Gage appeared to be seriously injured when Detroit’s linebacker Reggie Ragland pinned his left leg making a tackle on a short pass play in the first quarter. Gage had to be helped off the field with a knee injury, but he was able to return to the game in the second half.
UP NEXT
Lions: Will be seeking their first win of the year at Ford Field when they host the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday. Detroit is 0-2 at home.
Falcons: Face a short turnaround heading into Thursday night’s game at Carolina. Atlanta lost to the Panthers 23-16 when the NFC South rivals played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Oct. 11.
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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 and find his work at https://apnews.com/search/paulnewberry
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EDMONTON – Teuvo Teravainen had two goals and two assists and Connor Bedard had a goal and two assists as the Chicago Blackhawks captured their first victory of the season, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday.
Seth Jones also had a goal and two assists in his 800th career NHL game and Philipp Kurashev scored the other goal for the Blackhawks, who improved to 1-1-1 on the season.
Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers, who fell to 0-2 to start the season on the heels of making it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final last season before losing out to the Florida Panthers. Edmonton has been outscored 11-2 in its first two games.
Petr Mrazek had 35 saves in the Chicago net, while Calvin Pickard made 15 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Blackhawks: Former Oiler Taylor Hall now has eight points (2G, 6A) in 12 career games against the team that drafted him first overall in 2010, picking up an assist on Chicago’s first-period goal. There were four former first overall picks playing in the contest in Hall and Bedard for the Hawks and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for Edmonton. Nugent-Hopkins picked up his 700th career point in the contest.
Oilers: Oilers defenceman and Edmonton-area product Brett Kulak suited up for his 500th career NHL game. The 30-year-old has been a mainstay since arriving from Montreal at the 2023 NHL trade deadline, playing in all 183 regular-season and 53 playoff games that he could. He has recorded an even 100 points in his career.
KEY MOMENT
The Blackhawks took a two-goal lead with six minutes to play in the middle frame as Bedard used a defender as a screen before ripping a perfect shot glove-side past Pickard for his first of the season.
KEY STAT
With his third period power-play goal, Oilers forward Draisaitl now has a 16-game point streak (13-18-31) against Chicago dating to Oct. 28, 2018 and passed teammate Connor McDavid (15-game streak versus New Jersey) for the NHL’s longest active point streak against one opponent.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Wrap up a four-game road trip in Calgary against the Flames on Tuesday.
Oilers: Host the Flames on Sunday in the third game of a season-starting four-game set at home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
CALGARY – Jonathan Huberdeau had two goals and two assists for the Calgary Flames in a 6-3 win in their home-opener over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Nazem Kadri scored twice, including an empty-netter with MacKenzie Weegar and Mikael Backlund each contributing a goal for Calgary (2-0-0).
Flames goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 37 of 40 shots in his season debut.
Travis Konecny scored twice, including one short-handed, and Joel Farabee also had a goal for Philadelphia (1-1-0).
Flyers starter Ivan Fedotov made 27 saves in his first start of the season.
The Flyers played their second road game in as many nights to start their season after a 3-2 shootout win over the Canucks in Vancouver.
The Flames overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Canucks 6-5 in overtime to start their season Wednesday.
TAKEAWAYS
Flyers: Slow start after beating Vancouver in a shootout 24 hours earlier, but scored twice in the second period and trailed by a goal heading into the third.
Flames: Wolf was the difference early stopping all 18 shots he faced in the first period and 37 overall. Calgary’s first goal that deflected off Huberdeau’s shoulder was lucky, but the winger set up Weegar perfectly for a one-timer and a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, assisted on a pair of power-play goals and generated the Flames’ fifth goal.
KEY MOMENT
The Flames converted a five-on-three in the second period into Kadri’s power-play goal and a two-goal lead. Wolf reached back into his crease during a scramble to clear the puck and deny Konecny a potential equalizing goal midway through the third period.
KEY STAT
Philadelphia’s power play, which was the worst in the NHL last season, was 1-for-4 on Saturday and 2-for-8 after two games. Calgary’s went 2-for-5 to be 4-for-9 after two games.
UP NEXT
Flames: Finish a back-to-back weekend on Sunday in Edmonton against the Oilers.
Flyers: Follow the Flames into Edmonton on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens grabbed a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Emil Heineman and Cole Caufield and went on to beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Saturday at the Bell Centre.
After Alex Newhook boosted the Canadiens’ lead to 3-0 early in the third period, Tim Stutzle ended Sam Montembeault’s bid for a second consecutive shutout. Montembeault, who made 48 saves in a season-opening win over Toronto, made 24 saves.
Caufield completed the scoring with his second goal of the game and fourth of the season as the Canadiens improved to 2-1, while the Senators slipped to 1-1.
Montreal defenceman Mike Matheson was awarded a penalty shot when he was upended by Jake Sanderson on a rush to the net during a third-period power play. Linus Ullmark, who finished the game with 21 saves, got a piece of the shot which hit the post and went wide.
TAKEAWAYS
The Canadiens won the battle of special teams. Heineman scored a power-play goal with one second remaining in the advantage as Montreal went 1-for-4 with the extra man. Ottawa failed to score on four power plays and were held to three shots on goal.
KEY MOMENT
After facing only four shots in the first period, Montembeault was under pressure in the second period when the Senators outshot the Canadiens 12-3.
KEY STAT
The Canadiens have had one of the worst power plays in the NHL over the past three seasons and the outlook for this season wasn’t bright after the team went 0-for-30 in the pre-season. But Heineman scored his first NHL goal on a power play in the first period to give Montreal a power-play goal in each of its first three regular-season games.
UP NEXT
Senators: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday afternoon.
Canadiens: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
