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OPENING ACT

• • With today’s 27-23 win over St. Louis in the team’s home-opener, the Lions registered the franchise’s 50th home-opening win in team history. The Lions became the second franchise to record 50 wins in home-openers.
• • The win was also the team’s 44th victory on opening day, the fourth-most wins in NFL history on opening weekend.

HANSON’S RECORD SEASON

• • By playing in today’s game, K Jason Hanson has now played in 21 NFL seasons, all with the Detroit Lions. Hanson now holds the NFL record for the most seasons played with one team and for the most seasons played by any player with the team that originally drafted them.
• • In 2011, he set the NFL record for the most games played with one club and moved that total to 312. He is the only player to ever play 300 games with one team.

HANSON MOVES UP PAT LIST

• • With three PATs in today’s game, Hanson moved past K John Carney (628) for seventh place on the NFL’s all-time career PATs list. Hanson now has 630 career PATs.

BACKUS STARTING STREAK

• • By starting in today’s game, T Jeff Backus has extended his franchise record of consecutive starts to 177 (178 including postseason).
• • With a start today, he tied C Kevin Mawae for the sixth-most consecutive starts by an offensive lineman since 1970.
• • Backus has started every game since he was drafted in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Backus currently holds the mark for the most consecutive starts among active (offensive and defensive) linemen, and he is currently third among all active players with 177 straight starts.
• • By playing in his 177th career game with the Lions, Backus ties C Kevin Glover for the sixth-most games played in Lions history.

O-LINE CONSISTENCY

• • With the Lions starting lineup of LT Jeff Backus, LG Rob Sims, C Dominic Raiola, RG Stephen Peterman and RT Gosder Cherilus in today’s game, the offensive line has now started in the same positions for the third consecutive year to start the season. It marks the first time a Lions team has started the same offensive line combination for three consecutive years since 1980-82 (LT Karl Baldischeiler, LG Homer Elias, C Amos Fowler, RG Russ Bolinger and RT Keith Dorne).
• • With starts by all five offensive linemen, they moved their collective total of regular season starts with the Lions to 494, the most starts by an offensive line unit with one team in the NFL.

BELL RINGER

• • RB Joique Bell scored on a 1-yard plunge in the first quarter to give the Lions a 7-3 lead in the game. Bell played for Division II Wayne State University just north on Woodward Avenue from Ford Field. Tom Adams Field, home to the Warriors, is just 2.3 miles from the Lions home field. Bell was the 2009 Harlon Hill Award winner given to the nation’s best player in Division II. He is Wayne State’s all-time leading rusher and scorer.
• • Bell is the first Wayne State player to play in the NFL since LB Tom Beer did so for the Lions in 1996. Beer played for the Lions from 1994-96.
• • Bell’s touchdown is the first rushing touchdown by a Wayne State player ever in the NFL and first touchdown since CB Dick Byas returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown with the Atlanta Falcons in 1977.

STAFFORD SURPASSES 8,000 CAREER YARDS IN 30 STARTS

• • Lions QB Matthew Stafford made his 30th career start today against the St. Louis Rams. With 172 yards in the first half, Stafford surpassed 8,000 career yards and joined Kurt Warner (8,739), Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (8,467), Tony Romo (8,044) and Aaron Rodgers (8,000) as the only quarterbacks to have at least 8,000 passing yards through 30 career starts in the Super Bowl era. Stafford became the fifth quarterback to accomplish this feat. Stafford entered the game with 7,840 passing yards through 29 starts.

STAFFORD’S COMEBACK PERFORMANCE

• • Stafford registered his seventh career fourth quarter game-winning drive when trailing or tied as he led the Lions back to a 27-23 victory over the St. Louis Rams. Trailing 23-20 with 1:55 left to play and with only one time out, Stafford and the Lions went on a 9-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 1:45.
• • He threw for 355 yards in the win against the Rams. His 355-yard outing was the second highest tally in Lions history on opening day (QB Bobby Layne, 364 vs. Pit September 27, 1953). He also joins Layne as the only passers in team history with two 300-yard games on opening day, and Stafford is the first to do it in back-to-back seasons (305, at TB September 11, 2011).
• • It was Stafford’s 10th career 300-yard game, and he has thrown for 300 yards in exactly one-third of his 30 career starts.
• • Dating back to 2011, Stafford’s 355 yards was his fourth-straight 300-yard game.
• • With one touchdown in today’s game, Stafford moved past QB Joey Harrington (60, 2002-05) for fifth place on the team’s all-time passing touchdowns list.
• • Stafford also registered his first career reception when he caught a deflected pass and gained 3 yards on the play. His reception was the first by a Lions QB since QB Jon Kitna registered a 9-yard catch off a deflection in OT vs. Minnesota September 16, 2007.
• • Stafford’s 32 pass completions marked the sixth time in his career he has completed over 30 passes in a game. His 32 passes tie for the third-highest single-game tally of his career.

PETTIGREW COMES IN HANDY

• • TE Brandon Pettigrew tied a team-high today in the Lions 27-23 win over St. Louis with six receptions that went for 69 yards. However, it was his three receptions on the Lions’ fourth-quarter drive that tied the game at 20-20 that may have proved most critical. On the Lions 5-play, 80-yard drive, Pettigrew grabbed passes of 20, 18 and 24 yards for a combined total of 62 of the team’s 80 yards on the drive.
• • It was the 14th game in Pettigrew’s career that he caught at least 6 passes.

C-JOHNSON’S C-NOTE

• • WR Calvin Johnson led the Lions with 111 receiving yards on six receptions (18.5 avg). It was Johnson’s 22nd career 100-yard receiving game and fourth-straight dating back to the end of 2011.
• • Among his team-tying high six receptions was a 51-yard reception in the second quarter.
• • Johnson’s 111 receiving yards were the most Johnson has recorded on opening day in his career.

QUICK STRIKES IN FOURTH QUARTER

• • Both fourth quarter touchdown drives by the Lions took off less than two-and-and-half minutes on the game clock. The first touchdown that tied the game at 20-20, ending with a 5-yard rush by RB Kevin Smith, took five plays for 80 yards and took 2:26 off the clock. The game-winning drive was a 9-play, 80-yard drive that took 1:45 off the clock.

SMITH GOES FOR TWO

• • RB Kevin Smith caught the game-winning touchdown pass (5 yards) with 0:10 left to play in the game that gave the Lions a 27-23 lead. Combined with his earlier fourth quarter touchdown (5-yard rush), Smith registered his fourth career 2 TD game and his third career game with a rushing and receiving touchdown.
• • He ended the day with 91 total yards (62 rushing and 29 receiving) and two total touchdowns.

INTERNAL PRESSURE

• • The Lions defense was led by the internal pressure they put on the Rams today as the team’s defensive tackles recorded 3 sacks, one each by DT Nick Fairley, DT Ndmukong Suh and DT Corey Williams.
• • Suh registered his first sack (12-yard loss) of the season in the second quarter against the Rams. He now has 15 career sacks in his 31 career games.
• • Fairley opened up with the team’s first sack of the season in the second quarter that forced the Rams to kick a field goal. It was his second-career sack.
• • Williams registered a sack-fumble (recovered by Rams) early in the fourth quarter to force a punt.