Gameday

First down

SUH GETTING BACK TO HIS ALL-PRO WAYS
Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said he was expecting an "outstanding" 2012 season after seeing his statistics drop dramatically last season from his Pro Bowl rookie season of 2010.

Suh said there were some technique issues he addressed this offseason after watching the film cut-ups from last year and was expecting to regain the form he had when he stormed onto the scene in 2010 with 10 sacks and 66 tackles.

"It's definitely a good start," Suh said after the game.

Suh certainly got off on the right track with a sack, two tackles and two tackles for loss in the Lions 27-23 victory over the Rams Sunday at Ford Field.

His most impressive play of the day wasn't even the third-quarter sack on Bradford that forced a punt; it was a one-armed tackle of Rams running back Steven Jackson in the second quarter.

Jackson is 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds and Suh simply reached his arm out and stopped him dead in his tracks for a 2-yard loss.

"It's always fun to tackle a guy that you know, especially a good friend," Suh said of Jackson. "But he understands once we step in between those white lines we're no longer friends and I'm going to go after him."

Second down

BELL WITH FIRST-CAREER CARRY, FIRST-CAREER SCORE
What a moment it had to be for Lions running back Joique Bell to leap into the Ford Field crowd after scoring his first NFL touchdown on his first official carry.

Bell, who grew up a Lions fan in Benton Harbor and played collegiately at Wayne State, scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter to give the Lions a 7-3 lead.

"It was an amazing feeling," he said. "Growing up watching guys jump in the crowd I always told my family that if I ever got my first regular season touchdown I'm jumping into the crowd."

Since going undrafted in 2010 out of Wayne State, Bell has played for the Bills, Eagles (two separate times), Colts, Saints and now Lions, but never recorded a carry in a regular season game.

Bell's touchdown is the first rushing touchdown by a Wayne State player ever in the NFL and first touchdown since cornerback Dick Byas returned an interception 72 yards for a score with the Falcons in 1977.

"It was like a dream come true," Bell said.

Third down

SCHWARTZ: 'SHOWS YOU WHAT A GOOD QUARTERBACK I'D BE'
Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said running back Kevin Smith was the absolute last option - "probably behind 'throw it away'" - for quarterback Matthew Stafford on the 5-yard touchdown pass he caught with 10 seconds left in the game that earned the Lions a 27-23 victory.

"We had a lot of guys in there; Pettigrew is a very good red zone receiver, Scheffler, Nate Burleson was in there at that time; Calvin was in there," Schwartz said of the play.

"Truth be told, when the play went off, I saw that where we intended to go had been covered. I mean, Kevin is the last option on that play. Probably behind 'throw it away'.

"He's in the play-action. He's really part of the play-action and the protection and he's leaking out really late. The head coach was on the head phones saying, 'throw it away, Matt, throw it away.'"

Instead, Stafford got terrific protection from the offensive line and was able to go through all of his progressions before finally hitting a wide-open Smith in the flat.

"Calvin is going to get all of the attention in the freaking arena today; he was going to be waiting for it and I just watched 58, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, drop right back in the end zone and knew that there were about three or four on Calvin and just had to wait for it for a second, let Kevin get out there," Stafford said.

"Shows you what a good quarterback I'd be," Schwartz said with a smile.

Fourth down

PETTIGREW STUMBLES EARLY, COMES ON DOWN THE STRETCH
Brandon Pettigrew knows that if he wants to be included among the elite tight ends in the NFL, he has to make more plays downfield and get into the end zone more than the five times he did last year.

In the second-to-last Lions possession of the game, Pettigrew showed his big-play capability. During the scoring drive, Pettigrew caught three passes for 62 yards as the Lions scored in five plays on a 5-yard touchdown run by Kevin Smith.

Pettigrew finished with five catches for 77 yards, but dropped a potential touchdown in the second quarter.

"There's such a thing as being too open and I just dropped it," Pettigrew said of the 23-yard play where the ball popped out of his hands when he fell to the ground attempting to make the catch. "We came back a couple possessions later and I made those plays and put that in my hands."

Pettigrew's drop came with 39 seconds left in the first half and forced the Lions into a Jason Hanson field goal that trimmed the Rams' lead to 13-10, instead of a touchdown that would have given them a lead going into the half.

Pettigrew has to make those plays if people are going to start mentioning him with the Rob Gronkowskis and Jimmy Grahams of the league.