DETROIT >> Even the Ford Field video board operator was a little out of sync.
He showed Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander in the crowd while the Lions were on offense early in the second quarter. It was one of the loudest roars of applause all night and caught tight end Matthew Mulligan off guard. He was called for a false start on the second-and-1 play.
Three plays later the Lions were forced to punt.
Thursday night was the first preseason game at Ford Field this year. The end zones are now painted Honolulu blue, but the offense made it that far just once.
The Lions lost 30-14 to the Cincinnati Bengals before a typically small preseason crowd.
It proved there is much work to be done by the Lions on offense and defense before the season starts on Sept. 11.
Rookie running back Dwayne Washington scored the only touchdown with 53 seconds left on a 79-yard drive engineered by rookie quarterback Jake Rudock. Washington also went in for the two-point conversion,
Most starters saw more time than they had in the win at the Pittsburgh Steelers last Friday. Defensively Darius Slay, Haloti Ngata and Ziggy Ansah started after they saw no action in Pittsburgh.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford moved the ball in the three series he was on the field, but couldn’t finish. The quarterback – who went no huddle most of the way – was 8 of 11 for 113 yards.
He was sacked for a fumble for the second straight game, but Theo Riddick was able to recover the ball. That sack was not on the offensive line, but on rookie tight end Cole Wick.
His first drive ended with a 24-yard field goal, but it moved along with Stafford connecting with Newcomer Marvin Jones, who played the past four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, had receptions of 32, 19 and five yards in three straight plays on that opening drive.
Backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who turned 33 on Thursday, would like to have his first drive back. It ended with an interception by Derron Smith on a ball intended for Zach Zenner. It was a bad decision on Orlovsky’s part and Smith had no trouble taking it back 60 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was no good so the Bengals were up 13-3.
It was the second straight game Orlovsky has had a pick 6.
He recovered and drove the offense down the field resulting in a 30-yard field goal the next drive. The big plays on that drive were a 24-yard pass to Wick and another 24-yarder to TJ Jones.
Orlovsky finished out the half and then came back in during the third quarter. He finished 8-14 for 83 yards. He is the presumed backup for Stafford since rookie Jake Rudock is still learning the offense.
Ameer Abdullah sat out (he’s nursing a shoulder) which proved how badly the Lions need the second-year running back. The run game was anemic with Theo Riddick leading the way with seven carries for 17 yards (2.4 yards per carry). That’s not good enough for the regular season. If the offense is to make strides this season the offensive line must improve along with the run game.
Defensively Tahir Whitehead and Kyle Van Noy were the starting linebackers in the nickel package. Whitehead led the defense with five tackles in the first half. DeAndre Levy, who was activated on Tuesday sat out as expected.
Safety Glover Quin got one hand on a ball to break up a pass but was not able to pull in the interception. Again, he’s in preseason mode. In the regular season he might have made the big play.
Rudock started his first series in the fourth quarter with passes to Orson Charles and Jay Lee, but then on a pass intended for Jace Billingsley he was intercepted by Floyd Raven.
The fans want to love Rudock, who played at Michigan, but that interception did not help. Still he got back in the groove
One thing Jim Caldwell likes about Rudock is his poise and he showed that on Thursday night.
The Lions (1-1) play their third preseason game on Aug. 27 at the Baltimore Ravens then wrap up the preseason at Ford Field on Sept. 1 against the Buffalo Bills.
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