New Orleans Saints vs. Detroit Lions: Full Report Card Grades for Detroit

The Detroit Lions hammered another nail in the coffin of the "same old Lions" storyline with a wild 24-23 win over the New Orleans Saints.

The win probability for Detroit hovered at just two percent after a late interception bounced off the hands of fourth-string tight end Jordan Thompson. It didn't matter.

Safety Glover Quin came up with a huge interception just moments after Golden Tate took a short hook to the house from 73 yards out. The pick set up the game-winning touchdown grab by Corey Fuller

The win means the Lions kept pace with the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North, as both teams sit at 5-2. The big picture will focus on the comeback victory, but let's delve into each positional unit and hand out a grade to each.

Quarterback

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Matthew Stafford has had worse days as a pro, but it's unlikely he's had many that were more frustrating.

And more exhilarating. 

There were plenty of slightly errant passes. There was an early interception where he forced it into double coverage with a soft throw that was picked off by Keenan Lewis.

"

Why Stafford isn't considered upper echelon despite being paid like it ? His last 3rd down pass to Bush. That's why.

— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) October 19, 2014"

But there was also the Stafford who focused on reading the defense and setting up his protections. There was the Stafford who stayed calm and threw darts.

Finally, there was the Stafford who found Corey Fuller for the game-winning score in the back of the end zone, albeit on a slightly high throw.

Stafford finished 27-of-40 for 299 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He wasn't great today. At times, he was barely good. Yet he got the job done when his team needed him.

Grade: B-

Running Back

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

The Lions running game didn't remove itself from the microscope. Detroit mustered a meager 2.5 yards per carry and rarely made the right read.

Reggie Bush received the majority of the carries to start, but his ankle might have limited his effectiveness. Well, that and poor decisions, like the one to reverse field on a short screen and lose more yardage than necessary.

"

Reggie Bush runs backward and makes a bad play worse. Saints fans recognize that one.

— gregg rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) October 19, 2014"

Bush finished the day with 10 yards on four carries. He also added five catches for 22 yards and at least one drop that was poorly thrown.

Joique Bell took over the rest of the way, rushing for 48 yards. He needed 18 carries to do it, but broke a couple nice runs with the game in the balance.

"

Joique Bell doing all he can. He flattened Corey White, then broke another tackle to fight for a much-needed 1st down. White still down.

— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) October 19, 2014"

The former Saints practice-squad player caught two balls for 19 yards to pair with his rushing touchdown.

Grade: C+

Wide Receiver and Tight End

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

The wide receivers failed to have an impact for the first three-and-a-half quarters. Then Golden Tate broke loose.

"

Golden Tate having a big game in Detroit. He takes a Matthew Stafford pass 73 yards for a score. Tate: 154 Rec yds, TD NO leads DET, 23-17.

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 19, 2014"

Tate's long touchdown came on a short curl that was thrown high, but that actually gave Tate the seam he needed to burst by the Saints and outrun everyone to the end zone.

Corey Fuller picked a great time to notch his first career touchdown with a tough toe-tapping catch. He ended up grabbing three catches for 44 yards. 

The Lions were down to just two tight ends for this game. While Jordan Thompson's deflection-turned-interception almost made him the goat, Brandon Pettigrew did enough to save the tight ends' group grade with four catches for 28 yards and solid blocking.

"

I don't want to jinx him but Pettigrew is playing a very strong game this afternoon. Monster on that drive w/ blocking and a catch.

— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) October 19, 2014"

Late is better than never, especially when it results in a victory.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The offensive line is a tough group to grade.

On one hand, the running game (59 yards on 24 carries) was atrocious. There were few rushing lanes and even fewer second-level blocks. 

Basically, the story remained the same up front for the ground game. But the pass protection saw a huge improvement.

For the most part.

"

Larry Warford just blocked air. And Matthew Stafford ate dirt.

— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) October 19, 2014"

The three Saints sacks aside, quarterback Matthew Stafford enjoyed more time in the pocket than he's had in weeks. New Orleans doesn't have a great pass rush, but credit is due to the front line for keeping Stafford relatively clean.

Grade: C

Defensive Line

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The heartbeat of the defense was skipping a bit against the Saints. The defensive line struggled to create pressure in the first half and Drew Brees had enough time to carve up the defense to the tune of 342 yards.

Detroit did a decent job against the run, only giving up 73 yards on 21 carries. The problem is that four different Saints had runs of 12 yards or longer, meaning the backs were getting to the second level too easily.

As noted, the pass rush wasn't as dominant as past weeks. The team with the most sacks entering Week 7 finished with just one, and that was notched by safety James Ihedigbo.

"

George Johnson took away Brees' ability to step into that throw fully. That change in velocity was what Quin needed.

— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) October 19, 2014"

Much like the receivers, the defensive line did show up late. The pressure started getting to Brees. It helped force the interception and effectively ended the game because Brees was harassed on every play of the last drive.

Ziggy Ansah led the way with four tackles, including the unit's only tackle for a loss. No other defensive lineman had more than Nick Fairley's two tackles.

Grade: B-

Linebacker

Leon Halip/Getty Images

Somehow, DeAndre Levy quietly amassed 11 tackles. He didn't stick out on first impression, but he was always around the ball, which allowed him to add two tackles for loss.

"

Levy with a great tackle to keep the Saints out of FG territory on that checkdown.

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 19, 2014"

Levy didn't jump off the screen because most of his tackles were on nondescript passes to running backs. And that's exactly why those plays flew under the radar, and also why Detroit was able to bottle up the Saints offense when needed.

Tahir Whitehead chipped in five tackles. However, he looked lost in zone coverage and was responsible for a few of Marques Colston's six catches that went for 111 yards.

Ashlee Palmer rounded out the rotation with two tackles of his own, including one particularly hard hit on a Saints running back.

While Whitehead had a rough game, Levy was an undercover superstar.

Grade: B 

Secondary

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Kenny Stills torched Darius Slay for a 46-yard touchdown. I haven't reviewed the tape yet, but I'd wager he didn't have many other mistakes, aside from a pass interference call.

"

Darius Slay is playing like an elite CB. #Lions D is applying lots of pressure

— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) October 19, 2014"

Slay racked up six tackles and deflected two passes. The last came on New Orleans' final offensive play.

The safety duo of Glover Quin and James Ihedigbo combined for 14 tackles and a sack. Oh, and two turnovers.

"

Quin said he and Ihedigbo switched spots in Cover 1 right before Brees INT to try and confuse him, normally GQ high, Digg low, not there

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 19, 2014"

Any time an opposing quarterback posts a 91.2 quarterback rating with 342 yards passing and two scores, the secondary's grade will take a hit. However, there were also plenty of positives, including the open-field tackling that kept the longer runs from becoming back-breakers.

Grade: B

Special Teams

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The kicking woes in Detroit didn't cost the Lions the game. In fact, Matt Prater didn't miss his only field-goal attempt. 

He just made it incredibly agonizing.

"

Matt Prater needs a good bounce off the upright to make a 21-yard field goal. For the Lions, that's progress.

— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) October 19, 2014"

The Lions had a chance to attempt a deep field goal later but decided to punt instead. You have to wonder if head coach Jim Caldwell was too concerned about the field position that would have resulted from a miss. That's a trust issue to watch going forward.

Conversely, Sam Martin continues to be Mr. Wonderful. 

"

Unsung hero: @SamMartin_6. Four of his five punts downed inside the 20, including clutch coffin corner that went out inside the 1.

— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) October 19, 2014"

He's as ridiculously good as Derek Zoolander looks.

Grade: A-

Coaching

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

There will be plenty of fodder for coaching moments in film study this week.

There were the nine penalties for 71 yards. There was Tahir Whitehead reacting to running back Mark Ingram's taunt and giving the Saints 15 yards.

But there was also the demeanor necessary to pull out a come-from-behind win.

"

Caldwell said he reassured his team they still had plenty of time left after that 2nd INT.

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 19, 2014"

Head coach Jim Caldwell takes a lot of flack for his lack of emotion. Yet it's that same trait that gave Detroit a chance.

Like the players, both coordinators had miscues. 

Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin's defense didn't handle quick snaps well. 

"

Saints doing a great job quick snapping, Lions are not ready. Good film pick-up by NO on its bye week #NOvsDET

— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) October 19, 2014"

Yet Austin won't hear the screams for his job that will follow offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.

Lombardi was missing a few key arrows from his quiver, but the game plan was exceedingly vanilla when some spice was needed. It's tough to make a knee-jerk reaction, but the offensive line was providing enough time to try a few different things.

Grade: B-

Final Grades

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

QB: B-

RB: C+

WR/TE: B+

OL: C

DL: B-

LB: B

Secondary: B

ST: A-

Coaching: B-

Cumulative Grade: B

The Lions aren't artists. Aside from Week 1, style points have been held to a minimum.

But they're winning.

The defense, while not as dominant as usual, made enough plays throughout the day to give Detroit a chance. Despite a very rough day, the offense capitalized on that chance and the result was a total team victory.

Now, the Lions will head to London to face a reeling 2-5 Atlanta Falcons team. If Detroit can summon better focus and execution, the Lions will head into the bye week with a 6-2 record.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.