Lions vs. Falcons: Score and Twitter Reaction from London

Of the Lions' two losses, at least one can be attributed to the futility of their kicking game. Matt Prater nearly made it two. And then he got a second chance.  

After a delay of game penalty nullified a miss from 43 yards out, Prater hit a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give Detroit a 22-21 win over the Atlanta Falcons at London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

The game-winner came after a calamity of errors from both sides, helping to cap off a Detroit comeback from three touchdowns down. Despite giving up 19 unanswered points in the second half, the Falcons at multiple points appeared to have the game won.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

A Julio Jones 22-yard reception gave Atlanta a first down at the two-minute warning, with the Lions having only one timeout remaining. But a holding penalty on a second-down run play stopped the clock for Detroit, and then a third-down incompletion and subsequent punt left the Lions with 1:38 to formulate a game-winning drive.

Matthew Stafford then led the Lions quickly up the field to get into field-goal range, with Prater set up straight on from 43 yards out with less than 10 seconds remaining. A low snap caused Prater, Detroit's third kicker of the season, to push the ball right, but he was bailed out by a whistle before the snap. The five-yard delay of game penalty gave Prater a second chance he converted, concluding a game that could only be described as a tale of two halves.

Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was spot-on with this assessment:

Before a crowd mixed with jerseys of every NFL team, Atlanta looked right at home from the opening whistle. Matt Ryan led an offense that had scored 20 points combined over the last two weeks to touchdowns on three of its first four drives, the first two of which culminated in throws to Devonta Freeman and Bear Pascoe. By the time Steven Jackson crossed the goal line with 3:45 remaining in the second quarter, the Falcons had taken a 21-0 lead against arguably the best defense in football.

"I think across the board—offense, offensive line, running backs, tight ends, wide receivers—we've got to do this together," Ryan told reporters last week of his team's offensive struggles, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. "We've got to become better today. Hopefully, we're able to find a way to get that done this week." 

Coming into Week 8, the Lions led the NFL in yards allowed per game and Football Outsiders' DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) while sitting behind only the Baltimore Ravens in points against. The team that showed up in the first half was far from the Detroit unit we expected—sloppy, out of position and ill-prepared.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

The defense that showed up in the second half was as advertised. Taking advantage of a patchwork Falcons offensive line, Detroit began getting pressure on Ryan and forcing ill-advised throws. The All-Pro quarterback threw an interception to Cassius Vaughn on Atlanta's second drive of the third quarter, helping set up a Prater field goal that brought the Lions within one score at 21-13.

Stafford, after battling through a miserable first half himself, was under much better control as the game went along. He and Golden Tate connected on a 59-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter—on 3rd-and-25, no less—that gave the former No. 1 overall pick the franchise touchdown record (119). Hall of Famer Bobby Layne previously held the record.

“I think it’ll probably mean something when I’m all said and done; I’ll look back on (it),” Stafford said before the game, per Josh Katzenstein of The Detroit News. “During the course of the game, I’m just hoping whoever I throw it to doesn’t turn and throw the ball into to stands so I have to fight and go get it.”

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

For the record, Tate didn't throw the ball into the stands. The former Notre Dame star did, however, continue what's been by far the best stretch of his career. Playing without Calvin Johnson for the third straight week, Tate had seven receptions for 151 yards and the touchdown. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, it was Tate's fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season:

Johnson was among a laundry list of Lions offensive weapon to sit out Sunday. Reggie Bush, Joseph Fauria, Brandon Pettigrew and Eric Ebron were also inactive, turning an already inconsistent offense into a bare-bones affair. Third-string running back Theo Riddick was heavily involved as Stafford's safety valve underneath, catching eight passes for 74 yards, including a five-yard touchdown to bring the Lions within a 21-19 deficit.

Detroit failed on the two-point-conversion attempt, with the referees missing what appeared to be a pass-interference penalty. Terry Foster of The Detroit News thought the Lions should have gotten another opportunity:

Outside of Riddick and Tate, it was another quiet day for Detroit pass-catchers. Neither Corey Fuller nor Jeremy Ross made much of a difference, and emergency tight end Kellen Davis was targeted only twice.

The Lions could not have lucked into a better time for their bye and should come back for Week 10's game against the Miami Dolphins at close to full strength. At least offensively. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley suffered a knee injury in the first half and did not return, per Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official website:

Without Fairley, the Lions were forced to put rookie Caraun Reid into the game for the most extensive work of his young career. Detroit's other defensive tackle, C.J. Mosley, was suspended for two weeks and sent home from England on Saturday, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.

The Falcons head into their bye on the opposite end of the spectrum. They have lost five straight games after a 2-1 start, and Sunday's collapse will undoubtedly call into question Mike Smith's job security. Oakland head coach Dennis Allen was fired earlier this season after a loss in London. Nick Underhill of The New Orleans Advocate noted that Smith may want to spend his off week updating his job profile online:

"

I don’t know if I’d put that one on Mike Smith, but he might want to start thinking about updating his LinkedIn page.

— Nick Underhill (@UnderhillAdv) October 26, 2014"

Regardless of Smith's employment status, this has been a precipitous fall for an Atlanta team that was one play away from an NFC championship two years ago. Many attributed the Falcons' 4-12 record last season to injuries, a convenient excuse that does not apply to the same extent in 2014.

It's safe to say the flight from London to Atlanta will be long for more reasons than one.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter