Phillip Lindsay rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, and the host Denver Broncos scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to hand the Detroit Lions their eighth consecutive loss, 27-17, on Sunday.
Both teams started rookie quarterbacks making their fourth career start. Denver's Drew Lock completed 25 of 33 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown.
Detroit's David Blough completed half of his 24 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Blough, a third-stringer, was thrust into a starting role due to season-ending injuries to Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel.
DaeSean Hamilton caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos (6-9), who have won three of four. Tim Patrick grabbed five passes for 48 yards, and Courtland Sutton caught five passes for 41 yards. The defense recorded four sacks.
Neither team committed a turnover.
Kenny Golladay made six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (3-11-1). Kerryon Johnson, who returned from injured reserve, led the rushing game with 42 yards on 10 carries.
Brandon McManus' 26-yard field goal early in the third quarter gave Denver a 13-10 advantage.
Detroit took the lead at 17-13 with 3:51 left in the quarter. Golladay extended the ball over the goal line while being tackled on a 3-yard scoring pass from Blough.
Denver regained the advantage with its first fourth-quarter touchdown in 11 games. Lock flipped the ball forward to Hamilton for a 3-yard score, finishing off a 75-yard drive.
Lindsay delivered an insurance score with 6:39 left when he threaded through the middle on a 27-yard scamper. That run completed a 61-yard drive that took seven plays.
The game was tied at 10-all at halftime.
The Lions drove 68 yards on their first possession but had to settle for a 26-yard Matt Prater field goal.
Early in the second quarter, Jamal Agnew returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown to give the Lions a 10-point advantage.
A nine-play, 75-yard drive put the Broncos on the scoreboard. Royce Freeman finished it off with a 1-yard plunge.
McManus made a 34-yard field goal in the final minute of the half to tie it.
--Field Level Media
Detroit | Denver | |
Kerryon Johnson | Player | Phillip Lindsay |
10 | Attempts | 19 |
42 | Yards | 109 |
4.2 | Avg Yards | 5.7 |
0 | Touchdowns | 1 |
8 | Long | 27 |
Detroit | Denver | |
Kenny Golladay | Player | DaeSean Hamilton |
6 | Receptions | 6 |
66 | Yards | 65 |
11.0 | Avg Yards | 10.8 |
1 | Touchdowns | 1 |
35 | Long | 20 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Detroit | 191 | 96 | 95 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Denver | 348 | 150 | 198 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | 0 |