- Finally, the Lions put together a long drive to start a game and finished it with a touchdown. Quarterback Matthew Stafford made a brilliant throw on third and long to rookie wide receiver Ryan Broyles for a first down. There was a very good diving catch by Calvin Johnson on the drive, too.Then, the dominos fell. Not playing from behind is an obvious key for the Lions today. With Arian Foster at running back and a solid zone blocking scheme, the Texans will be able to work the clock if in front. Houston is clearly vulnerable in the secondary, though, with Johnathan Joseph, one of the best cover cornerbacks in the league, out with a hamstring injury. His replacement, Alan Ball, is more of a special teams player. Also, Kareem Jackson, the Texans' other starting cornerback, was scorched last week by Jacksonville backup QB Chad Henne. He had played well previously this season, however.
- Defensive tackle Nick Fairley continues to make progress. It looks like he is in better shape and quicker than early this season. He has certainly been much more active lately.
- The Lions have gotten away with third and long to start a couple of their drives so far today, but they must avoid that situation the rest of the day if they are going to be successful.
- J.J. Watt, sinply put, is a beast. We've already seen that today.
- Penalties continue to hinder the Lions. Sometimes, it is ridiculous.
- The good news for former Michigan State wide receiver and Westland John Glenn star Keshawn Martin is he has found a niche as the Texans' primary kick returner. The bad news for Keshawn Martin is he took an absolutely foolish misconduct penalty in the first quarter. The officials, you could tell, just wanted to look away from it, but Martin kept carrying on for no reason. He is averaging 15 yards per punt return this year, including breaking loose on a 71-yarder. The potential is there, for sure, but there might be a maturity issue that needs to be corrected.