For the second time Sunday, a missed extra point was about to be the difference in a one-point game. Lions kicker Matt Prater pushed his kick wide right after they went up 34-28 late in the fourth quarter against the Colts. Andrew Luck marched the Colts right back for a score, then Adam Vinatieri hit his kick to put his team up, 35-34, giving the Lions 37 seconds to make a miracle.
The Lions had three timeouts, however, which came in handy as they marched down the field but repeatedly failed to get out of bounds and stop the clock. With eight seconds left, Prater faced a 43-yard field goal after missing from 27 on his last attempt.
He nailed it.
After the play, the Colts attempted a wild last gasp kick return, replete with illegal forward passes, that ended in a safety because of a penalty in the end zone.
The important takeaway, though: The Detroit Lions somehow didn’t screw this up. They tried. They could have been MUCH better with the clock, and at one point they were winning 21-3 before letting the Colts back in the game. It wasn’t a disaster, however, and that’s as great a start as Lions fans could have hoped for.