Detroit Lions may have a running game

ALLEN PARK, Mich. - The Detroit Lions may never have a run-first offense, not with Matthew Stafford playing quarterback. But in Sunday's wild 39-35 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, they showed the makings a two-headed running-back combination they can rely on.

Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick combined for 108 yards rushing and 110 yards receiving Sunday, with each topping 100 total yards from scrimmage.

Riddick scored two touchdowns, Abdullah had one, and rookie short-yardage back Dwayne Washington added a third for good measure.

"Got a little better, I think," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "We still got a long way to go. I do think obviously having a run game that's effective does indeed help us all the way across the board. It helps your passing game, keeps the wear and tear down on your quarterback and things of that nature."

Abdullah ran for 63 yards on 12 carries and added a career-best 57 yards receiving. He scored on an 11-yard pass in the third quarter, when he accounted for all but 8 yards on a 71-yard drive.

Riddick, who missed part of the third quarter while he was being evaluated for a concussion, scored his second touchdown of the game with 4:04 to play and had a big 19-yard catch on the Lions' game-winning drive.

The NFL co-leader in receptions by a running back last year, Riddick finished with 45 yards rushing on seven carries and caught five passes for 63 yards.

The Lions ranked last in the NFL in rushing last year at a paltry 83.4 yards per game. There's no telling how much better they'll be this fall, but one week into the season they're off to a good start.

"(We) do a nice job of getting those guys the ball in ways where they can utilize their talents, and it's not always handing it to them out of the backfield," Caldwell said. "I believe both of them were over 100 all-purpose yards and I think that's who they are. They're effective catching it, they're effective out of the backfield as well, but I think you have to mix it up with them."

--Quarterback Matthew Stafford led the 21st game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime of his career Sunday, when he drove the Lions 50 yards in three plays after taking possession at his own 25-yard line with 37 seconds on the clock.

Stafford completed 31 of 38 passes on the day for 340 yards and three touchdowns, and he looked very much like the quarterback who shined after the Lions changed coordinators midway through last year.

"When he's in command and running things, he puts a lot of pressure on the defense," coach Jim Caldwell said. "He doesn't give them much time. And he's been very, very accurate. When things are a bit spread out, he spreads it around. And I think you guys saw a little bit of it, from midseason on he's been playing the way he's playing now."

--Jim Caldwell has come under fire for the way he has managed late-game clock situations in the past, and he had to defend himself again Sunday even though his decision to save his timeouts during the Colts' go-ahead touchdown drive ultimately worked out in the Lions' favor.

Caldwell said he considered using a timeout after the Colts got in field-goal range but was able to save it after the Colts stopped the clock to change personnel.

"We have a system in place," Caldwell said. "There's too many algorithms and things of that nature to kind of weigh all of those things in your head and that's why you prepare ahead of time all these different situations. That's what we do all the time. We study every single two-minute operation, not only in pro football every week, but also in college football if something unique comes up. We calculate it. We look at what we do. We have our answers. We rehearse them. We talk them through. We're not always right, but we try to work at it."