NFL Scores: Detroit Lions Beat Washington Redskins On Last Minute Play

Having been around Calvin Johnson for years, Detroit Lions fans are accustomed to last minute heroics by a physically imposing wide receiver. It happened against today. The Lions defeated the Washington Redskins by a score of 20-17, as reported by ESPN. Matthew Stafford threw a last-minute touchdown pass to veteran Anquan Boldin.

The Detroit Lions have managed to successfully turn around their season. Things were looking pretty bleak when the team was sitting on a 1-3 record. Very few thought that they had a chance to win the NFC North. After three straight victories, they are right back in the mix of things.

The Washington Redskins were in the same situation. Many believed that it was a lost season when they were sitting on a 0-3 record. Now, they have won four games in a row and are contending in a surprisingly competitive NFC East. They are chasing the surging Dallas Cowboys.

A big reason why the Detroit Lions have been able to turn around their season is the play of Matthew Stafford. Their franchise quarterback is starting to look more and more like an MVP in the NFL. Many were concerned that he would regress with the sudden retirement of Calvin Johnson.

Against the Washington Redskins, Matthew Stafford was quite efficient. He threw for 266 passing yards without an interception. Stafford also scored one touchdown, which was the game-winning play with Anquan Boldin at the end of the fourth quarter. Stafford showed a good amount of poise in the pocket during that final play.

Kirk Cousins tried his best to beat the Detroit Lions. He tried leading a fourth quarter comeback for the Washington Redskins, putting the team up with a 19-yard run. There was a little more than a minute left. Unfortunately for Cousins, he would be outdone by the dramatic ending that Matthew Stafford and Anquan Boldin produced.

In terms of numbers, Kirk Cousins did really well. Out of the 39 passes that he attempted, 30 of them were completed. That type of accuracy is what gets NFL quarterbacks those big contracts. Cousins put up a score but that was negated by the fumble that he coughed up.

While the loss hurts the Washington Redskins in the standings, a bigger loss might have been the injury suffered by Josh Norman. The top flight corner suffered a concussion and could be forced to miss quite a bit of time. Norman was the high priced free agency prize for the Redskins this summer.

Vernon Davis had a bit of a comeback game. The veteran tight end had six receptions and 77 passing yards. Davis was replacing Jordan Reed in the starting lineup. Reed has been struggling to come back from a concussion of his own.

Jamison Crowder had himself a pretty good game for the Washington Redskins. The second year wide receiver from Duke had 108 passing yards on seven receptions. Crowder was the most targeted receiver by Kirk Cousins today. To his credit, the 23-year-old only failed to pull down two of the passes that were thrown to him.

The game started off a bit slow, but the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions managed to make things interesting for the audience at the end. Twenty-four of the points scored during the game took place during the final quarter. The back and forth action made things rather entertaining.

With the loss, the Washington Redskins are now behind the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. However, they are not too far behind that the season is over. For the Detroit Lions, they are still behind the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, but they can still get into the NFL Playoffs.

[Featured Image by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images]