Matthew Stafford leads Lions to comeback win over Dolphins

DETROIT -- Matthew Stafford scrambled to his left and threw on the run toward the back of the end zone -- hardly an ideal scenario on third down in the final minute.

Then again, nothing has come easy for Detroit lately. Yet they keep on winning.

Stafford's 11-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick with 29 seconds left gave the Lions a 20-16 win over the Miami Dolphins yesterday. It was Detroit's fourth straight victory, and the past three have been by a total of six points, all with fourth-quarter comebacks.

"I just love that feeling. It's a good feeling for a quarterback to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game," Stafford said. "By no means are we playing perfect, but we're finding ways to win games."

Calvin Johnson had seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown in his first game back from an ankle injury that had kept him out since Oct. 5. NFC North-leading Detroit (7-2) equaled its best record since the 1954 Lions won eight of their first nine games. They have started 7-2 only four times since, according to STATS, most recently in 1993, when they finished 10-6.

The Dolphins (5-4) scored a touchdown in the third quarter after blocking a Detroit field-goal attempt and returning it deep into Lions territory. Miami's Ryan Tannehill threw for 215 yards, but Stafford made the final big play, snapping a pass to a sliding Riddick in the back left corner of the end zone after the 5-9 running back slipped behind Reshad Jones.

The Dolphins lost in the final minute for the second time in a month. Green Bay scored a TD with three seconds left to beat them. "We weren't thinking about the Packers game,'' cornerback Brent Grimes said.

Miami took a 16-13 lead with 4:19 left on a 20-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis. It was the second time the Dolphins settled for three points near the goal line. After the teams exchanged punts, the Lions took over at their 26 with 3:13 left.

Stafford completed his first five passes of the drive. On third down from the Miami 27, he found Golden Tate for a completion that was ruled a first down and upheld on video review. Then he hit Riddick for the winner.

"I think Detroit certainly earned the victory," Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said. "I felt it was a team loss. It's easy to say it's on the defense because they scored with 30 seconds to go, but obviously we had the ball on offense and an opportunity to run the clock out and get first downs. We didn't do it."