Frankly, the Detroit Lions really don't like to play Barry Sanders in preseason games. And against the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars, they didn't need him.
Sanders only touched the ball four times Thursday night. It didn't matter. The Lions still had far too many guns, on offense and defense, as they rolled to a 19-3 preseason victory.The Lions scored on their first two possessions, plus one of Jacksonville's.
"Offensively, we've got a lot of offense and we're executing it decent right now," Detroit coach Wayne Fontes said.
Detroit rolled up 333 yards while holding the Jaguars to 133 yards. The Lions also finished with four sacks for 29 yards, including two by rookie Luther Elliss, their top draft pick.
"It was a poor football game, no question about it," Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said. "On offense we couldn't get out of our huddle. Defensively, we tried hard. We just couldn't do a lot."
Scott Mitchell played the first half for Detroit, completing 8 of 16 passes for 128 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown to Brett Perriman.
Mike Hollis kicked a 38-yard field goal for Jacksonville.
The Lions (2-0), who drew the wrath of the NFL for holding Sanders out of their first preseason game at New England, let the dazzling running back play six snaps against the Jaguars (1-2). He carried on Detroit's first three plays for 20 yards, including a trademark 14-yard scamper.
Three plays later, Sanders flipped the ball back to Mitchell on a flea-flicker play. That was it. Sanders then was lifted for Ron Rivers, who carried 13 times for 68 yards.
On the 10th play of the drive, Mitchell found Perriman wide open behind Darren Carrington for an easy touchdown and the rout was on.
"I thought early in the ballgame our quarterback looked very, very smooth," Fontes said. "He hit Brett Perriman on an excellent pass. But Brett dropped two balls that should have been caught. So, hopefully, those things won't happen when the season starts."
Jason Hanson kicked a 40-yard field goal on the Lions' second possession and Detroit linebacker Mike Johnson tackled Jacksonville's Randy Jordan in the endzone for a safety, giving the Lions a 12-0 lead 5:34 into the second quarter.
Don Majkowski, who hit 11 of 16 for 92 yards, tossed a 6-yard TD pass to rookie Mill Coleman to cap Detroit's first possession of the second half.
Elliss, who drew some criticism after his first game, also batted down a pass attempt by Steve Beuerlein. Perriman finished with three catches for 83 yards.
"Luther Elliss stepped it up a bit tonight," Fontes said. "He did a good job. He has a tremendous move outside. Last week, he saw a lot of things and it slowed him down a bit."
Beuerlein started the first and third quarters for the Jaguars. He completed 8 of 11 for 66 yards. Mark Brunell was at quarterback in the second quarter, hitting 3 of 5 for 24 yards. Both were sacked twice.
Andre Ware, the former Lions quarterback, played the fourth quarter. But the 1989 Heisman Trophy winner, cut in 1994 by the Minnesota Vikings, struggled again. Ware completed 1 of 3 for 5 yards and fumbled a snap from center.
"Sometimes, I wish I was still here, believe it or not," Ware said. "They have an outstanding team from top to bottom. They're a talented ballclub."
It was a typical exhibition game in many ways inside the sweltering Silverdome. There were 24 penalties, 13 in the first half. The Lions were flagged 12 times for 110 yards, the Jaguars 12 times for 67 yards.
It also was another costly game for the injury-plagued Jaguars. Defensive end John Duff and middle linebacker Keith Goganious both went down during the Lions' first drive and didn't return.