DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions knew they were not going to play their starters much Thursday during a 23-3 win over the New York Jets, and the stars lasted all of one series before watching the rest of the night.
That left the Lions with a lot of time to look at rookies -- and one stood out more than most. Ameer Abdullah has been a training camp standout, and it carried over to his first preseason game in Detroit.
QB depth chart: Starter Matthew Stafford received very little work, playing one drive and completing both of his passes, including a 35-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate. The main question is the backup. Kellen Moore ran with some starters and then the second team and looked unimpressive. Other than on a scramble after an evaded sack, he looked slow and struggled to get the ball places it needed to go. Dan Orlovsky entered the game in the third quarter and immediately threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Greg Salas. Orlovsky has the experience and stronger arm and should be the No. 2 quarterback.
Maybe that dude could start: The interior of the defensive line looked somewhat suspect against the New York starters, but Caraun Reid put together a nice bull rush for a sack of Bryce Petty. He looked like someone who has enough speed to start next to Haloti Ngata at tackle, which is what the Lions are trying to figure out during the preseason.
Who got hurt? It didn’t look good for reserve offensive lineman Darren Keyton, who hurt his right knee during the second quarter and had to be carted to the locker room. Keyton was not likely to make the roster, but it’s clear his teammates are fond of him. As soon as Keyton reached the sideline, offensive linemen LaAdrian Waddle and Larry Warford walked over to him to chat for a few minutes as he was being examined by trainers.
A surprise player who looks amazing: Greg Salas is on his fifth NFL team in five seasons and so far during training camp has not done much to stand out. He made some big plays against the Jets, though, catching five passes for 92 yards, including a third-quarter touchdown from Orlovsky. It’s a wide-open receiver battle behind Tate and Calvin Johnson, so he could move up the depth chart with another game like Thursday's. Salas was with the Jets the past two seasons.
Rookie watch: Ameer Abdullah was the star of the night. He had seven carries for 67 yards, including a 45-yard run in the first quarter on which he completely juked Jets linebacker Demario Davis out of the play. The cutting and vision he showed in practice translated well to his debut game. Laken Tomlinson looked decent with the second unit, pancaking a defensive tackle on at least one play.
When it was starters vs. starters, the Lions looked …: Pretty sharp on offense. Stafford had time to make throws and was methodical during a five-play, 71-yard game-opening drive ending in a touchdown to Tate. There were some issues defensively, particularly early against the run as Chris Ivory was effective.
One reason to freak out, good or bad: It starts with Abdullah. He looked electric -- kind of like a newer, slightly slower Reggie Bush -- when he was in the game. If he can carry that production into the regular season, the Lions might have found a solution for their running game even when Joique Bell returns.
Battle for last RB could get interesting: Based on training camp thus far, George Winn looked to be in control over Zach Zenner. But Zenner looked sharper than Winn on Thursday night. This is going to be a job that could come down to special teams -- and Winn was on some first-team units -- but Zenner could receive more opportunities there if he continues to outrush Winn. Zenner had 53 yards on 13 carries while Winn had 3 yards on five carries.
Many Lions received rest: Calvin Johnson dressed but did not play. No real need for him to. Starting cornerback Rashean Mathis was inactive for the game and tight end Joseph Fauria did not play.
