SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 30, 2011

Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes, and the Detroit Lions scored twice on defense and sacked Tim Tebow seven times en route a 45-10 rout of the host Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Calvin Johnson had six catches for 125 yards – all in the middle two quarters - and a 56-yard touchdown in the third quarter as Detroit (6-2) snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 4-0 on the road.

The Broncos (2-5) didn't get inside the Lions 20 until early in the fourth quarter, when Chris Houston returned a Tebow interception 100 yards for a touchdown to make it 45-3.

Cliff Avril had two sacks, including one in the third quarter when he also recovered the fumble and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. Detroit has at least one sack in 27 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL.

Stafford finished 21 of 30 for 267 yards before he was replaced by Shaun Hill midway through the fourth quarter.

There was no miracle finish this time for Tebow, who was 4 of 13 for 37 yards in the first half and finished 18 of 39 for 172 yards with a touchdown. Tebow threw two touchdown passes in the final 2:44 of regulation last week in Denver's 18-15 overtime victory at Miami.

The Broncos haven’t won two straight games since 2009.

Tony Scheffler’s 1-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter gave Detroit a 17-3 lead. Scheffler, playing his first game in Denver since being traded by the Broncos prior to the 2010 season, set up his score with a juggling 28-yard catch at the 2.

Titus Young caught a 41-yard touchdown standing in the end zone without a defender within 20 yards to give the Lions a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.