Lions Count Blessings

By T.J. SIMERS

Dec. 22, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

PONTIAC, Mich. —

It was the most electrifying afternoon, the most horrifying, and the game went on with emotions in conflict, tears and joy leaving the Detroit Lions in limbo despite the victory and history that would mark this day one of the best in franchise history.

Barry Sanders had dramatically rallied his team in the fourth quarter while blowing past the 2,000-yard mark, and the Lions had defeated the New York Jets, 13-10, in a “do-or-die” contest to determine who would advance to the playoffs.

But now those words rang so hollow--do-or-die--after standing and kneeling in prayer around Detroit linebacker Reggie Brown, while team doctors performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on their fallen teammate, who had lost consciousness.

“If you are a praying person, I would hope you would pray hard, very hard,” Lion Coach Bobby Ross said later.

Brown, down on the field, not moving or breathing for some time after tackling Jet running back Adrian Murrell early in the fourth quarter, showed movement in his legs and regained consciousness after being placed in an ambulance at midfield.

Almost two hours after the game, long after the Lion locker room had emptied, team physician Dr. David Collon reported in a statement that Brown had suffered a neck injury, but tests revealed no spine fracture. It was later reported that Brown was able to move his legs and arms.

The team also announced that Joseph Kinny, a 68-year-old fan who had collapsed in the stands and received medical treatment while the game was in progress, died from cardiac arrest at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital.

Earlier, in the afterglow of their gritty victory, Lion players and coaches found it difficult to transfer their thoughts from questions about Brown to questions about the strategy and execution that had gone into their winning effort, while awaiting more definitive word on their comrade.

Even the impact of Sanders’ awesome talents, which resulted in 112 rushing yards with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, and his season-ending total of 2,053 yards to join O.J. Simpson and Eric Dickerson as the only players in NFL history to top 2,000 yards, failed to prompt much celebration.

“I’m worried about Reggie Brown’s family,” said Sanders, who ran 15 yards for the winning score early in the fourth quarter, and then with 2:15 remaining reached 2,000 yards with a two-yard gain.

Embraced by teammates after being handed the game ball by referee Dick Hantak, Sanders then flipped it to his father, William.

“I don’t care if Barry ever gets any more records,” he said while cradling the ball on the sideline. “What I want to see him do is go to the Super Bowl.”

Sanders, who needed 131 yards to join Dickerson, who watched from the sideline, and Simpson, had 20 yards in eight carries at halftime with the Lions losing, 10-3. But there has been no stopping Sanders this season, and he went on to finish with 184 yards in 23 carries--an NFL record 14th consecutive 100-yard game.

After Sanders reached 2,000 yards, the Lions still had to secure the ball and run out the clock to cling to their win, which meant giving the ball back to Sanders. Known best for his cut-back style, which also has resulted in his leading the league in being tackled behind the line of scrimmage more than any other back, there was danger of embarrassment, and Sanders losing the record on his next carry.

Instead, Sanders stepped right, then back hard to his left and didn’t stop until he had gained 53 yards to the Jet three-yard line to end New York’s season and send the spectators into a frenzy.

“This is an impressive group of players to play with,” Sanders said. “When I was a youngster watching O.J. Simpson and Eric Dickerson I never dreamed I could have this opportunity, but let me tell you, the most significant thing about this game was the fact we can play again next week in the playoffs.”

The Lion victory eliminated the Jets and the Washington Redskins from the playoffs, and sends them to Tampa Bay on Sunday to play the Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs.

“What an emotional day,” said Lion center Kevin Glover, who joined his fellow offensive linemen in hoisting Sanders on their shoulders for a ride to the locker room. “It was such a trying day, so wonderful at times, and then so painful. I’m extremely proud of the way everyone stuck together.”

For veterans such as Glover, who stood over teammate Mike Utley in a similar situation that left Utley paralyzed and who also lost offensive lineman Eric Andolsek in a 1992 off-season accident, the trying uncertainty that surrounded Brown’s injury prevented him from enjoying a moment of satisfaction, which had been 16 games in the making.

“What we did for Barry is something we can be proud of the rest of our lives, but not this minute,” Glover said. “Right now our thoughts are only with Reggie.”

Brown, a first-round draft pick a year ago by the Lions, went into the game as the Detroit’s No. 2 tackler. Teammates said they heard him yell out after being hurt, and safety Mark Carrier said he asked him if he was all right.

“He said, ‘No,’ ” Carrier said, “and I waved for help, and when I turned back, he wasn’t moving.”

Initially, there was concern that Brown had swallowed his mouthpiece.

“They couldn’t find it,” Detroit wide receiver Johnnie Morton said. “There was stuff coming out of his mouth . . . and he wasn’t breathing.”

Morton slumped forward on a stool in his locker, still bothered at the sight he was being asked to recall.

“I’m exhausted,” said Morton, who sprinted the length of the field and up a tunnel beneath the Silverdome end zone stands, frantic for an ambulance that appeared too slow in arrival. “I was so scared, and they weren’t moving. I grabbed one of the medical guy’s bags and just tried to make them hurry.

“I couldn’t stop crying . . . Reggie wasn’t wasn’t moving, and I saw them cutting through his jersey, his pads and then beating on his chest to get him to breath.”

Only minutes earlier the excitement in the Silverdome had reached a crescendo, the noise so deafening that officials had threatened to penalize the home team, removing one of their timeouts if the Jets were not allowed to run a play without interference.

The Lions had just gone ahead, 13-10, sparked by a 47-yard gain by Sanders on the final play of the third quarter, and Detroit’s defense, urged on by the hollering fans, were now at their aggressive best.

And then Brown didn’t get up.

“It was just like a flashback to see him laying there,” Lion defensive lineman Marc Spindler said, referring to Utley. “What a bittersweet ending.

“As soon as it happened, I was on the sideline right next to Harry Colon, who had the same thing happen to him earlier this year, and immediately Harry’s saying, ‘He’s not moving. He’s not moving.’ Panic set in on the whole sideline right away, and guys were yelling and screaming and then everyone just started praying.”

While team physicians from both the Lions and Jets began administering to Brown, it was not fast enough for his teammates, who began waving for a stretcher that would be retrieved by one of the players. Others met in a group, dropping to their knees and with arms draped around each other’s shoulders, they prayed.

“My feelings about this game are really insignificant compared to the feelings I have about Reggie Brown,” Jet Coach Bill Parcells said.

The Jets, whose Dennis Byrd was left paralyzed in a game in 1992, met en masse on their sideline while the ambulance remained parked at midfield and then came together for a prayer, while the Lions gathered around an emotional Ross.

“He wasn’t breathing, and it was such a long time and I was crying,” Detroit defensive lineman Luther Elliss said. “The whole team just lost it at that point, and it took some doing to come back.”

Ross, who dealt with the death of Chris Caudle, a tight end at Georgia Tech who drowned, and the loss of San Diego Charger running back Rodney Culver in a plane crash and linebacker David Griggs in an auto accident, said the unsettling moments standing over Brown were some of the toughest he has experienced.

“It was hard, but I called the team together and said we had 11 minutes to play and we need to go on,” said Ross. “It was so hard . . .”

When play resumed, the Jets made progress against the Lions, advancing to the Detroit nine-yard line with the opportunity to regain the lead. But Parcells, who spent much of this game outcoaching himself, called for a halfback option pass.

Earlier he had brought Ray Lucas, a free agent quarterback from Rutgers, into the game in relief of Neil O’Donnell. Although Lucas had not thrown a pass all season, Parcells had him throwing with the Jets’ playoff hopes resting in the balance. And the Lions took advantage, intercepting a pass after the Jets had moved into scoring position.

Now here was Parcells again, the man who took New England to the Super Bowl last season only to make the catastrophic mistake of kicking the ball to Desmond Howard, making another costly blunder.

Running back Leon Johnson, running right and also running out of room while nearing the sideline, tossed a pass into the end zone--his second of the year--and into the waiting hands of Lion rookie cornerback Bryant Westbrook.

Westbrook juggled the ball, and bobbled it again while falling out of bounds. The official also failed to gain a grip on the play, ruling that Westbrook had made the interception, although replays clearly showed his back was out bounds while still not in control of the ball.

The argument for instant replay will come at the owners annual meetings in March, too late to save the Jets, who must take satisfaction only in bouncing back from a 1-15 record a year ago to finish 9-7.

But even that might take some time.

“I really can’t think about the game right now,” said Jet cornerback Ray Mickens, a four-year Texas A&M; teammate of Brown’s. “I lost something greater than that today, and I’m just sitting here only hoping for one thing: that he’s all right.”

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PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

WILD CARD

Sat., 1 p.m., Ch. 7

Jacksonville at Denver

Sun., 9:30 a.m., Ch. 4

Miami vs. New England

DIVISIONAL

Jan. 3-4

First-round byes: Kansas City, Pittsburgh

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

Jan. 11

WILD CARD

Sat., 9:30 a.m., Ch. 7

Minnesota at New York Giants

Sun., 1 p.m., Ch. 11

Detroit at Tampa Bay

DIVISIONAL

Jan. 3-4

First-round byes:

San Francisco

Green Bay

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP

Jan. 11

SUPER BOWL XXXII

at San Diego

Sun., Jan 25 3:15 p.m.

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MOST RUSHING YARDS IN A SEASON

*--*

Player, Team Year G Yards Eric Dickerson, Rams 1984 15 2,105 *Barry Sanders, Lions 1997 16 2,053 O.J. Simpson, Bills 1973 14 2,003 Earl Campbell, Oilers 1980 16 1,934 Barry Sanders, Lions 1994 16 1,883 Jim Brown, Browns 1963 14 1,863 Walter Payton, Bears 1977 14 1,852 Eric Dickerson, Rams 1986 16 1,821 O.J. Simpson, Bills 1975 14 1,817 Eric Dickerson, Rams 1983 16 1,808

*--*

* Second in career rushing (13,778) to Walter Payton (16,726). Also sixth all-time with 95 rushing touchdowns.

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WEEK 17 SCORES

* N.Y. Giants: 20

* Dallas: 7

* Seattle: 38

* San Francisco: 9

* Cincinnati: 16

* Baltimore: 14

* Tampa Bay: 31

* Chicago: 15