Hear Me Roar: Sanders Turns It Up for 216 Yards

Once again, Barry Sanders was dazzling.

Sanders rushed for 216 yards, including touchdowns of 80 and four yards, as the Detroit Lions defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 32-10, on Sunday.

“He’s blessed with abilities that not many people are blessed with,” Colt free safety Jason Belser said. “He’s the best in the league. I want to meet the guy that can stop him.”

Sanders became the first NFL running back to top 100 yards in 10 consecutive games in a season. He also became the first running back to score three touchdowns on runs of 80 or more yards in a season.

Sanders, held to 53 yards in his first two games, has 1,427 yards with four games remaining.

Sanders, who carried 24 times, didn’t need any of his trademark moves on the long scoring run, which came on the first snap of the second half. He broke through a big hole, cut right, then turned upfield and sprinted to the end zone untouched.

His second touchdown run finished a 62-yard, nine-play drive midway through the fourth quarter.

It was the second win in a row for the Lions (6-6), their first successive wins this season, and kept their slim playoff hopes alive.

Despite Sanders’ efforts, the game seemed to turn after the Colts (1-11) lost quarterback Paul Justin early in the second quarter. Justin, who engineered the Colts’ upset of the Green Bay Packers last Sunday, completed six of eight passes for 61 yards and a touchdown before leaving with an injured left knee.

Justin was replaced by Jim Harbaugh, who had missed four games with injuries of his own.

Harbaugh completed 10 of 16 passes for 112 yards and was sacked six times.