Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) passes the ball during his game against Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium, London, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014.LONDON - Matthew Stafford engineered the drive and Matt Prater finished it off.
Prater kicked a 48-yard field goal on the final play to give the Detroit Lions a 22-21 comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons (2-6) on Sunday at Wembley Stadium in the earliest start in NFL history.
Stafford was quiet in the first half as the Falcons (2-6) controlled the game and jumped to a 21-0 lead at the break. But the Lions (6-2) responded, and Prater's winning kick was the first made field goal from beyond 40 yards this season for Detroit.
Stafford finished with 325 yards passing, completing 24 of 47 attempts for two touchdowns and one interception. His two touchdown passes give him 120, a Lions record that is two more than Hall of Famer Bobby Layne.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan looked like he would be the star in the first half, completing 14 of 17 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns by halftime. But clock management problems, a penalty and a dropped pass doomed the Falcons at the end. Ryan finished with 228 yards and threw an interception in the second half.
The Falcons had the ball and control of the game at the two-minute warning, but couldn't run off much time after a holding penalty and Julie Jones' drop. Atlanta punted with 1:38 to go.
With the ball on the Detroit 7, Stafford hit Golden Tate for 32 yards. The Lions got another first down on a pass to Theo Riddick for 20 yards, and Stafford later threw to Jeremy Ross for another first down.
As the clock wound down, Prater had a 42-yard field goal to win it. He missed, but a delay-of-game penalty negated the kick.
Pushed back another 5 yards, Prater made it, finishing the game with three field goals.
From beyond the 40 this season, Detroit had been 0-7, and Prater, the team's third kicker already, was 0-1.
It was also Detroit's second comeback win in two weeks. The Lions rallied to beat the Saints last Sunday.
For the Falcons, the blown halftime lead was the biggest in Atlanta history.