Nov. 1, 1964 - Milt Plum threw three touchdown passes and set up three other scores with passes today as the Lions scored a 37‐17 victory over the Los Angeles Rams at Tiger Stadium.
The victory kept the Lions in contention for the NFL’s Western Conference championship with a 5‐2‐1 record. Los Angeles, which had entered the game tied for second place with the Lions, was left with a 4‐3‐1 mark.
Plum threw scoring strikes of 40 and 16 yards to Terry Barr and hit Tommy Watkins with a 37‐yarder. Nick Pietrosante ran for two touchdowns after Plum’s passing had taken the Lions deep into Los Angeles territory.
Wayne Walker added a 42-yard field goal and 4 extra points for Detroit.
“We lost the game because we didn’t play defense,” said an angry coach Harland Svare afterward. “To be a great defensive team, you must rise to the occasion. You can’t be front-runners. When we needed the ball in the third quarter, we couldn’t get it. We knew we had to stop their passing, and we didn’t.”
When a reporter suggested that perhaps Plum and his double-wing, shotgun formation might have contributed to some sort of defensive confusion, Svare had a ready answer.
“We knew they had the shotgun, the rollout, although they fooled us on that kickoff reverse. But we thought we could win the game anyway. What did they make passing? 302 net yards? That’s ridiculous.
“You can’t make the excuse of they had a good day and we didn’t. You can’t rationalize by saying they were hot and we were cold. You don’t win championships that way. You have to compete every week.
“All we were doing was chasing, making tackles — after they had the ball. We were two steps behind the ball. We had people around their receivers, but no one around the ball. Why, we haven’t had an interception in two games.”
Svare was reminded that he had three rookies on his defensive platoon and others with limited experience. Wouldn’t that be reason enough for the Lions, a veteran team, to exploit certain weaknesses?
“I can get high school kids to cover better than that,” said Svare. “If it’s too much for them, I’ll get someone else. They’re NFL players.”
In the winners’ locker room, Plum said: “I did much more rolling out today. Our coaches felt rollouts might take their big front four off stride and make them a bit hesitant.
“And coach [George] Wilson felt we could pick on those two rookie defensive backs [Aaron Martin and Jerry Richardson].
“Finally, our double-wing shotgun seemed to bother them and, of course, our receivers were terrific.”
End Gail Cogdill, one of those terrific receivers, caught seven passes for 165 yards despite a fiberglass splint for a broken finger on his left hand.
“Last week [against the Colts], we dropped six crucial passes on Milt, and this week we held onto the ball,” Gail pointed out. “That makes a big difference.”
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