Lions Intercept Favre, Packers

Brett Favre continued to make mistakes while Charlie Batch played error-free football.

The Detroit defense burned Favre for three interceptions while Batch played like anything but a rookie in the Lions' 27-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

"I never felt like Charlie wasn't confident," said Detroit coach Bobby Ross, who benched veteran Scott Mitchell in favor of Batch after just two games. "There are just things he needs to see that he continues to see."

"This is the third straight game he hasn't turned the ball over. In this league, that's something special."

It was the second consecutive loss for the Packers (4-2) and dropped them further behind the Minnesota Vikings (5-0) in the division race. The Lions (2-4) fought back from a 10-0 deficit and outscored Green Bay 17-7 in the fourth quarter.

Batch, who was 16-of-19 for 218 yards, hooked up with fellow rookie Germane Crowell for a 68-yard touchdown pass play to take a 17-13 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. Barry Sanders, who had 155 yards on 25 carries, sprinted 73 yards for another touchdown with 8:05 left.

"He (Batch) gives you an ability to do some things," Ross said of his second-round draft pick out of Eastern Michigan. "You can move him in the pocket, you can sprint him some, you can boot it. It's just very gratifying to have a young man like that to work with. I just love him." P> It was the third game in a row in which Favre threw three interceptions. His third against Detroit set up Jason Hanson's 36-yard field goal to ice the victory with 2:08 remaining.

Favre, who completed 22-of-43 passes for 300 yards, tossed a 67-yard touchdown to Antonio Freeman in the first quarter and a 14-yarder to Freeman with three seconds left in the game.

Detroit's Johnnie Morton and other Lions receivers come up with big plays all night. (AP)

Favre has thrown 17 interceptions against 14 touchdown passes in the Pontiac Silverdome. Last season, he also had an ugly day at the Silverdome, throwing three interceptions, including one from his knees that linebacker Reggie Brown returned for a score in a Detroit victory.

Mark Carrier, burned when he failed to switch to Freeman on the 67-yard touchdown on Green Bay's fourth snap of the game, made up for it the next time he was tested.

Carrier, playing like a center fielder, leaped in front of Freeman to snag Favre's pass in front of the Green Bay bench early in the second quarter and returned it 33 yards to the Packers 12.

"We really settled down there and that's what having him means," Ross said. "We've got so many young guys out there. ... Carrier just has to get us settled down and he did that and he played a heck of a ballgame."

Four plays later, on fourth-and-1 at the 3, Batch got the Packers to bite on a fake to fullback Tommy Vardell running into the line, then flipped a pass to Pete Chryplewicz all alone in the left corner of the end zone to tie it at 10.

Ryan Longwell gave the Packers a 10-0 lead with a 28-yard field goal with 3:08 left in the first quarter.

Roell Preston's 47-yard return with the second-half kickoff helped set up Longwell's 40-yarder for the only score of the third quarter and a 13-10 Green Bay lead.

The Lions drove from their 9 to the Green Bay 2, only to have Vardell's fumble kill that drive.

On their next possession, however, the Lions went 69 yards in just three plays for the go-ahead touchdown on the pass to Crowell.

Sanders had an 80-yard touchdown called back by a holding penalty about two minutes after his 73-yard score.

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