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One thing you can count on with the Detroit Lions is that they are never, ever boring. Follow the latest news including injuries, roster moves and more here daily from Oakland Press beat writer Paula Pasche. Plus you'll find regular commentary about the team.

9/23/2013

Detroit Lions: Riley Reiff, Corey Hilliard unsung heroes in Sunday's win


ALLEN PARK — Pity the offensive line — any NFL offensive line.

You don’t hear much about them unless they screw up.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz tried to change that on Monday when he pointed out two of the unsung Lions’ heroes in the 27-20 win over the Redskins on Sunday.

Left tackle Riley Reiff and right tackle Corey Hilliard got the nod from the coach.

“We took one sack in the game and that was on the first play and that was an inside blitz from the mike (middle) linebacker,’’ Schwartz said on Monday. “I thought that Riley played an outstanding game and so did Corey. And they had to do it against two big-time players. Players that had given every team they’ve played trouble.’’

That would be linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo. Entering Sunday’s game the Redskins’ defense had seven sacks in the first two games. Kerrigan had three of them and Orakpo one.

Reiff and Hilliard held them off which gave Matthew Stafford time.

“That had a lot to do with our ability to find Nate Burleson down the field, to find Calvin Johnson, to find Kris Durham,’’ Schwartz said. “A lot of those big plays were made because we were able to have just enough time to find those guys.”

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)

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