DETROIT -- Matthew Stafford picked apart one of the NFLs best defenses for a while, throwing for a touchdown on each of the Detroit Lions first three possessions.The Philadelphia Eagles answered, shutting him down for almost two quarters.Almost.Stafford lofted a perfect pass to Golden Tate to set up Matt Praters 29-yard kick with 1:28 left, sending Detroit to a 24-23 win over Carson Wentz and Philadelphia on Sunday.It was perhaps one of the better anticipatory passes that youll see, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said.Detroits defense, though, still had to do its job to seal the much-needed victory.Philadelphia (3-1) had the ball at its 25 with 1:28 remaining and no timeouts left.Wentz, who did not turn the ball over in his first three games, attempted a long pass to Nelson Agholor on first down and Darius Slay made an over-the-shoulder interception at the Detroit 23.Even though Wentzs last pass looked like a desperation heave usually reserved for fourth down or the final seconds of a game, Eagles coach Doug Pederson didnt mind his decision to go deep.Its not necessarily designed for that, but the opportunity was there, Pederson said.Wentz, the No. 2 pick overall in the draft, was 25 of 33 for 238 yards with a pair of 1-yard TD passes to Ryan Mathews and Josh Huff.I didnt buy the hype before today, but hes is the real deal, Slay said. He doesnt play like a rookie.The Lions (2-3) had lost three straight.Its a big one, Stafford said. But at the same time, weve got to stack these.The Eagles turned the ball over for the first time this season with 2:34 remaining when Mathews fumbled on a hit by Slay near midfield.This one hurts, Mathews said.Stafford put Prater in place to make his field goal by converting a third-and-4 from the Eagles 39 by connecting on a 27-yard pass to Tate, who was going right to left on a crossing route and drew an unnecessary roughness penalty on Malcolm Jenkins.I needed that, Tate said. This team needed that.BOUNCING BACKTate, who was held to only one catch in last weeks loss at Chicago, had three receptions for 39 yards. The veteran receiver also helped out Detroits depleted backfield by lining up as a running back for three carries that gained 6 yards and serving as decoy to help set up Staffords 17-yard TD pass to Theo Riddick.Hopefully I earned some more reps back there, Tate said. Had some flashbacks to high school.FLAG DAYPhiladelphia hurt its chances of staying undefeated with 14 penalties for 111 yards, nearly doubling the number of flags they drew on average over the first three games.Its tough to overcome, Pederson acknowledged.STRONG STARTThe Lions scored on all three of their drives in the first half, building a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter. Stafford threw two TD passes to Riddick in the first quarter and another to Marvin Jones in the second. Through three games, the Eagles hadnt given up a passing TD, a point in the first quarter or allowed offenses to combine to score three TDs.Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz , who led the Lions from 2009 to 2013, seemed to make some adjustments that worked until Stafford made his clutch pass to Tate.CLOSE CALLStafford had his helmet ripped off by defensive tackle Fletcher Cox in the second quarter on a third down, extending a drive that led to a TD instead of a field goal attempt.Its never a good feeling to not have the old helmet on, said Stafford, who recalled a similar situation at Georgia leading to a big bruise on his forehead.MAKING A PLAYStafford had an unforced fumble early in the second half that was recovered by Nigel Bradham, who was arrested last Sunday on a misdemeanor concealed weapons charge. Bradham didnt play much in the first half, but Pederson insisted that wasnt part of team-issued discipline.INJURIESEagles CB Leodis McKelvin returned after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury, aggravated it, but was cleared to return in the fourth quarter. ... Lions DT Haloti Ngata left the game with a shoulder injury.UP NEXTThe Eagles play at Washington Sunday. The Lions host Los Angeles on Sunday. Cheap Custom Suns Jersey . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Custom Suns Jersey China . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. http://www.customsunsjersey.com/ . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Custom Suns Jerseys . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Suns Jerseys China . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. RIO DE JANEIRO -- After competing at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Center during the preliminary round last week, the U.S. womens water polo players had a more impressive venue Monday afternoon. For one thing, they played Brazil at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, where Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky swam to multiple gold medals.And for another, the pools color was blue, not green.According to Rio Olympic officials, last weeks sudden and surprising green color in the Maria Lenk pools for water polo and diving was due to the mistaken use of hydrogen peroxide. That created a sea of concern about the waters safety, but the U.S. team said it was no big deal at all.Weve played in a lot of different types of pools, goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson said. It was just another pool.U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said people made a much bigger deal about the color than was warranted and that the team has been in much worse pools. Even the pools we train at sometimes. It happens, he said. Its fine as long as the temperature is OK and its healthy. The players werent saying anything to me [about problems].Captain Maggie Steffens said she received many questions about the green water but that it had no effect and was no different than playing any other water polo game. Still, she loved playing in the swimming center Monday where Phelps had competedYou can even feel the energy that swimming left here, she said. Anytime you get to be in a stadium or pool that your sport plays in and feel the energy that was left by legends, literally legends, it makes playing so much more unique. You can almost feel that energy in the water.The Brazil team certainly felt the energy, albeit in a bad way for their chances, because the energy from the U.S. team completely dominated the game. The Americans led 13-0 at one point on their way to the 13-3 victory and advanced to a semifinal against Hungary on Wednesday.When we walked out, I could feel the energy, I could feel the passion that was bubbling through the stands, Steffens said. I was just smiling, and looking up I could see a lot of American flags. I hope that one day we can play in the final and fill up those stands. And make history when it comes to womens water polo.ddddddddddddThe Americans are trying to become the first country to win consecutive gold medals in womens water polo, which was added to the Olympics in 2000. They won the 2012 Olympics, and the way they have been playing, theyre a good pick to win here. They have yet to lose a game while outscoring opponents 47-17. Nine U.S. players scored goals Monday.As many goals as the U.S. has scored, Krikorian said the defense has been the biggest part of the teams success. Johnson did not allow a single goal Monday. The U.S. gave up Brazils three goals after Krikorian subbed for her near the end of the game.While water polo is not a popular sport in the United States, Steffens says the U.S. women are strong because of the playing opportunities that athletes in California and Florida get, plus the tight connections they can make with past Olympians. She also wants more people to notice the sport.I truly think water polo is not only the most fun sport to play, but to watch, too, Steffens said. Yes, Im biased, but I grew up a swimmer and a soccer player, a basketball player. I did gymnastics. Im a huge Warriors fan now. I love watching womens soccer. I watch other sports, but man, water polo encompasses all of those sports.Youre able to sit down and watch one hour of the sport and get the sense of basketball, get the feel of swimming, get the feel of wrestling, get the excitement of soccer. And I would love to show that to the world ... with the way we play. We would love to move forward and play the semis and the final in this pool, and we have to play our best.Water polo is extremely popular in the Balkans and central Europe, including Hungary, which has won nine gold medals on the mens side but no medals on the womens side. The U.S. beat Hungary 11-6 in the preliminary round here.Its the semifinals, so well have a tough matchup no matter what, Steffens said. But I think if we can continue to play with the heart and the passion [well win]. And I would like to have the Brazil fans even cheering for us. ' ' '