OAKLAND -- The biggest "Matchup to Watch" in my Raiders-Detroit game preview was the one between Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt and Lions receiver Calvin Johnson.And while Routt fared well early in one-on-one coverage against Johnson, it was Megatron who took over late.Because while Johnson caught nine passes for a career-high 214 yards with two touchdowns, Routt picked up four penalties for 41 yards -- two pass interference calls and two defensive holding calls.One of each penalty were with Johnson as the recipient of the free plays, so to speak.And on his record-setting day, even Johnson seemed amazed.
"Thats ridiculous," he said while laughing. "It's a blessing to be up here with this team and have Matt (Stafford) as a quarterback, you're able to go out there and make plays for our team. I've never had anything over 200 yards. Thats crazy."Johnson's previous high in single-game receiving yards? The 161 yards he had against Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2009."You have to take advantage of it on the outside," Johnson said of the one-on-one coverage. "It's up to us, I feel. It's up to us as receivers to make plays for our team and lead us to victory."Routt was unavailable for comment but strong safety Tyvon Branch was asked about Johnson."He is a good player," Branch said. "We have a lot of great players and we made a lot of plays on Calvin today. Unfortunately, we didn't make the ones that counted."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.