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DETROIT | The Detroit Lions may have trouble winning in the regular season, but they don’t seem to have the same problem in the preseason.

Jason Hanson’s 47-yard field goal as time expired gave the Lions a 27-26 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday in the preseason opener for both teams.

Detroit won all four of its preseason games last year before going 0-16 in the regular season.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, threw a touchdown and an interception and had some passes dropped in his pro debut.

“They’re going to drop some balls just like I’m going to miss some,” said Stafford, who completed seven of his 14 passes for 114 yards. “I was excited. I felt like I had a good day.”

He was pressured into making a poor pass, which was intercepted and returned by Tony Gilbert for a touchdown. Stafford responded by leading an 80-yard drive that ended with him looking left, throwing right and taking a hit on a 25-yard scoring pass to fellow rookie Derrick Williams.

Detroit coach Jim Schwartz was impressed with how Stafford bounced back quickly after making a mistake.

Schwartz plans to start Stafford in the second exhibition game, but told reporters not to read into anything regarding the quarterback competition.

“They don’t put preseason games on your tombstone or your resume,” Schwartz said.

Detroit’s Daunte Culpepper was five of six for 41 yards and moved around enough to show he’s healthy after a knee injury stunted his career.

“I feel like I’ve finally gotten back to the player I want to be,” he said.

The Falcons, meanwhile, just hope Matt Ryan and Michael Turner perform as they did last year for them and former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez and veteran linebacker Mike Peterson prove to be valuable additions.

In limited chances, each looked good.

Ryan was five of seven for 33 yards. Turner ran for a 40-yard touchdown. Gonzalez caught a pass to convert a third down on the opening drive. Peterson had a team-high three tackles in the first quarter.

“We just didn’t get the outcome that we wanted,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “But I think there were some good things, some bad things and some ugly things.”

The Associated Press

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