Category: sports

Injury-depleted Lions find a way to beat the Packers, 34-31

Five reasons Detroit pulled out the big division win

DETROIT — All grit, no excuses.

The Detroit Lions are the team that always seems to find a way to win. They did it again on Thursday night, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 34-31, with a game-winning field goal by Jake Bates.

But make no mistake it was a total team effort. The Lions are now 12-1 and have won 11 straight and are 4-0 in the NFC North. 

With the win, they clinched a playoff berth which coach Dan Campbell wasn’t aware of until after his post-game talk with the team.

“I love the fact that we just find a way. The narrative going in, we weren’t buying any of this stuff about where we were at, no excuses,’’ Campbell said. “Our guys knew where we were at, they don’t need to talk about being tough, they don’t need to talk about being resilient, we live it. It’s what we are. We just proved it again.’’

The Packers fell to 9-4 and are in third place in the division behind the Lions and the Vikings (10-2). It was the Lions’ second win over Green Bay – they beat them 24-14 on Nov. 3.

“I told the team this will be one you’ll never forget,’’ Campbell said.

Not many will.

Five of the reasons the Lions won:

ONE: Campbell knew going in that the offense was going to have to carry the load. So it wasn’t really a surprise that they went 4-of-5 on fourth down plays, including two touchdown passes on fourth and short. “Look, the guys knew, the players knew, the coaches knew, don’t ride the wave we can be up two scores, we can be down two scores but just because we’re one or the other we have to play our style of game. That meant the risk was there,’’ Campbell said. 

TWO: Despite having 13 defensive players on injured reserve, coordinator Aaron Glenn put together an effective game plan even with players who were acquired on the weekend. “We wanted the defense to let it loose, just go play. Effort, finish. Man, they did that. God, they did that,’’ Campbell said. “Helluva job by AG, those guys just laid it on the line. We call them the Northern Savages.’’

THREE: Wide receiver Tim Patrick has played well all season but until Thursday he had not caught a touchdown. And, in the win, he caught two of them. “What a great addition he’s been. He just continues to make plays for us in the run game and the pass game, stepped up big here,’’ Campbell said. 

FOUR: Jared Goff was steady even after throwing an interception that led to a Packers’ touchdown three plays later. Going for it on fourth down? He loved it that the coach showed his faith in the offense. “Bigger than anything, that’s all you want from a head coach is to believe in you,’’ Goff said. 

FIVE: Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs once again provided the foundation for the offense. Montgomery carried 14 times for 51 yards including a touchdown and also caught five passes for 33 yards. Gibbs carried 15 times for 43 yards and caught six passes for 30 yards including a touchdown. Gibbs surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career. 

UP NEXT: The Buffalo Bills (10-2) at the Lions (12-1), 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15.

Banged-up Lions face division rival Packers; injury updates and prediction

Five things to watch as Packers visit Ford Field

Lions coach Dan Campbell is amped up every week, but perhaps more so as the Lions face the Packers in a huge divisional contest on Thursday night at Ford Field. 

“They have players everywhere and they’re playing good football. So, this is going to be a great matchup,’’ Campbell said. “Back at our place, it’s just another one of those, division game number four, get it back at home against a really good opponent and it’s – there again, this is why you do it. This is why you coach, it’s why you play, so, we’re fired up for this.”

The Lions, who have won all three of their division contests, won the first meeting against the Pack, 24-14, at Lambeau Field on Nov. 3. Since then the Lions are 4-0 while the Packers are 3-0.

“There will be enough carryover, I’m sure for them as well as us. Things that they did well against us, things that we did well, and then you just kind of play off of that,’’ Campbell said. “And there will be wrinkles on both sides. The weather affected a couple of things, but I think all in all, the blueprint’s there for either team, however you want to look at it. So, I don’t see anything being too significant and we get wrinkles every week. We always get something that’s tendency breakers now. So, we pretty much expect that.”

Five things to watch:

ONE: The Lions’ defense must contain Packers RB Josh Jacobs who is having a good season. “Big, powerful, hard to tackle, run after contact, and I said this the first time that we played them, is when you have a running back of that nature, it changes the mindset of the O-line. So now the O-line knows that we have this physical runner, so now that turns into a more physical offensive line and all they have to do is show him, give him a little crease, and they know that he’s going to make three yards out of nothing,’’ Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “Most of those three yards end up getting to be six and seven yards and he’s going to break a tackle. So, I think he fits that scheme perfectly and he’s doing a hell of a job as far as complementing the whole offense which allows now the vertical passing game to show up.”

TWO: Quarterback Jordan Love had a fairly good game in the first meeting of the two, with 273 passing yards and one interception. But when it came to the red zone, the Lions defense held and Green Bay was just one-of-four inside the 20. Since the Packers started leaning more on the run, Love has improved. He threw 11 interceptions in the first eight games but has gone two games without a pick and with a total of four TD passes.

THREE: Against the Bears on Thanksgiving, Detroit’s run game was so effective Chicago barely had the ball on offense. With a depleted defense due to injury, a similar start would be effective. No reason that can’t happen with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs both healthy. They combined for 138 rushing yards in Green Bay on Nov. 3.

FOUR: Especially with the absence of Alex Anzalone, linebacker Jack Campbell has stepped up. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said he’s their rock. “He’s a man’s man, he loves standing in front of the huddle to give the call to those guys and they really really respect him,’’ Glenn said. “They respect him because of who he is personally, but they respect the way he plays the game, it’s a hundred mph all the time.’’ Campbell amassed 10 tackles in the first meeting with Green Bay.

FIVE: The Lions need Jared Goff to have another big game. While it’s just been a month since they faced each other, both teams have changed a bit and both are still winning. The Packers have won three straight. “They’re playing well and we’ve got our hands full. It’s a good defense, they’re well-coached, they do a lot of really good things, the backend’s good, the linebackers are good, the front four is good, they’re good on every level and we know what we’ve got to take care of,’’ said Goff who as 18 of 22 for 145 yards and a touchdown in their first meeting.

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: LT Taylor Decker (knee), DL Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring), DL Josh Paschal (knee) and DL D.J. Reader (shoulder) are out.

PACKERS INJURY UPDATE: CB Jaire Alexander (knee), WR Romeo Doubs (concussion), LB Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) and DB Corey Ballentine (knee) are out.

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Packers 24

Lions WR Jameson Williams just wanted a highlight when he hurdled Bears DB

ALLEN PARK — Jameson Williams had told his Detroit Lions wide receiver teammates for weeks that he was looking to hurdle over a defenseman during a game.

Afterall, he had a legitimate reason: “I just wanted to get a highlight.”

So Williams, best known as JaMo, stepped up and in the Thanksgiving win over the Bears, he caught a Jared Goff pass and hurdled over Bears defensive back Kevin Byard on a second-and-1 play to gain 15 yards. Byard, who is 5-foot-11, was standing tall. No problem for JaMo.

“I ain’t going to lie, I’ve been telling receivers I’m going to hurdle somebody for 2-3 weeks now. Ever since I came back in Houston game,’’ Williams said on Monday. “I tried to do it in Houston game. I kinda did it but it didn’t work out as well as this one. Last week vs. the Colts I tried to jump, but I got tripped up from the back on the catch. This week it was one-on-one and I just did it.’’

He got the result he wanted, the highlight clip has been everywhere.

“I think it was exciting, I heard the crowd go crazy. That was probably one of the only plays or  first plays I’ve actually been on the field and hear the sound of the crowd change — go from normal to when I jumped over him it was really loud,’’ Williams said. “I think it’s exciting for me, my teammates, the fans. That’s what I try to do, I try to create excitement for everybody that was watching us play, watching me play.’’

It is not like he is new to hurdles.

Along with football, Williams ran track at Cardinal Ritter High School (St. Louis) and won back-to-back Class 3 state titles in the 300-meter hurdles.

In 2018, Williams ran the 300-meter hurdles in 37.28 seconds, breaking the previous record set by Ezekiel Elliott, the Dallas Cowboys running back. Williams also won a state title in the 400 meters.

He tried hurdling defenders in high school with limited success.

“The first game of my senior year I did it and I scored. In St. Louis in high school, you can’t hurdle, it’s a penalty. They didn’t call a penalty on that one,’’ Williams said. “Then I did it my last game in the state championship. I hurdled somebody, I rolled over them but I was never down, I got up and finished but they called it a flag. So it got called back.’’

Williams’ speed is what set him apart on the football field at Alabama and now with the Lions.

He would like to get a chance to use that speed as a punt returner.

Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said Williams and cornerback Terrion Arnold beg him to return punts.

“I love it, it doesn’t mean they’re going to get that, but I love the fact that they want to do it because there are some other players that probably are hoping that their number’s not called, it’s just the reality of it,’’ Fipp said. “But you want guys who want to touch the ball, I mean, that’s how (former RB) Darren Sproles was, that’s how (former WR) DeSean Jackson was. I mean, those guys wanted to be back there, they wanted to touch the ball and they wanted to make a difference in the game, and they knew that it was an opportunity to do it.”

Williams has matured in his three years in Detroit and last week said flat-out he’s a football player. He takes pride in blocking and his connection with Jared Goff continues to grow.

Still, some NFL players do not want to play on special teams. 

“It’s football, it’s still football. You’ve got the ability to make a play and change the game on special teams,’’ Williams said, explaining that a punt return can be a game changer just like a play on offense or defense.

UP NEXT: Green Bay Packers (9-3) at Detroit Lions (11-1) at 8:15 p.m. on Thursday at Ford Field.)