Tag: chicago bears

Lions bounce back and edge Saints in a nail-biter; 5 reasons they held on to win

After taking what seemed like a commanding 21-0 lead midway through the first quarter, the Detroit Lions opened the door and let the Saints back in.

It was edge-of-the-seat time late in the fourth quarter, before the Lions held on for a 33-28 win at the Superdome when Jared Goff connected with Josh Reynolds for 12 yards to convert on third-and-9 with 1:09 left.

The Lions jump to 9-3 and remain atop the NFC North. They were coming off a tough Thanksgiving loss to the Packers and once again showed their resilience. They have not had back-to-back losses in 13 months.

“I think the teams that are able to respond after you lose a tough one, to me, it’s not easy to gain confidence in losses, but I think you have to be able to do that. You understand your own errors, you understand what you have to clean up and then you don’t want to lose that way again or  like that again or from that again,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We bounced back, I’m not surprised knowing the guys we have, the coaches in that locker room, the players we have. I’m not surprised.’’

That 21-0 lead in the first quarter set the pace early.

“We had some things that we wanted to do particularly offensively and defensively for that matter, and we had a good feel of it, they made some adjustments which we thought they would. Then it comes down to one player here, one player there, we’re an inch away from breaking another one. It was a chess game going on … 

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. A strong start was huge – a touchdown on the first drive on a 2-yard run by David Montgomery, then an interception by Brian Branch led to a Sam LaPorta touchdown and then a third TD, a 25-yard catch by Amon-Ra St. Brown. The 21-point lead with 7 minutes left in the first quarter was huge especially because the Saints defense was stingy after that quarter. “We had some things that we wanted to do particularly offensively and defensively for that matter, and we had a good feel of it. They made some adjustments which we thought they would,’’ Campbell said. “Then it comes down to one player here, one player there, we’re an inch away from breaking another one. It was a chess game going on.’’ The coach said they ran the ball intentionally on the first five snaps to re-establish confidence on the offensive line which was coming off a shaky game.

2. All week, and actually for two weeks, the Lions have wanted to cut down on turnovers and have the defense create them. Bingo. Derek Carr was intercepted by Branch on his first snap. And then later Tracy Walker recovered a snap fumble. The Lions have work to do but Jared Goff did not throw an interception and the offense did not give the ball away.

3. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta had a career day with nine catches (on nine targets) for 140 yards and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, on the Lions final drive, he caught the ball on a third-and-7 to keep the drive going and the ball away from the Saints who were just down 5 points. He became the first tight end in NFL history to produce 55 receptions, 550 yards and 6 touchdowns through 12-career games.

4. Goff controlled the game and made timely plays. He wasn’t perfect and he has certainly played better but when the Saints were breathing down their throats he remained poised and in control. On the final drive, when they had to hold onto the ball, Goff converted a third-and-7 with a pass to LaPorta and then a third-and-9 with a pass to Josh Reynolds. “That’s our guy, that’s what he does, the line was protecting well today,’’ Campbell said. “LaPorta, to be honest I feel like we were getting separation. LaPorta was showing up and Reynolds made a heck of a catch in the critical moments our offense finished it out for us.’’Goff  finished 16 of 25 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions set a single-season record by producing 325-plus total net yards for the 12th-straight game and Goff obviously has played a major role in that. 

5. The defense made a few key plays, but they have plenty of work to do after giving up too many explosive plays. Defensive lineman Bruce Irvin in his first game with the Lions had a big-time sack. Romeo Okwara had another. They looked tough early in the game but faded and let the Saints back in. It was a win and that’s all good, but much work to do especially on defense. 

BONUS: Wide receiver Jameson Williams had a highlight touchdown on a reverse end-around early in the fourth quarter. His speed was on full display and he dove into the end zone for a nice flourish. “It’s something that’s been in the laboratory cooking for a while, it felt like it was the right time to call it up,’’ Campbell said. “He executed it great, the thing was well blacked, he did a great job keeping his eyes on it, the rest was up to him. It was pure gasoline around the edge, it was a heck of a play.’’

INJURY UPDATE: Center Frank Ragnow left in the second quarter with a knee injury and didn’t return. Campbell said he won’t have more information until Monday.

NEXT UP: Lions (9-3) at Chicago Bears (4-8), 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. The Bears will be coming off a bye. The Lions won their first matchup 31-16 on Nov. 19.

Lions Dan Campbell says turnover ratio is concern, but overall he is not worried about team

ALLEN PARK — After rewatching the Thanksgiving loss to the Packers, Lions coach Dan Campbell said the big issue is the turnover ratio.

The Lions had three turnovers against the Packers and four in a win over the Bears the previous Sunday. In those two games Detroit had just one takeaway – a forced fumble by Cam Sutton that was recovered by Alex Anzalone against the Packers.

“That’s the major issue. We can talk about these other things, but until we clean that up the other parts of this are a little bit irrelevant and honestly they’re not the big issues,’’ Campbell said on Monday. “So we need to take care of the football.”

It is not lost on Campbell that six of the seven turnovers fall on Goff. He was intercepted three times by the Bears and lost three fumbles to the Packers.

“We’ve talked, he knows. Like I told him this morning, once you start to break the line of scrimmage you have to tuck it away. It’s as simple as that, it’s an emphasis we work on at practice,’’ Campbell said.

The turnovers are uncharacteristic for Goff who had thrown just five interceptions in the first nine games. Those were his first lost fumbles this season. He fumbled twice in the loss at the Ravens, but both were recovered.

“All these little things that come up, we’re not going to just yell harder, we’re going to give substance, you teach them, you show them,’’ Campbell said. “Here’s where you can be a little bit better – everything from pass pro to the rush, to the way we cover, to the way we jam to the way we protect the football or don’t protect …’’

The turnaround in turnovers will not be easy this Sunday against the Saints who excel at creating turnovers.

They’re very good, it’s a tough place to play too. This is going to be an unbelievable environment. It’s hard to win there but it’s exactly what you want,’’ said Campbell who played for the Saints (2009) and was an assistant coach there for five seasons.

If anyone thinks Campbell is in the dumps after dropping the game on Thanksgiving, they are just wrong.

The Lions are 8-3 and still atop the NFC North.

“I’m not getting worried, I love this, I’m serious. I love this. It’s doom and gloom outside our building, we’ve got six to go, we’ve got an unbelievable opportunity and I love it, I really do,’’ Campbell said.

 “This is what we find out what we’re made of and really everybody in this league for that matter. You talk about the month of December, there are some teams that will begin to rise and some teams will fall out of this. I love our team and I love where we’re at, and I know the guys we have in the locker room, I know these coaches. It should be good.’’

INJURY UPDATE: LB Alex Anzalone was injured Thursday and could be out for a bit, per Campbell. Safety Kerby Joseph was hurt but should be good to go. The coach was uncertain if left guard Jonah Jackson (wrist) will be ready to return after missing five of the last six games.

NEXT UP: Lions (8-3) at New Orleans Saints (5-6), 1 p.m., Sunday. The Saints are coming off a 24-15 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Detroit Lions fumble away chance to beat the Packers; five reasons for the 29-22 loss

DETROIT — While the Lions were favorites going into Thursday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, they didn’t play well on offense, defense or special teams.

The 29-22 loss to the Packers was a complete team effort. The Lions dropped to 8-3 and remain atop the NFC North. The Packers moved up to 5-6.

Know this, coach Dan Campbell is not in a panic mode. It’s not like he was happy afterward, but he knows this is the same team that has won eight games.

“They were ready, man. They played really well, and we did not. We didn’t play good enough and we did not complement each other, turned the ball over too much and we weren’t able to overcome those issues,’’ Campbell said.
It was the seventh straight Thanksgiving loss for the Lions. 

Five of the main reasons the Lions lost (in no particular order):

1. Turnovers were a huge problem. Goff lost three fumbles and the defense did not create a takeaway. “Everything’s got to start with the turnovers. We can’t turn the ball over and we’ve got to find a way to get takeaways. Let’s start there and then we’ll figure the rest out,’’ Campbell said. They turned it over four times on Sunday but still managed to beat the Bears. But they are playing with fire if they don’t get it fixed.

2. Packers quarterback Jordan Love had plenty of time in the pocket due to a lack of pressure from the defensive line. It’s not the first game where this has been apparent. “Same guys we’ve had here, and we’ve been able to generate pressure. So this unit’s going to be just fine. We’re going to get going and we pressured a little bit more today, played a little tight, but these are our guys, man. And these guys can do it and they’ve done it,’’ Campbell said. 

3. When quarterback Jared Goff is on his game the offense looks like a well-oiled machine. That didn’t happen on Thursday, in part due to his three lost fumbles. He had three interceptions on Sunday so it appears to be a trend. But he said there is no rhyme or reason to it. “I tend to look at them individually and see what I could’ve done better and sometimes there is an answer, sometimes there isn’t,’’ Goff said. “But overall, yeah, it’s my job to take care of the football and I’ve got to do a good job of that.” He finished 29 of 44 for 332 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The slow first half with just 100 passing yards was a factor in the loss. 

4. Goff was sacked three times and hit a dozen more but he did not blame the offensive line which was playing without starting left guard Jonah Jackson who is injured. “I’m behind what I believe is the best group in the League and those guys rushed well today, they did. They rushed well and did a good job,’’n Goff said. “I don’t point at our O-line for the reason of that at all. Probably could’ve got rid of the ball quicker on some of those as well. But yeah, it’s just some days, those guys rush pretty well and they did.”

5. Coaches didn’t have the Lions ready. They had a short week to prepare but it was the same for the Packers – except they also had to travel. No excuses. Campbell, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson have to do better. Campbell said as much.  “I didn’t have my guys ready to go. That’s the bottom line,’’ Campbell said.

UP NEXT: Lions at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 3.