Tag: Jahmyr Gibbs

Five reasons the Detroit Lions lost 37-31 in OT to the Seahawks

DETROIT — Dan Campbell will be serving up slices of humble pie this week after a 37-31 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Ford Field was electric, the fans were jumping out of their seats expecting the very best after the big win at the Chiefs 10 days prior.

What they did not see was the Lions at their best. Two critical turnovers on offense put more pressure on the defense. Not a good equation.

“I know it stings and those guys are disappointed, I’m disappointed, the staff is, but my gosh this is good. We’ll get a little humble pie here,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. 

Expectations are high for these 1-1 Lions and the season is not over. 

“Sometimes you don’t know exactly where you’re at until you’re in it. We come off a big win and you can always preach certain things but this is the NFL, these guys ame in, took that win and they earned it,’’ Campbell said.

It was the first win for the Seahawks who were coming off a home loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Five things that were costly:

1. The defense had trouble getting pressure on quarterback Geno Smith. The only sack — and it was big — came late in the fourth quarter when linebacker Alex Anzalone went the extra mile to sack Smith for a 17-yard loss on a third-and-10 play with 2:11 left. “I think we’ve got to stay true to the rush plan itself. One more time, close the pocket in on him and don’t give him anywhere to go and somebody’s going to get one here,’’ Campbell said. “But we can’t rush high and let him run through unevaded.’’ Smith finished with 328 passing yards and 20 rushing. Anzalone said Smith may be old (he’s 32) but he still has wheels. Anzalone also said the biggest thing the defense needs to work on is tackling.

2. The Lions turned the ball over three times. The one fumble as the clock ran out in the first half just didn’t matter. The other two were huge. On the first play of the third quarter, running back David Montgomery fumbled and Seattle recovered on Detroit’s 23-yard line. Two plays later Seattle scored a touchdown. Jared Goff’s streak of 383 passes without an interception was snapped when a pass intended for Jahmyr Gibbs was intercepted by Tre Brown and returned for a touchdown. Goff took the blame saying he was about to get hit so had to throw the ball before Gibbs broke for it. “If there was some magic world where we could take away the turnovers today I thought we played pretty well. But outside of that, the turnovers are what kill you,’’ Goff said. “We have to take care of the ball, we didn’t and it cost us.’’

3. Campbell said he thought Goff played “really well.’’ It was the interception that was huge. Otherwise he was 28 of 35 for 323 yards and three touchdowns. But the loss stings, Goff  said they all do. “You would like to get the first one for the fans. That’s why it stings a little more. That was a real, real, real home-field advantage for us today,’’ Goff said.  Having them do that for the rest of the year will be a real, real home field advantage but you have to give them something to root for, though, and continue to find ways to win games.’’

4. The Lions had a chance to win it when they got the ball with 1:44 left at midfield, down by 3 points. They managed to get down to the 20-yard line with 3 seconds left and kicked a field goal to tie it and send it to overtime. Goff didn’t attempt a deep pass for a touchdown on the drive. “I never felt like we were crunched against the clock to score a touchdown,’’ Campbell said. At that point they were without right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Montgomery, Taylor Decker (who was inactive) and while Amon-Ra St. Brown was back in the game after cramping and they didn’t know if he was limited.

5. Wide receiver Josh Reynolds had another big game with 5 catches for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “Reynolds is really playing big for us now. He’s been a reliable guy since he’s been here, he just had some injuries last year that slowed him down at times when eh’s healthy and he’s going he’s somebody we have a lot of faith in,’’ Campbell said. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta came up big for the second straight week. His five catches for 63 yards do not tell the whole story. He also had a key block on David Montgomery’s touchdown scamper. “I think his run after catch is pretty special and his hands, his catch point is really competitive. He’s starting to find himself and how he wants to play the game and how he fits in our offense,’’ Goff said. “I’m excited to see his development.’’

INJURIES: Montgomery left the game with a thigh bruise, according to Campbell. The coach said James Houston could be out a while, but was not more specific. He had no news on Vaitai who left the game and did not return. 

UP NEXT: Falcons at Lions, Sunday, Sept. 24, 1 p.m. The Falcons (2-0) edged the Packers, 25-24, on Sunday.

Five things to watch as Lions open at home against Seahawks

ALLEN PARK — Coming off the big win at the Kansas City Chiefs, the Detroit Lions expect a loud, raucous crowd on Sunday at Ford Field in the home opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

“I’m expecting it to be loud. I’m expecting – I know what Arrowhead is and it was loud. I expect it to be louder than that, I really do. I just know our fans and it’s going to be – it’ll be to the point where you can’t hear yourself think, so, for them anyway,’’ coach Dan Campbell said.

Since immediately after the win, the mantra is “That’s one.” Now onto the next. 

Quarterback Jared Goff said they plan to build off the momentum.

“You’ve got to keep finding ways to win and keep playing well and practicing well and fixing our mistakes, and there were plenty of them in that game, and finding ways to win,’’ Goff said.  “And I think that’s what we’ve done well over this little stretch where we’ve been winning. It’s just late in the fourth quarter, making plays, need guys stepping up. We had a rookie make a pick-6 the other day, stuff like that helps you win and we’ve got to keep doing it.”

The Seahawks have beaten the Lions two straight years — 48-45 in 2022 and 51-29 in 2021.

“We remember and really two years in a row, they’ve beaten us two years in a row and yeah, we remember and want to get our shot back, but they’ll be ready,’’ Goff said. “They’re coming off a loss and have a lot to play for as well, so we’ll be ready for a good fight.”

Seattle (0-1) is coming off a 30-13 loss to Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. 

“I thought they held their own for a while and it got to the point where I think after the injuries, they got a little bit behind the offensive injuries and the defense had gotten a little bit worn down, but this team always presents problems,’’ Campbell said. “It’s been a thorn in our side for two years and so, we know what’s going to be coming in here. We’re going to assume the best out of them and they got after us pretty good last year, real good, so that’s something we won’t forget.”

Five things to watch:

1.  Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn knows Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and expected him to run the ball early and often. “That’s his background, that’s who he is. … We’re going to have to commit to stopping the run because they will run you out of the stadium if you don’t,’’ Glenn said. “We also have to be able to stop the explosive passes. They have receivers who can take you down.” Running back Kenneth Walker rushed for 64 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry last week.

2. While the offense played well enough in Week 1, one emphasis will be on third-down conversions after converting just 5 of 15 third-down attempts. “We did have chances, some of those short yardage, call it 2-6 (yard) area, we weren’t very good,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “I think we were 2 of 7 for the game, we should be over 50 percent based on what we’re aiming for. …  It’s something that L.A. did really well last week against these guys. They didn’t run the ball particularly well but they were able to stay on the field on third down and they had some explosive plays out of it. We need to be better there.’’

3. While the Lions did not sack Patrick Mahomes, he was pressured with 17 hurries and 7 quarterback hits. The discipline showed and that leads Glenn to believe that sacks will come. “I thought Hutch (Aidan Hutchinson) really played his ass off as far as being disciplined and he had a couple shots at the quarterback along with (James) Houston, he had a couple shots as well,’’ Glenn said. “… I’m proud of the way our guys, the discipline as far as how we rushed them. Sometimes sacks can be overrated.I like sacks, I do. Everybody does, the discipline is what I like more because that carries over into the next couple weeks on how you have to rush the quarterback. Those sacks are going to come.’’

4. Expect to see more of rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs who was solid in his debut. Campbell said he didn’t want to put too much on him in the opener so veteran David Montgomery got more touches. Neither disappointed. They must keep it up against the Seahawks’ defense. “We will get Gibbs going as he gets more comfortable. We always have plays tagged for him going into the game but we feel really strongly about David as well. That whole combination, that 1-2 punch is good for us,’’ Johnson said.

5. The fake punt at Kansas City helped set the tone for the game. The Lions are 7 of 8 on fake punt attempts since Dave Fipp was hired as special teams coordinator in 2021. Not only do these fakes make an immediate difference, but opponents have to always be thinking about the possibility on every punt.  “Coach Campbell is incredible with that stuff, I’ve said that every time we run one of these things. Really the players are the guys who go out and execute it,’’ Fipp said. “… Ultimately it’s those guys out there making plays and the head coach having the confidence in those guys to call them. It’s been good.’’

KEEP AN EYE ON: Left tackle Taylor Decker (ankle) is doubtful so the O-line will be adjusted if he’s out.

PREDICTION:  Lions 31, Seahawks 17.  Detroit is the better team and with the home crowd cheering them on, can’t see them laying an egg.

Detroit Lions make a statement, knocking off Chiefs, 21-20, in opener

After the Kansas City Chiefs raised their Super Bowl banner, they met the new version of the Detroit Lions which strongly resembles the team that won 8 of 10 games to end last season.

On Thursday, the Lions got key plays all-around as they edged the Chiefs, 21-20, at roaring Arrowhead Stadium.

“We expected to win this game. We came in here, we knew what we needed to do,’’ Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We did that. Really, what it means is, that’s one.’’

Running back David Montgomery’s 8-yard touchdown run with 7:06 left tied the game and Riley Patterson’s extra point put the Lions up 21-20. Then Detroit’s defense took over and shut down Patrick Mahomes and the offense, not allowing a Chiefs’ third down in the second half (0-7).

With 2 minutes left, the Lions offense got the ball back, and with 3 rushing plays got a first down. Then all quarterback Jared Goff had to do was take a knee to run out the clock.

“It’s something we talk about is closing games out. With our offensive line and what we have offensively we need to be able to do that. It’s something we worked a lot on – situational football,’’ Campbell said. “Everybody knows the strength of our offense and it’s the O-line.

“Defensively before that, they showed up in a big way. We talked at halftime about cleaning up some of our communication errors,’’ Campbell said. “We needed a takeaway and we needed to be much better on third downs. We did that and we got a takeaway to the house and we were 0-7 on third downs in the second half. Then to close it down on that last drive.’’

This is Year 3 for Campbell and GM Brad Holmes and on Thursday they saw their vision for the team come to life and, perhaps better yet, it was nationally televised. That hype train that’s been running for months? Turns out, it was not just hype.

“This is a total team win,’’ Holmes said during a TV interview afterward.

Five keys to the win:

1. One of the best offensive lines in the NFL did not disappoint. The five starters are healthy and what a difference it makes. They opened up lanes for running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, along with giving Jared Goff time to find his receivers. The line is the strength of the offense and it came up huge.

2. Goff handled the pressure and kept his streak of no interceptions intact. “All week I thought he looked confident, calm and steady … I thought he played very steady today,’’ Campbell said. “He did what we needed to do to win this thing.’’ Goff was 22 of 35 for 253 yards including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

3. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was everywhere. He’s credited with three quarterback hits and four tackles, but he pressured Patrick Mahomes early and often. It wasn’t all about Hutchinson, but that up-front pressure helped the secondary. Overall the defense was impressive. Mahomes is no slouch. He had never thrown an interception in an opening game. They were in his face and knocked him a bit off his game.

4. Rookies were a standout including nickel Brian Branch who intercepted Mahomes and then ran the ball back 50 yards a touchdown. On David Montgomer’s 8-yard touchdown run, rookie TE Sam Laporta made a key block; linebacker Jack Campbell made a diving pass breakup in the first half. And running back Jahmyr Gibbs carried seven times for 42 yards, including an 18-yard scamper, and caught 2 passes for 18 yards. It’s early but so far the draft class looks like a winner.

5. On the Lions’ second possession, Campbell called a fake punt on a fourth and 2 at Detroit’s 17-yard line. No one was expecting that, but Jalen Reeves-Maybin ran 3 yards up the gut to make it work. Gutsy call. This is not a stretch for Campbell who has fake punts in the team’s repertoire. This isn’t likely to be the only one this season. It’s another sign of how this team reflects Campbell’s aggressiveness, passion and grit. He said it’s just one win, but it looks like they’re just getting started. 

NEXT UP: Ford Field will be rocking when the Seattle Seahawks visit at 1 p.m. on Sept. 17.