Tag: jared goff

Five things to know about Lions stunning win over Cardinals

It wasn’t just the biggest win of the Detroit Lions’ season, it was a statement, even though coach Dan Campbell wouldn’t call it that.

The Arizona Cardinals (10-4) , arguably one of the NFL’s best teams, had not lost on the road this season. But on Sunday that record fell as the Lions (2-11-1) stunned the Cardinals, 30-12, at Ford Field.

No one gave the Lions much of a chance to win with a few big exceptions including Detroit’s coaches and players. 

“We knew we could win this game, we feel like that every week. We knew we could but we knew we had to play a certain type of game,like any week if we can execute the game plan,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “… We knew to win this game it was going to be a dogfight and it was going to come down probably to the last possession. Well it didn’t this time. I don’t see it as a statement. In this league anybody can win, anybody can lose. I know this, our guys were prepared and that was a good win.’’

That’s a bit of an understatement. It was a full team win in all three phases. Glimpses have been shown all season of the possibilities, but it’s been tough to put them together for wins. Sunday may have been a look into the future.

Five things to know about Sunday’s win:

1. Campbell and GM Brad Holmes have had a game plan to build a team with high character players. The coach thinks it showed on Sunday. “We’ve got the right guys, we really do. And as far as guys you want character wise and what they’re made of. We don’t have guys who are worried about themselves or complaining about this or it’s somebody else’s fault,’’ Campbell said. “We have guys who just want results and how can I help? That always gives you a chance.’’

2. Aside from character, the win was what they have been trying to achieve all season. “I’d say it was a lot closer. To be able to feel like you have control of the game. They were playing our game, we weren’t playing theirs,’’ Campbell said. “That’s what we need to be able to do.” The Lions got the ball first and ate 8:50 off the clock on a drive that ended with a field goal. The defense held the Cardinals to three-and-out, then the Lions came back with a drive finishing with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown very early in the second quarter. So it was 10-0 to start. That’s key. Plus they just held on. They didn’t know they weren’t supposed to win.

3. Jared Goff had his best day in a Lions uniform, throwing for three touchdowns and zero interceptions. “He made some outstanding throws today. The first one to St. Brown was unbelievable, he had to step up, release it quick. The throw to (Josh) Reynolds right before halftime, a huge play,’’ Campbell said of the 22-yard touchdown pass. “(Goff) got us the right play, I thought he maneuvered well, he took some hits, he bounced back. I thought he played outstanding.’’

4. The losing season has tested Goff but he said his love of the game kept driving him. “It does test you and that way it has strengthened. Then you win a game today against arguably the best team in the league. On paper we don’t match up with them, on paper we don’t,’’ Goff said. It was next man up at so many positions.Goff mentioned safety Will Harris who played corner. Running back Craig Reynolds who got his second start and rushed for 112 yards. The offensive line has been playing musical chairs all season due to injuries. But on Sunday, everyone who played executed his job and it showed.

5. The Lions defense was phenomenal. (Don’t think I’ve typed that sentence in many years). The Cardinals didn’t score a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter. They didn’t pick up a first down until the second quarter. Campbell said he couldn’t find the right words for defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn who put together a masterful gameplan especially considering he was without so many key players. Linebacker Charles Harris was on fire with 1.5 sacks, a dozen tackles, three tackles for loss and a partridge in a pear tree. Cornerback Amani Oruwariye’s interception in the fourth quarter set up a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jason Cabinda on the next play. Campbell said those two plays shifted the momentum back to the Lions who held a 24-3 lead at that point.

NEXT UP: Detroit Lions at Atlanta on Sunday, Dec. 26, at 1 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Five things to know about the Lions win over the Vikings

While the Lions have excelled at losing games in the waning minutes this season, they had never had the ability to seal a win. Until Sunday.

With four seconds left on the clock, quarterback Jared Goff threw a perfect 11-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to win the game, 29-27, over the Vikings at Ford Field.

“I’m proud of our guys. I’m happy for them, of course I’m happy. We’re all happy. I’m happy for the coaches, I’m happy for everybody. But it’s like, you want this so bad for the players. Because they’re the ones who put in all the hard work and the sweat and the tears. And yeah, we all do—and so do the coaches,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “But it’s also—that’s what makes this great. When you lose, it hurts. It’s hard, it’s hard. But it’s also why winning is so great in this league. Because it’s not easy to do and when you get them, man, it’s special. I’m just proud of those guys. I’m proud of them.”

The Lions are now 1-10-1, and some weight has been lifted from their shoulders

Five things to know about the win: 

1. Goff operated a 75-yard, 13-play drive with 1:50 left and one timeout remaining. The offense knew its role, knew to get out of bounds when possible, knew that it had to be nearly flawless to get the win. “We made some mistakes and we weren’t perfect. We played well in the first half, but that second half offensively we stalled, I threw the pick, made the fourth down turnover. We weren’t good,’’ Goff said. “We weren’t perfect, but having the ability to overcome mistakes is a sign of a good team and a winning team and that’s something we did today.”

2. Keep an eye on St. Brown. They’ve been trying to get the ball to him more often. In fact, three weeks ago they started working on the touchdown play in practice. He knew with 4 seconds left he had to catch the ball in the endzone. He was surprised by the Vikings’ soft coverage and took advantage. We’ll be seeing more of the rookie wide receiver. “I’ll be honest with you, we have a lot of trust in him. We have for a while, it’s just trying to get him the football here a little bit and staying on the field and being able to—we did a good job of first, second down today. We stayed efficient and we were able to continue to gather some drives because our third downs still weren’t good enough. But our first- and second-down efficiency was really good, so we were able to stay on the field and spread the ball around a little bit. But we have a lot of trust in him. He’s one of those guys who has become pretty dependable for us,’’ Campbell said. Goff on St. Brown: “He’s a stud.”

3. The defense kept the Lions in it after they watched their 20-6 halftime lead disappear and fell behind late in the fourth quarter. Also, the Vikings tried and failed on three 2-point conversions thanks to the defense. That could’ve been the difference i the game. “(Aaron Glenn) had a good beat on what they were going to do over there. And it’s just—we were prepared. Our guys did a good job,’’ Campbell said. “You can’t prepare them for every look you’re going to get, you just have to play the odds by personnel and looks that you get and hope that they play their roles. And they did a good job today. We did and it made a difference.”

4. Goff and Campbell shared a big hug in the post-game celebration. It’s been a tough season. Several weeks ago Campbell took over the offensive play-calling and was first to admit he needed some polishing. “I thought he called a great game today. I think today was kind of – we had the Pittsburgh game with the weather and I had the oblique thing, the Cleveland game where I didn’t play, and we also had weather. Last week was kind of our really first shot at like him really kind of trying to dial stuff up,’’ Goff said. “And then this week, I thought he really settled in well and was really good. It was really smooth. You guys saw the operation, it was smooth. I don’t think we had any false starts. I don’t know if we had an offensive penalty outside of the delay-of-game, but it was really good.”

5. The team needs to build on its first win. “Look, I think you acknowledge that this is what it took for us to win. We should all feel good, but man, what about these mistakes that could’ve cost us? We had some of those and you guys know it. So, we’ve got to continue to coach the negative because now, that’s not only how you win, that’s how you get better at winning if you can get to that point,’’ Campbell said. “And so, we just have to coach up those little things and continue to improve. So, Denver is not going to be easy either. None of these are easy, but this was a good start. And, I’m proud of them. They’ve continued to play, they played one more time and now let’s see if we can get them to play again, which they will.”

 NEXT UP: Lions at Denver Broncos, 4:05 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 12.

Five things to know about Lions Thanksgiving loss to Bears

In the annual Thanksgiving Day game, two series with back-to-back-to-back penalties stalled the Lions’ offense.

Then late in the game the defense was in disarray. Back-to-back timeouts were called which is illegal in the NFL, cost a penalty and then the Bears kicked the game-winning field goal.

It was another Lions’ game — a 16-14 loss — that left a bitter taste in the mouth.

The Lions (0-10-1) are still looking for their first win. The Bears (4-7) provided a good opportunity to punch it in at Ford Field. Instead it was just another punch in the gut.

“It’s just a matter of we have to learn how to win. Once we learn how to win then we can begin to see the fruits of our labor a little bit,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “The effort is there, the fight and the fact that here we are, it’s 3 games in a row we’re right there at the very end. 

“There again, I see improvement. I sit there and watch and I see some of these guys get better and better. What encourages me is I know the core of this team and I know the vets we’ve got and the young guys. These guys aren’t going to lay down, that’s not what these guys are made of, that’s what keeps me hopeful to know we are building something,’’ Campbell said.

It’s a familiar refrain for this team years after year, decade after decade. Rebuilding since 1957.

Five things to know about the Lions loss:

1. On two Lions’ offensive series there were back-to-back-to-back penalties.In the second quarter Detroit had first-and-10 at Chicago’s 29-yard line. They were in field goal range and then a false start by T.J. Hockenson was followed by a holding call on Evan Brown and then Jamaal Williams was called for a false start. All of a sudden it’s first-and-30, then second-and-26, then third-and-32, then punt. Campbell said some teams can overcome penalties but the Lions can not. “The bottom line is we put ourselves in those third-and-a mile situations and that’s on us. Those things kill you,’’ Campbell said. It happened again in the fourth quarter. Fans booed loudly when Goff completed a 7-yard pass on a third-and-32. 

2. Jared Goff who returned after missing Sunday’s game due to injury completed his first dozen passes, but the offense had trouble establishing the run game finishing with just 76 rushing yards. Goff had a different outlook on the penalties. “The false starts are absolutely on us, that can’t happen,’’ Goff said. “You can call holding on every single play, it’s no excuse we’ve done it too much and I know those guys are hard on themselves up front. Back there they can throw that flag every play and to me it seemed like it was a little too often on that call.’’ D’Andre Swift left the game with a shoulder injury which affected the offense but still no excuse.

3. When a defense holds an opponent to 16 points, the team should be able to find a way to win. Campbell praised the defense repeatedly for keeping them in the game. And yet when the Bears got the ball with 8:30 left in the game, the Lions defense could not get them off the field. They went down and kicked a game-ending, game-winning field goal.

4. Calling back-to-back timeouts in the final minutes is inexcusable. The defensive players have to understand and know what is going on. Here is how Campbell explained it: “It was a check by what they were doing. So you don’t get it until it’s in the middle of the play, but it’s something that we had talked about. And so you don’t get it pre-snap, it’s a call and it’s got basically a check on it to what they’re going to do and what they line up in offensively is what happened. So we had half in one call and half in another. So the first thing in my head is, ‘Well, we’ve got a blown coverage and they’re about to score a touchdown, so I do it, which you can’t do and now it’s a penalty. But I know that if he threw it out in a flat it was about to be a touchdown.’ Can’t do it.”

5. Coaching has to be under scrutiny. Not just the conservative play-calling, but also having guys prepared. That whole back-to-back timeout situation is a perfect example. And the Lions finished with a season-high 10 penalties costing 67 yards. In Week 12 that should not happen. No excuses.

UP NEXT: The Lions host the Minnesota Vikings (5-5) on Sunday, Dec. 5, at Ford Field.