Tag: jared goff

Five things to know about Lions 51-29 loss at Seahawks

While COVID and injuries have decimated the roster for weeks, on Sunday at Seattle the Detroit Lions were outmatched and outplayed in the 51-29 loss.

Coach Dan Campbell has found bits of magic here and there during the two-win season, but it was difficult to find positives on Sunday except for wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown who continues to excel in his rookie season.

Detroit’s defense could not stop the Seahawks’ run game or Russell Wilson. It was a mismatch in the trenches all day long. It was not an unexpected loss and, in fact, the Lions (2-13-1) were better in the second half, once again showing off their never-give-up spirit.

Five things to know:

1. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown continues to amaze. Doesn’t matter that the surrounding cast is depleted, this guy moves. On Sunday he became the first rookie in NFL history with at least eight catches in five straight games. In the loss, he also scored his first rushing touchdown along with eight catches for 111 yards and one receiving touchdown. Remember he was a fourth-round draft pick. 

2. The Lions did not appear to give up even when they were down 31-7 to start the second half. Credit to Campbell. Several of the young guys are trying to earn a roster spot in Detroit or elsewhere for next season. That helps, but not enough. Campbell has somehow got them playing hard for 60 minutes no matter the score. In the second half Detroit actually outscored Seattle, 22-20. (Sometimes you have to dig deep to find a positive.)

3. Dan Campbell continued his aggressive play-calling throughout and not just on fourth down. In the third quarter he had Tim Boyle throw to offensive lineman Matt Nelson who couldn’t keep his mitts on the ball. Then he tossed a touchdown pass to left tackle Taylor Decker. Didn’t see that coming. Of course, a lack of healthy tight ends made that an option. When the Lions get more talent, hope Campbell keeps up with the aggressiveness and out-of-the-box calls.

4. Quarterback Tim Boyle, in his third career start, threw for an interception to start the second half but redeemed himself a bit with a touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the third quarter. Boyle is who he is. He is not Jared Goff (knee) who was watching from the sidelines. Boyle finished 22 of 37 for 262 yards (a career-high), two touchdowns and three interceptions.

5. Defensively Detroit had no answer for running back Rashaad Penny who had 25 carries for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This is the same defense that held the Falcons to 47 rushing yards in the previous week’s loss. The Seahawks finished with 497 net yards including 265 rushing yards. Campbell is in it to win it until the bitter end and it is obvious he has got his players thinking the same way.

NEXT UP:  Green Bay Packers at Lions at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 9, to close out Detroit’s season. The bitter end.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

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.