Tag: Taylor Decker

Detroit Lions headed to NFC Championship after 31-23 win over Tampa Bay Bucs

DETROIT — It is not a dream.

The Detroit Lions, who have dwelled in the NFL basement for far too long, came through with a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs in an NFL divisional round game on Sunday to advance to the NFC Championship game next Sunday at San Francisco.

The Lions, your Lions, are one win away from playing in the Super Bowl.

“Here we are, sitting one of the last four teams. That was – that’s the type of game that I envisioned against Tampa,” coach Dan Campbell said. “I mean, that’s an outstanding team. That’s a hot team. We knew it was going to come down to the end.”

It had not completely sunk in with the players after the last bit of confetti had fallen from the Ford Field rafters.

“Frank (Ragnow) said it to me when we got in the locker room, ‘We’re playing in the NFC Championship.’ Of course we always work for this and towards this, but it’s here and it’s real. It’s kind of surreal in a sense,’’ said left tackle Taylor Decker, who was drafted by the Lions in 2016 and has experienced plenty of heartache.

Coach Dan Campbell has believed in this bunch all along. He repeatedly has said throughout the season that they “were built for this.”

“Dan talks about it all the time. This team was built a certain way for a reason,’’ Decker said. “And everybody in this locker room was hand-selected to be here. It’s a special group.”

They are not done. It’s back to work on Monday to prepare for the 49ers who defeated the Packers in a divisional game on Saturday night.

Five reasons the Lions won:

1.Let’s start with the very end. Linebacker Derrick Barnes intercepted Baker Mayfield on a second-and-5 from Tampa’s 15-yard line with 1:33 remaining and the Bucs down by 8 points. It sealed the win, allowing Jared Goff to go on the field for the victory formation – just like last week against the Rams. Aidan Hutchinson said it wasn’t the call played. Barnes said he wanted to see if Mayfield was going to throw the dagger behind him.  “I turned around and I see the ball coming and I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to drop this.’’ He was so emotional he doesn’t even remember getting to the sideline. He said when the ball hit his hands and he dropped to the turf, his first thoughts were: “What the hell just happened? First career interception, my son’s first game, a lot of emotions out there.”

2. Lions quarterback Jared Goff stayed patient. The Lions managed just 10 points in the first half, but came away with three second-half touchdowns. “It was huge, especially because we know that defense is very stingy. They have a great group especially against the run. We knew we might have to soften a little with the pass to open up the run game,’’ Decker said. “It’s one of those things, you keep chopping, keep hammering.  Those 2-, 3-yard gains in the run game are going to go to 10-yard gains.’’ And that’s exactly what happened. Goff completed 30 of 43 passes for 287 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “Goff made – I mean, fourth quarter, he really showed up there and made some big throws. And we knew we needed to throw the ball to move it today,” Campbell said. “That was – we went out there to Tampa and I’ve said this before, it was like swinging a sledgehammer against a steel door. I mean, we were just over and over and over. And so, we knew we needed to loosen them up before we started to run it and we did that.”

3. When it mattered the most, the defense came up big. Mayfield was sacked four times — Aidan Hutchingon (1), Brian Branch (1), Ifeatu Melifonwu (1.5) and Jalen Reeves-Maybin (.5). While Tampa won the battle in total yards – 408 to 391, the Bucs were just 4-12 on third downs and were held to just 89 rushing yards. They also had eight quarterback hits and two interceptions (Barnes and C.J. Gardner-Johnson).

4. In big games it’s key for the best players to be at their best. It happened for the Lions with wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown (8 receptions, 77 yards, 1 touchdown), tight end Sam LaPorta (9 catches, 65 yards) and running back Jahmyr Gibbs (9 carries, 74 yards, 1 touchdown and four catches for 40 yards). They had help which is what makes this Lions team special. WR Josh Reynolds and running back Craig Reynolds each scored a touchdown..

5. The game was not too big for the Lions, a young NFL team. Give Dan Campbell credit for his belief in this team. Look at the rookies – Gibbs, LaPorta and Brian Branch – they play like veterans. They got their first taste of the postseason a week ago in another close game, they digested it all, and came out firing on all cylinders on Sunday with a performance that will be remembered for a long time. 

UP NEXT: NFC Championship Game with Lions at 49ers, Sunday, Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m.

Controversial ending key to Lions 20-19 loss at the Cowboys

Two-point conversion to Decker negated over official’s questionable call

After a crazy finish, the Detroit Lions came up short, losing to the Cowboys, 20-19, at Dallas on Saturday night.

Down by 7 with 1:41 left, the Lions went 75 yards downfield with no timeouts and scored when Jared Goff connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown. 

Instead of kicking the extra point for the tie, the aggressive Dan Campbell went for 2 points. In the first attempt, left tackle Taylor Decker caught the ball in the endzone, but was penalized for not reporting. Campbell was furious and was yelling at the officials. It was not a reviewable play.

Video shows Decker talking to the official before the play.

“It sucks, I don’t know if I had this feeling before when you feel like you won and you didn’t. With that being said, the next two plays we had a chance at it …” quarterback Jared Goff said. 

“What I do know – and I don’t know if I’ll get fined for this – I do know that Decker reported. I do know that (Dan) Skipper did not and I know they say Skipper did. It’s unfortunate,’’ Goff added.

Decker said the same thing.

“I did exactly what the coach told me to do. I went to the ref and said ‘report.’ It was my understanding too that Dan brings up the possibility of those sorts of plays pre-game (to the officials),’’ Decker said.

Campbell, who doesn’t usually show his emotions after a loss, was visibly upset in the post-game press conference.

“I told the offense with 1:41 left we were going to go down and score and then we’re going to go for 2 and finish this game out. I told them that, that’s what we were doing,’’ Campbell said. “We were going for the win.’’

After the Decker play was negated, on the next try the Cowboys were penalized and then Goff could not connect with tight end James Mitchell.

So the Lions, the NFC North champs, fall to 11-5 and the Cowboys keep their home record perfect at 8-0. 

“In the end we knew it was going to come down to the wire. I thought our defense played really well today minus one play that was in our hands, we were there to make a play and we didn’t. Other than that I thought we did some really really good things …’’ Campbell said.

Five reasons the Lions lost (other than the official’s apparent bad call):

1. Overall the defense played well but midway through the first, Derrick Barnes had quarterback Dak Prescott within reach for a safety, instead Prescott slipped through and connected with CeeDee Lamb for a 92-yard touchdown play. That put the Cowboys up 7-3. The defense had no answer for Lamb who had 227 receiving yards (including that 92-yarder) but they were tough against the run, holding the Cowboys to 61 rushing yards. 

2. Quarterback Jared Goff didn’t have his best night in part because the offensive line also didn’t play at its best. He was pressured often, sacked once and threw two interceptions. He was at his best in the less-than-two minute drive that ended the game. He finished 19 of 34 for 271 yards and a touchdown pass. “We had plenty of opportunities, it never comes down to one play of course. We didn’t play our best on offense throughout most of the game and did towards the end,’’ Goff said. “The second half I thought we played a lot better. We had plenty of chances to score …’’

3. The run game amassed 125 yards, but again didn’t get consistent help from the offensive line. Jahmyr Gibbs had 43 yards on 15 carries while David Montgomer carried 14 times for 656 yards and a touchdown. That double threat will be integral to the Lions in the playoffs. 

F4. Campbell is known for his aggressiveness and that did not change. In the second quarter on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard line, he went for the touchdown instead of the safe 3 points. The pass to Sam LaPorta for the TD was incomplete. In that same drive, Campbell called a fake punt that had Jalen Reeves-Maybin pass to Khalil Dorsey for 31 yards and  the first down. The Lions were 2 of 3 on fourth downs.

5. In the big picture, the defense looked playoff worthy, but the offense (while it was able to come back at the very end and almost win it) has some work to do. 

UP NEXT: Minnesota Vikings at Lions on either Saturday, Jan. 6 or Sunday, Jan. 7 at Ford Field. The schedule will be announced on Sunday.

Five things to watch as Lions face Packers at Lambeau; plus, prediction

ALLEN PARK — For years it was mostly misery when the Lions played the Packers at Lambeau Field. That changed last season. The Lions have won three straight against the Packers.       

It’s hard to forget the season-ending Lions’ 20-16 win in Green Bay which knocked the Packers out of the playoffs. Earlier on that Sunday, the Lions playoff hopes had been wrecked.

With that huge nationally televised victory, the Lions went into the offseason on a positive note

“It’s a good win on the road, a division opponent. If you can’t get in, that’s the way you’ve got to end it. You win some games, you find a little bit of a flow, it’s always good to win on the road especially in this division,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Tuesday. “That’s the extent of it now it’s a new season, we know we can win out there. We’ve done it before but you’ve got to go earn it.’’

In a battle for the lead in the NFC North, both teams go into Thursday night’s game with 2-1 records.

It’s a short turnaround from Sunday to Thursday but, like Campbell said, the Packers are going through the same thing so it’s a level playing field.

Five things to watch:

1. Keep the pass rush working like it did against the Falcons. Don’t expect seven sacks every week, but must get pressure on quarterback Jordan Love. He is not Aaron Rodgers but he’s played well enough to get two wins so far. He’s mobile and has the second-most rushing yards on the team. Love has completed just 53.1 percent of his passes (compared to 69.9 percent for Jared Goff) but has thrown seven touchdowns against just one interception. “I think when everybody’s just doing their part and we’re staying disciplined to our responsibility, then everybody gets to eat,’’ Campbell said. “If we don’t do that and we’re not all totally in tune, it can make it hard. I’d like to believe it is sustainable.’’

2. Shut down the run again. Atlanta, which had averaged 170.5 rushing yards per game in its first two games, was held to 44. While the Packers average just 90.3 rushing yards per game. AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones (if he’s active) must be stopped.

3. If running back David Montgomery (thigh) can’t go, expect more from Jahmyr Gibbs who looked like he was finding his rhythm in the fourth quarter on Sunday. He had four runs for 41 yards in the winning touchdown drive. Gibbs said he’s always confident in running between the tackles (or anywhere) but he looked like he was in more of a groove in the fourth quarter. It’s easy to forget he’s a rookie.

4. The only thing Goff needs to work on is his vertical jump so as not to embarrass himself if he tries the Lambeau Leap like he did last week at Ford Field. Goff has a few hitches in his giddyup but not many. He said the interception he threw last week was his worst pass of his career so don’t expect we’ll see that again. He has formed quite a bond with rookie tight end Sam LaPorta who has 18 catches for 186 yards in three games. He’s second in receptions and yardage behind the consistently consistent Amon-Ra St. Brown. 

5. Improving the third-down conversion rate might not be a the top of Dan Campbell’s list but it’s somewhere on it. The Lions offense is converting just 37.5 percent of third downs. They’re almost as effective at fourth downs converting 2 of 6 (33.3 percent).

PREDICTION: Lions 31, Packers 21. Could be a close one but give the Lions an edge due to their defensive play against the Falcons.