DETROIT – A pair of long trick plays and a late touchdown drive helped Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions finish the season with a victory over the Green Bay Packers.
With the win over their division rivals, who had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC before kickoff, the Lions finish the 2021-2022 season 3-13-1.
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It’s hard to view a three-win season as a success, but the Lions finished on a high note, going 3-3 with victories over the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals and Packers following an ugly 0-10-1 start. For the first time in decades, it feels like the Lions might have the early foundation to build a contender.
Trick plays
Sunday’s win was a masterpiece in play calling for Campbell, who has come into his own after some early struggles on the headset.
It started late in the first quarter, when wide receiver Tom Kennedy took a reverse and tossed a 75-yard touchdown pass to Kalif Raymond.
Detroit’s next score came on a fourth-down throw from Jared Goff to rising star Amon-Ra St. Brown. The rookie came into the game with 43 catches, 451 receiving yards and four touchdowns in his previous five contests. Sunday was no different, as St. Brown grabbed eight passes for 109 yards and a score.
The Lions took a 17-13 lead into halftime, even though Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay starters played the full 30 minutes (other than a Jordan Love kneel with two seconds left).
After the break, Campbell dialed up another beauty, with Goff handing the ball off and getting it back on a double reverse. He hit a wide open Bock Wright for a 36-yard touchdown.
Game-winning drive
That gave the Lions a brief 24-13 lead, but the Packers weren’t done fighting. Love responded with three straight scoring drives -- a field goal and two touchdowns. That stretch was capped by a 61-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Deguara and two-point conversion that put the Lions in a 30-27 hole.
Goff got the ball back with 4:49 remaining -- plenty of time for an offense that passed for more than 300 yards on the day. He led a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown run for D’Andre Swift.
The defense picked off Love two plays later to set up a Riley Patterson field goal, and then sealed the game with another pick on the ensuing drive.
No. 2 draft pick
Draft position was a background story in this game, as the Jacksonville Jaguars blew out the Indianapolis Colts and left the door open for the Lions to secure the No. 1 overall pick.
Instead, the Lions will pick second after their upset victory.
