Injury depleted Detroit Lions lose shootout vs Seahawks, fall to 1-3

DETROIT – The injury-depleted Detroit Lions fell to the Seattle Seahawks 48-45 in the highest-scoring game of the young season.

Detroit entered the game bereft of weapons on both sides of the ball as on offense, starting running back D’Andre Swift was out with injuries to his shoulder and ankle. Starting wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and D. J. Chark sat with ankle injuries, but that didn’t stop them from scoring 45 points in defeat.

Jared Goff

The Lions’ offense led by quarterback Jared Goff was clicking without its stars as he looked like his old self, good or bad.

Goff finished the day going 26-39 for 378 passing yards and four touchdowns, but his pick-six to cornerback Tariq Woolen ultimately changed the game for the worse.

“It was just a late, late bad decision,” said Goff. “Can’t do it. It was just dumb.”

T. J. Hockenson

Most of Goff’s pass attempts went to tight end T. J. Hockenson, who had a record-setting day.

Sunday was a career day for the four-year tight end out of Iowa as he caught eight receptions for 179 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard scamper on the final play of the third quarter, which set up the Lions in Seahawks territory to start the fourth quarter.

Teammate Josh Reynolds finished the drive for six, but Hockenson caught the two-point conversion to bring the score to 38-31.

The 81-yard catch and run was the longest passing play by the Lions since (Megatron) Calvin Johnson made an 87-yard catch and run in 2013. It’s the longest reception by a Lions tight end since Marcus Pollard had an 86-yard catch in 2005.

Hockenson became the third tight end in NFL history to produce a game with 120 yards, at least one touchdown, and a two-point conversion.

Jamaal Williams

With Swift out until after the bye week, running back Jamaal Williams stepped up big in his absence.

Williams carried the ball 19 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first Lions player to record three multi-rushing touchdown games in a season since Barry Sanders back in 1997.

He also became the first Lions running back to produce 100 plus yards and two scores at Ford Field since 2011. Williams’ most memorable play came in the third quarter when he scored on a 51-yard dash to restore the roar in the Lions’ den.

Defense

But it was Detroit’s defense that fans will remember most as they couldn’t stop a nosebleed, giving up 48 points to a Seahawks team that combined to score 47 points entering week four.

‘I’m going to sit down with Aaron Glenn,” said head coach Dan Campbell. “AG is a damn good coach, and this is the same thing I told the team. The worst thing we can do is start pointing fingers at each other. ‘You did this, and we didn’t do this.’ We can’t do that, man. We can’t let anybody pull us apart because, as dismal as it is right now, we’re not as far away as it feels, but until we do something about it and quit talking about it, it doesn’t matter.”

Campbell continued:

“We can say we’re going to be better, but until we actually do it and make a commitment and we got to coach better, they got to take it on their shoulders. They need some accountability. Our captains and vets need to say enough is enough, and what are they going to do about it? What are we going to do about it as well? I mean, we’re all in this same boat together, and we got to clean it up, but I know this, we can’t go into panic mode because it’s the worst thing you can do.”

Detroit played 60 minutes and didn’t force Seattle to punt Sunday (Oct. 1), which is a first in Seahawks franchise history. The defense was so putrid that the only time Seattle didn’t score was when kicker Jason Myers shanked a field goal wide left.

Geno Smith

The Lions’ defense made journeyman quarterback Geno Smith look like the fictional character Willie Beamon as his dominance came early and often.

Smith finished the game with 320 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also hit the ground running as he carried the ball four times for 49 yards while adding another score with his legs.

Smith’s performance was career-setting as it was the first time in his 10-year career that he threw for 300 yards in consecutive games.

D.K. Metcalf

Coming into week four, Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf took to the media to discuss the dominance of Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah, who in his previous three matchups took down some prominent wide receivers.

“He’s got a safety behind him,” said Metcalf. “He’s not locking people down.”

Metcalf backed up his words when talking about Okudah, going for 149 receiving yards on seven catches. He was so superb on Sunday that he pulled a Paul Pierce and rode the medical cart to the back to relieve himself in the middle of the game.

Rashaad Penny

Seattle running back Rashaad Penny loves playing against the Lions as he finished the game with 151 yards and two touchdowns, which he almost duplicated as, in 2021, Penny ran for 170 yards and two scores.

Penny broke loose during pivotal third downs as the crowd cheered on the team in Honolulu blue. His first big run came in the waning seconds in the third quarter on third down and 16 as he scampered for 36 yards going nearly untouched.

Detroit didn’t learn their lesson, so Penny did it to them again in the fourth quarter on yet another third down as he bolted for 41 yards to stick the dagger in the Lions’ hopes of a comeback.

Detroit is taking their show on the road as they will face former head coach Matt Patricia, and the New England Patriots, who are on their third-string quarterback. If the Lions can’t stop the Patriots without Mack Jones and potentially Brian Hoyer, then the team is in for a long season.

What will the Lions do moving forward? How can they turn their season around?