DETROIT – The Detroit Lions completely overpowered the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night in front of a raucous Ford Field crowd to improve to 6-2 on the season.
Fans packed Downtown Detroit for the city’s first Monday Night Football game in five years, and the Lions did not disappoint. The score was closer than the actual game for awhile, but in the end, the Lions came out on top 26-14, and out-gained the Raiders 486-157 in yardage.
Jahmyr Gibbs led the way with 152 rushing yards on 26 carries and 37 additional yards on five catches.
Amon-Ra St. Brown caught six passes for 108 yards. Sam LaPorta added eight grabs for 57 yards and a score.
Close score despite Lions dominance
The Lions dominated the first 20 minutes of the game, stifling the Raiders on defense and putting together a trio of scoring drives.
Unfortunately, all three of those drives stalled deep in Las Vegas territory, and instead of being up 21-0, the Lions settled for three Riley Patterson field goals that made it 9-0.
That opened the door for the Raiders to get right back in it, and that’s exactly what they did. During a 10-play drive that featured eight runs, Las Vegas went 75 yards in 5:12 to pull within two points.
But the Lions responded immediately with a 79-yard scoring drive of their own, capped by an 18-yard dart from Jared Goff to Sam LaPorta in the end zone. They left just 27 seconds left on the clock for Las Vegas, and as a result, went into the break up nine points.
Julian Okwara got the Lions off to an excellent start after the break, sacking Jimmy Garoppolo on 3rd and 9 to force a punt. Jahmyr Gibbs ripped off a 24-yard run on the next play to get the Lions down to the Las Vegas 32-yard line.
But on an ensuing 2nd and 6 at the 28, Goff made an ill-advised throw across the field, and it was picked off by Marcus Peters. Peters returned the interception 75 yards for a touchdown that brought the Raiders within two.
Goff bounced right back, hitting Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 14-yard gain on 3rd down to keep the following drive alive. Three plays later, Craig Reynolds took an inside handoff on 3rd and 8 and moved the chains once again. Goff went back to Reynolds on the next play for 12 more yards.
It was all for nothing, though. Reynolds got back-to-back handoffs inside the 5-yard line, even though Jahmyr Gibbs had been running well and ripped off a 17-yard gain to get the Lions to the 4. Reynolds fumbled on the second of those two carries, giving the ball back to the Raiders.
Lions make late push
A big Davante Adams drop on third down got the Lions off the hook, and Gibbs didn’t let the coaches take the ball out of his hands a second time. He received a handoff on the third play of the drive and scampered 27 yards for a touchdown. The carry also gave him 100 rushing yards in a game for the first time in his NFL career.
After the Gibbs touchdown, the Lions led the Raiders 396-112 in total yardage, but the score was only 23-14. Las Vegas had a chance to stay right in the game with a score.
Alim McNeill had other plans. He had already batted down a pass and made a tackle for loss in the first half, and this time, he sacked Garoppolo on third down to force a Raiders punt.
The Lions didn’t get into the end zone on the following drive, but it was still productive. Gibbs helped them burn more than 6 minutes of clock, and they got three points on a 52-yard field goal from Patterson.
Disaster struck Las Vegas on the next kickoff, as return man DeAndre Carter let the ball bounce before trying to field it just outside the end zone. It bounced off of him and stopped right at the goal line, and by the time he picked it up, the Lions were there to tackle him at the 2-yard line.
A personal foul on Jack Campbell gave the Raiders some life, but three sacks on four plays -- two from Alex Anzalone and a second from McNeill -- unofficially put the game away.
What this win means
With the win, the Lions improved to 6-2 and polished off a strong first half (well, almost half) of the season. They head into the bye week with a two-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings, who just lost quarterback Kirk Cousins for the rest of the season.
The Lions have never been in better position to win the NFC North Division.
Detroit is also just one game behind the Philadelphia Eagles (7-1) for the best record in the NFC. The 5-2 Seattle Seahawks, 5-2 Dallas Cowboys, and 5-3 San Francisco 49ers are also right in the mix. Those are the only five teams with winning records in the NFC.
