DETROIT – The Detroit Lions caught fire on offense Sunday and overcame a miserable defensive performance to earn a last-second victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Fast start for Lions
The Lions were raring to go coming out of the bye, jumping out to a quick 17-3 lead midway through the second quarter. The lead could have been even larger, as the Lions had a touchdown called back due to penalty (and settled for a field goal) and later got stopped on a 4th down at the goal line.
Jahmyr Gibbs was leading the way with 72 rushing yards, 24 receiving yards, and a pair of touchdowns through the first four drives.
The defense also got off to a strong start (that would change). The Chargers went three-and-out on two of their first four possessions, and Kerby Joseph picked off a Justin Herbert pass on the second play of another.
Aidan Hutchinson forced a handful of incompletions with pressure, and Alex Anzalone had five tackles and two quarterback hits in that span.
Welcome back, David Montgomery
The strong start by Gibbs overshadowed the return of David Montgomery. At least for awhile.
But late in the second quarter, Montgomery reminded everyone why he’s the one who leads the team in carries. He took a handoff from Jared Goff on the first play and scampered 75 yards for a touchdown, just barely staying in bounds.
The Montgomery run was aided by a great downfield block from Jameson Williams, whose touchdown had been called back by a penalty in the first quarter. Williams took out a defender who had an angle on Montgomery, turning what would have been just a long run into a long touchdown run.
Chargers fight back
But the Chargers weren’t going away. Right after the second Gibbs touchdown, Herbert converted three critical third downs -- two through the air and one on the ground -- to get into Lions territory. He eventually found Keenan Allen deep over the middle for a 29-yard touchdown that brought the Chargers back within one possession.
On the very next drive -- following the Montgomery run -- Herbert found Allen three more times, including a 28-yard gain on 3rd and 2. The Chargers marched right down the field and ultimately scored on 4th and 1 from the 2-yard line.
As a result, the Lions led just 24-17 at the break, despite racking up more than 300 yards of offense.
Lead evaporates
Campbell said earlier this week that the Lions wanted to be much better in the third quarter. That goal didn’t necessarily get off to a strong start Sunday.
The Lions got the benefit of a huge penalty on their first drive after the break. It appeared they were going to go three-and-out after Josh Reynolds caught an 8-yard pass on 3rd and 10, but defensive back Derwin James was called for a 15-yard penalty on the tackle, and it gave the Lions a first down.
James got his revenge, though. After a big gain for Amon-Ra St. Brown got the Lions across midfield, James jumped a snap and tackled Gibbs for a 3-yard loss on first down. The Lions couldn’t recover, and Dan Campbell was forced to punt from the Chargers’ 37-yard line.
Jack Fox pinned Los Angeles inside the 10, but it didn’t matter. A pass interference on Jerry Jacobs got the Chargers some breathing room and Herbert found Allen wide open over the middle on back-to-back 3rd down conversions.
Herbert capped off the 92-yard drive by hitting Jalen Guyton for an 18-yard touchdown.
St. Brown breaks through
With the momentum swinging heavily against them, the Lions went to their best player. St. Brown already had five catches for just under 100 yards going into the drive, but his biggest moment came with the score tied at 24.
Goff found St. Brown running across the middle on 3rd and 3, and he turned it into a 33-yard gain. On the very next snap, St. Brown took a screen pass 20 yards untouched into the end zone.
With five minutes remaining in the third quarter, St. Brown already had seven catches for 144 yards. He finished with eight catches, 156 receiving yards, and nine rushing yards.
Defense continues to struggle
No lead was safe, though, because the Lions couldn’t get a stop on defense. After allowing three straight touchdown drives of 75, 75, and 92 yards, the unit once again failed to protect a lead.
A backbreaking pass interference on Cam Sutton kept the Chargers alive on a 3rd and 12, and even without Allen on the field due to injury, the Lions couldn’t stop Herbert. There was very little pressure, and the secondary allowed way too much separation.
The Lions appeared to get a stop on 4th and goal from the 2, but a second pass interference on Sutton gave the Chargers a first down at the 1-yard line. Detroit stuffed LA three times before Herbert found Quentin Johnston wide open in the back of the end zone on 4th down to tie the game.
Tight ends break out
It didn’t look like the Lions were going to make any plays on defense, so Ben Johnson pulled out all the stops when they had the ball in their hands.
Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta had just one catch in the first three quarters, but he came up big on the team’s first possession of the fourth, catching two passes for 25 yards, including a 19-yard gain on 3rd and 2 near midfield.
A few plays later, with the Lions facing a 3rd and 1, Goff faked to Montgomery and lobbed a perfect ball over the middle to Brock Wright, who hauled it in and trotted into the end zone from 25 yards out.
5th straight Chargers touchdown
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Lions once again couldn’t hold the lead on defense.
The Chargers picked their way across midfield with a few short gains before a Julian Okwara tackle of Austin Ekeler set up 4th and 1.
But like every other fourth-down play on Sunday, the Lions’ defense wasn’t up to the challenge. Herbert faked a handoff and found a wide open Allen, who cut back across the field and scored a 38-yard touchdown.
Game-winning field goal
It felt like the last team to possess the ball would win, and the Lions got the first shot at it, taking over with 3:34 remaining.
Kalif Raymond took a short pass on the very first play and turned upfield for 41 yards. But two plays later, the Lions faced a 3rd and 14 from the Chargers’ 38-yard line -- too far for a field goal attempt.
St. Brown caught a 12-yard pass to set up a 4th and 2 from the 26, and instead of trying a long go-ahead field goal with more than 90 seconds on the clock, Campbell opted to go for it, and Goff found LaPorta for a 6-yard gain that ultimately turned out to be the biggest play of the game.
Detroit kneeled the ball three times to set up a 41-yard field goal with 2 seconds left, and Riley Patterson nailed it to secure the win.
Final stats
Goff finished 23-of-33 for 333 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. It was one of his most impressive overall performances of the season.
Montgomery led the team with 116 rushing yards on 12 carries, but Gibbs chipped in a very respectable 77 yards on 14 carries. They combined for three touchdowns.
Alex Anzalone led the team with nine tackles. Hutchinson added a trio of quarterback hits.
Standings
The Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, so the Lions’ lead in the NFC North remained at 1.5 games.
Detroit is now 1 game behind the Philadelphia Eagles for the best record in the league, and 1 game ahead of the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Seattle Seahawks.
