DETROIT – Dan Campbell laughed about the video of his offensive coordinator sprinting down the sideline and waving his arm during one of the Detroit Lions’ biggest plays against the Chargers.
It was late in the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 38. Detroit got the ball back at its own 25-yard line and called a play-action pass on the first play.
Jared Goff found Kalif Raymond wide open running toward the left sideline, and Raymond caught the ball and turned upfield. As he passed the first down marker at the 35 and picked up speed, his offensive coordinator decided to join in on the play for a few steps.
Ben Johnson was caught on the broadcast running alongside Raymond and windmilling with his right arm. He actually looked pretty fast, and then you can see his feet at the top of the screen after Raymond got tackled at the Chargers’ 34.
It was a 41-yard gain, but Johnson managed to keep up, kind of.
“I didn’t realize he was running down,” Campbell said. “I think he ran right in front of me. I didn’t even know it. Yeah, he was moving. He was pretty excited. He can still run pretty good.”
It’s no surprise Johnson was excited -- he called one of his best games. The Lions racked up 533 yards and dropped 41 points to win a shootout.
40 yards on the first play of the drive thanks to Kalif Raymond's speed 💨
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
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