DETROIT – The Detroit Lions bullied the Los Angeles Rams in overtime to win a thrilling opening game at Ford Field.
The highly anticipated playoff rematch lived up to the hype, with the Lions getting the ball down by three points with under five minutes to play and forcing overtime.
Matthew Stafford never got a chance to touch the ball in the extra period because of NFL overtime rules. He finished with 317 yards, a touchdown, and an interception on the night.
Strong start on defense
The new-look Lions defense got off to a great start in the first half, holding the Rams to just three points on 166 total yards.
On the very first drive of the game, Alex Anzalone lit up Kyren Williams for a loss on first down and then dropped Cooper Kupp behind the line on third and 11.
Stafford began the following drive with four straight completions on short, quick passes. He led the Rams all the way into the red zone before a sack by Marcus Davenport and Levi Onwuzurike forced the Rams to settle for a field goal.
Los Angeles drove right down the field again on the next possession, but the secondary stiffened up inside the 30-yard line. Stafford followed a pair of rare incompletions with a six-yard pass to Puka Nacua, and the Rams decided to go for a fourth and 4 instead of kicking a 40-yard field goal.
Stafford’s fourth-down pass hit Kupp in the hands, but new lead cornerback Carlton Davis did just enough to disrupt him, and the ball fell harmlessly to the turf.
So despite a pair of long drives -- 13 and 12 plays -- the Rams were left with just three points after their first three possessions.
Lions take early lead
Ben Johnson established the run early in the game, handing off to David Montgomery eight times on the second drive. But the Lions ultimately stalled inside the 10-yard line and settled for a Jake Bates field goal.
On the next drive, Detroit traded power for speed. Jameson Williams got the first pass across the middle and took it 36 yards. He got a handoff three plays later and gained another 13 yards.
Jahmyr Gibbs took care of the rest. On paper, it was only 12 yards on four carries, but Gibbs made two key plays to pick up a third and 1 at the 5-yard line and later to get into the end zone through contact.
Matthew Stafford interception
A couple of bad penalties by the Lions put the Rams in position to tie the game right before halftime.
Davenport jumped offside on a second-down stop, and later, Aidan Hutchinson picked up a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty to erase what would have been a long third down situation.
But the Lions secondary came up big once again. Stafford tried to thread the needle to Tyler Johnson, and Kerby Joseph leapt in front to pick him off in the end zone.
I’m not sure if you remember, but Stafford doesn’t like Joseph very much. He made that clear when he accused him of being a dirty player during last season’s playoff matchup.
Well, I doubt Stafford is feeling any warmer toward Joseph after that pick, which sent the Lions into the locker room with a 10-3 lead.
Jamo explosion
The teams exchanged three-and-outs to start the second half, and the stop by the Lions defense felt critical after the offense stalled and Ennis Rakestraw missed an opportunity to pin the Rams inside the 5-yard line on special teams.
The streak of punts stopped there. On the third play of the next possession, Jared Goff hit Williams for a 52-yard bomb that put the Lions up two touchdowns.
Williams roasted Tre’Davious White with a double move on the play, even drawing a penalty for illegal contact, which the Lions declined.
Rams respond
But with Stafford at the helm, the Lions knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
Stafford hit Kupp for 13 yards on a key third and 10 to avoid another three-and-out on the following drive.
A few plays later, the Rams converted a fourth down deep in Detroit territory. A pass interference on rookie Terrion Arnold set up Kyren Williams for a two-yard touchdown run.
The Lions offense gave the ball right back to the Rams with a three-and-out, as Goff’s third-down pass to Sam LaPorta left them a yard short of the marker.
On the final play of the third quarter, Johnson caught a short pass that should have gone for a three-yard gain, but shoddy tackling by the Lions allowed him to sprint 63 yards, all the way to the 23-yard line.
The fourth quarter began with a second pass interference on Arnold in the end zone, setting up the Rams on the 1-yard line with a chance to tie the game.
But Hutchinson drew a holding penalty on an end-around to negate a touchdown, and then he drew another one on a third-down stop that forced a field goal attempt.
The Rams settled for three and pulled to within 17-13.
Goff throws costly pick
The Lions had a chance to really put the game away with a touchdown, and the drive got off to a promising start.
Goff picked up a third down with an unlikely seven-yard run, and also found Jameson Williams again for 27 yards.
But Goff turned the ball over on an ill-advised throw to Amon-Ra St. Brown over the middle. John Johnson III picked it off at the 20 yard line.
Stafford led the Rams on a 10-play, 80-yard drive capped by a Kupp touchdown catch to take a 20-17 lead with under five minutes to play.
Lions answer late
It looked like there would be no magical ending for the Lions this time, as the offense went three-and-out for the third time in the second half to give the ball right back to the Rams.
But the defense got a stop to hand the ball back to Goff, even though Stafford completed an unbelievable third-down pass with pressure in his face to move the chains once.
The Lions had a chance to win the game in regulation with a touchdown, but their drive stalled in the red zone and Bates drilled a 32-yard kick to knot the game at 20.
Hutchinson sacked Stafford to officially send the game to overtime.
Overtime bully ball
When the Lions won the coin toss to get the ball first in overtime, they left absolutely no doubt about what was going to happen.
Montgomery carried the ball five times for 45 yards as part of a methodical eight-play, 70-yard march to the end zone.
Ben Johnson only called one pass on the drive: a dump-off to Gibbs in the flat that went for 10 yards.
Other than that, it was all Montgomery, Gibbs, and Kalif Raymond on the ground. Montgomery punched it in from the 1-yard line to secure the walk-off win.
Final stats
Goff finished the game with 217 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Montgomery led the Lions with 91 rushing yards on 17 carries. Gibbs finished with 74 total yards on 11 carries and four catches.
Jameson Williams caught five passes for 121 yards and a score. Meanwhile, St. Brown was held to just 13 yards on three grabs.
Anzalone led the Lions with 13 tackles, while Hutchinson finished with one sack and four quarterback hits.
