We don’t want to speak too soon, but it may be a new era in Detroit. Thursday night, at Lambeau Field, the Lions jumped out to an early lead over the Green Bay Packers, dominating the scoreboard 27-3 by halftime. Normally, anyone familiar with Lions football would not have believed that the Packers had any real reason to panic. After all, just like real Lions, Detroit had gotten into the habit of feasting early and quickly, then immediately stumbling under a tree and falling asleep. They had become known as a team for which no lead – of their own – was safe.
Under previous head coach Matt Patricia, the Lions blew a total of 11 second-half leads in 37 games, including a record-setting four double digit leads in a row in 2020. They simply could not figure out how to stay in control of a game and close the deal. Things have been slowly getting better under head coach Dan Campbell. Although he started off his tenure with an 0-8 run, they have now won nine out of their last eleven games, dating back to last season.
Thursday night’s win was notable because, despite jumping out to an early, impressive lead, the Lions still managed to hang on and win the game. Jared Goff’s stats were solid, but not overly impressive on this particular night: he was 19 for 28, with 210 yards and 1 TD. He didn’t turn the ball over, but the real story was the Lions run game: they had a 289-21 yard advantage over the Packers, making them only the second team after the Falcons to top 209 yards rushing so far this season.
Jordan Love wasn’t abysmal, but he couldn’t protect the football as well as Goff. He went 23-36 with 246 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, and 1 Rushing TD. Notably, with David Bahktiari sidelined with an injury, Love was sacked five times. The Lions pass rush has picked up speed over the past couple of weeks – they have recorded twelve sacks in the last two games.
Early in the 4th quarter, the Packers looked like they were gearing up for a comeback. On yet another display of ineptitude by the officials, a play that should have been blown dead after the game clock had hit zero was allowed to stand, leaving the Packers to start the 4th quarter on the Lions nine. Two plays later, the Packers scored, cutting the lead to 27-17 with just over 14 minutes to go. It was at this point that we presumed that Detroit would respond by stumbling around on the field, confused, while the Packers rallied past them to win the game.
But these aren’t the same old Lions. Before, in the dark days of PatriciaBall (as we call it here in New England) the Lions would have been caught unawares by the Packers late push. As if surprised that the other team also knew how to play football, they would have failed to exercise the tenacity, focus, and discipline necessary to hold on and pull out the win.
This time was different.
This time, they had a coach who never let them forget that the Packers are also a professional football team. A team that was also trying to win the game. A team that, if they really tried, could probably keep scoring unless the Lions stopped them. And stop them, they did. The Lions came right back at the Packers with a 14 play, 75-yard TD drive of their own that chewed nine minutes off the clock and sealed the Packers fate. In doing so, they improved their record to 3-1 and took decisive control of the NFC North, where they now sit in 1st place. For the first time in history, the Lions have a real shot at winning their division.
Jared Goff is now 11-3 in his last fourteen starts and looks very little like the hapless dimwit that Sean McVay seemed to imply that he was while Goff was languishing with the Rams. Despite a Super Bowl appearance, Goff regressed as a quarterback under McVay, but he is thriving under Campbell. He has been on time, accurate, and has made intelligent decisions with the football. His ability to throw receivers open has also noticeably improved, as has his ability to read defenses. It helps, of course, that Amon-Ra St. Brown is the real deal. Goff stands as a testament to the value of a team having the patience to develop a quarterback. He is a credit to the Lions front office and coaching staff.
The Lions are finally awake, it seems. I wonder if they were serious about bringing in some real ones…?