This Detroit Lions season was more exciting than it has been in many, many years. Maybe ever. And it almost started with a home loss.
There were plenty of nerves in Michigan when the Los Angeles Rams took a late lead. But many championship teams get tougher when faced with tough situations, and the Lions might look back on Sunday night’s game as a blueprint for better things.
The Lions should feel fortunate to be 1-0. The Rams put together a fantastic effort, led by impressive performances from Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, and led in the final minutes of regulation. But the Lions drove to tie the score with a field goal, then won in overtime. The Lions won the toss and drove down the field with the running game gobbling up huge chunks of yardage. David Montgomery scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on the first drive of overtime and the Lions won 26-20. It was an eight-play drive in overtime and the Lions ran it seven times.
There may be some concern about the Lions’ defense not covering anyone or letting a 17-3 lead slip away, but the mood in Michigan will still be pretty good on Monday. The way the Lions took control in overtime was a statement.
The Rams fight for the lead at the end
The Rams’ effort on Sunday night was impressive, considering the challenges they faced.
The Cowboys had plenty of lineup issues before the game and they got worse after kickoff. The offensive line was missing several players. Star receiver Puka Nacua, who suffered a knee injury in August, hurt the same knee in the first half. He tried to get back into the game but left shortly after and was ruled out at halftime. When they fell behind 17-3, it looked like it would be a long night for them. No one would have blamed them for losing in Detroit with a shorthanded lineup.
However, the Rams were still in the game in the fourth quarter. The Rams scored a touchdown to cut Detroit’s lead to 17-10, and then, although a touchdown that looked to tie the game was nullified due to a holding, the Rams settled for a field goal and trailed 17-13. Jared Goff threw an interception deep in Rams territory, giving Los Angeles a chance to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Stafford was fantastic on the Rams’ next drive, completing all eight of his passes, including a 9-yard touchdown to Kupp. With 4:30 left, the Rams were leading.
The Lions weren’t content to let the Rams back into the game and take the lead, but they had their own fightback and forced overtime.
The Lions are having trouble covering Cooper Kupp
The Lions’ defense had a lot of improvements in the offseason, particularly at cornerback, but there were problems Sunday night. In particular, they were unable to cover Kupp. Still, they managed to get a crucial stop late in the fourth quarter.
The Rams had a chance to run out the remainder of the clock, but had to punt after Stafford threw an incomplete pass on third-and-10. The Lions had a chance to at least tie the score and had more than two minutes on the clock.
The Lions got lucky after that. Sam LaPorta caught a pass over the middle and 15 yards were added on for an unnecessary roughness penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the tackle. That put the Lions in field goal range with plenty of time left and two timeouts to use. The Lions had a chance to win in regulation, but Goff fumbled a pass on third down and Detroit settled for a game-tying field goal with 17 seconds left. The game went into overtime.
The Lions won the coin toss. Detroit drove right into Rams territory with two big runs on their first two plays. They kept running the ball all over the field, and Montgomery ran it in for the game-winning touchdown. It wasn’t always pretty for the Lions, but they’ll take the final result.