By George Eichorn
What an amazing comeback for the Detroit Lions last Sunday.
Working on their second game out of three in 11 days, quarterback Jarod Goff guided the team to a come-from-behind victory of NFC North rival Chicago, 31-26, in sold out Ford Field in downtown Detroit.
Despite four turnovers – including three interceptions thrown uncharisticaly by Goff – the Lions roared back to move to 8-2 in the NFC, just one game behind Philadelphia for the top seed come playoffs time. Detroit scoring 17 points in the last 4:15 of the game was superb.
It never fails to amaze me when a team can sputter much of the game and then – like magic – turn it around in the “two-minute” drills or even less time left than that. Goff’s turnovers marred his day yet he managed – like good teams do – to muster an effective offense in the m\ost crucial part of the game. This is what good teams do and the Lions are surely a good team.
First came the fourth quarter drive which took all of 1:16 on just six plays and 75 yards, culminating with Goff finding rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams deep right for 32 yards and a touchdown. Only 2:59 was left in the game as the Lions closed the gap to just 5 points at 26-21.
The next series was brutal for the Bears as they failed to use their best rusher – quarterback Jordan Fields – and settled for a three and out drive. The Lions wisely used two timeouts which left plenty of time (2:44) to try and score the winning points.
Again Goff led the Lions; driving down the field 73 yards in 11 plays and using 2:04 on the clock. Running back David Montgomery fittingly scored on a one-yard touchdown against his former teammates. Wisely the coaching staff of Dan Campbell went to a two-point conversion and Goff’s pass to rookie tight end Sam LaPorta gave the Lions a 29-26 lead over the Bears.
Just seven seconds into the Bears’ desperate final drive, Fields suffered the ultimate humiliation as he was sacked by Lions second-year pro Aidan Hutchinson and fumbled the ball in the process. As Hutch chased the loose ball, Bears offensive lineman Darnell Wright kicked the pigskin out of the team’s end zone for a two point safety, giving Detroit a 31-26 lead and sealing the victory.
Hutchinson was so excited he picked up the football and proceeded to boot it – like a punter – deep into the raucous Ford Field lower bowl.
Some naysayers still think the Lions 8-2 finish in 2022 and 8-2 start in 2023 is more to do with luck than skill but not this reporter. Think about that stat – Detroit is a combined 16-4 in their last 20 games – the mark of a Super Bowl contending team!
It’s forward down the field again for the Lions on Thanksgiving Day when they welcome old nemesis Green Bay to Ford Field (12:30 p.m. on CBS-TV). Lions fans would like nothing better than another “W” before hitting the road for games in New Orleans and Chicago.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our Motor City Tribune and South Florida Tribune followers!
Reach George Eichorn at geichorn@yahoo.com or @Sandgsports99 on X (formerly Twitter). Purchase his book by clicking on this link:
Detroit’s Sports Broadcasters: On the Air: Eichorn, George B, Introduction Harwell, Ernie,
Harwell, Introduction Ernie: 9781531617660: Amazon.com: Books
