FORD FIELD
WEEK 3: SUNDAY, SEPT. 26, 2021
The following are post-game notes and quotes from the Detroit Lions’ 19-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Ford Field on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021.
POST-GAME NOTES
LIONS SCORING PLAYS
Third Quarter: RB D’Andre Swift ran for a two-yard touchdown with 5:21 left in the quarter to cut the score to 13-7. K Ryan Santoso made the extra point.
Fourth Quarter: RB Jamaal Williams ran for a one-yard touchdown with 8:16 left to cut the score to 16-14. K Ryan Santoso made the point-after attempt.
Fourth Quarter: K Ryan Santoso kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:04 to play to give Detroit a 17-16 lead.
TEAM NOTES
The Lions…
Had two different running backs (RBs D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams) each produce at least 65 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in the same game for the first time since RBs Ameer Abdullah and Joique Bell did so at New Orleans on Dec. 21, 2015. The last time this happened in a home game was when RBs Reggie Bush and Joique Bell did so vs. Green Bay on Nov. 28, 2013.
Had four different players notch a full sack in a home game for the first time since doing so on Oct. 25, 2015 vs. Minnesota. The last time Detroit had four different players each with at least 1.0 sack was on Nov. 10, 2019 at Chicago.
Have produced 72 first downs through three games, tied for the second-most through three games in franchise history.
Held Baltimore to 1-of-10 (10%) on third downs. Their one third-down conversion ties for their fewest in a game and fewest since 2014, while their 10% conversion rate ties for their fifth-worst in a game and worst since 2014.
o This marks the first time Detroit has held an opponent to a single third-down conversion since 2015 and is the
lowest third-down percentage they’ve allowed since 2013.
Continued their NFL-leading streak to 11-straight red zone drives resulting in a touchdown when RB Jamaal Williams scored on a one-yard rush in the fourth quarter. Their streak ended on K Ryan Santoso’s fourth-quarter field goal.
Held Baltimore to one touchdown, their fewest in a game since only producing one on Nov. 4, 2018 vs. Pittsburgh.
Held Baltimore to zero first quarter points for only the second time since Week 1 of the 2020 season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
LB ALEX ANZALONE
Totaled five solo tackles and 1.0 sack on the day, becoming the first Lions linebacker to have at least five solo tackles and 1.0 sack in a game since 2019.
OLB AUSTIN BRYANT
Notched 1.0 sack, the first of his career.
QB JARED GOFF
Completed 22-of-30 passes (73.3%) for 217 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 93.3 passer rating.
Through three games, he’s completed 86-of-123 passes for a 69.9 completion percentage, the highest completion percentage by a Lions quarterback through the first three games of a season.
Has produced a passer rating of 92.0-or-greater in each of the first three games of the season, joining QB Matthew Stafford (2013, 2011) as the only players in franchise history to do so.
OLB ROMEO OKWARA
Notched four tackles (three solo) and 1.0 sack on the day, his first of the season.
His sack marked his 20th with Detroit and the 21st of his career.
RB D’ANDRE SWIFT
Rushed 14 times for 47 yards (3.4 avg.) and a touchdown and added seven receptions for 60 yards (8.6 avg.) for 107 total scrimmage yards on the day.
Joined RB Billy Sims (1980) as the only players in team history to total nine rushing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns through 16 career games.
Has 19 receptions through three games this season, the most in franchise history by a running back in that span.
Produced his sixth-straight game with at least 70 scrimmage yards and his ninth-straight with at least 40 scrimmage yards.
Became the third running back in team history to total at least 40 receiving yards in each of the first three games of a season.
Has produced at least 100 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in consecutive home games, the first Lions running back to do so in consecutive home games since RB Joique Bell in 2014.
RB JAMAAL WILLIAMS
Rushed 12 times for 42 yards (3.5 avg.) and a touchdown and added two receptions for 25 yards (12.5 avg.) for 67 total yards from scrimmage.
Has now produced rushing touchdowns in each of his first two home games as a Lion.
PFWA Pool Reporter Justin Rogers Interview with Referee Scott Novak
On if he know if the TV play clock is representative of what the stadium play clock is in these situations: “I don’t know if they’re synced up or not. But as far as our mechanics, the back judge is looking at the play clock and if it were to hit zero, he sees the zero, and he then looks to see if the ball is being snapped. If the ball is being snapped, we will let the play go. If it’s not moving, it’s delay of game. Those are the mechanics that we apply on that play.”
On if he has had a chance at all to review the play in question: “I have not.”
On if there is any possibility that the back judge is unable to get in proper position or alignment to get the best view of those plays in that situation: “No, I don’t believe so. The back judge was in position on everything all game. So, I wouldn’t doubt that he wasn’t in position on that play.”
On the throwaway on that play, why that is not intentional grounding when the quarterback throws the ball away like that: “Two aspects for intentional grounding – one, the quarterback has to be under pressure. And then two, when he throws the ball over to a sideline or whatever it is, as long as he has a receiver on his team somewhere between the sideline and the numbers, which we did in that case, then that also takes it off. But no pressure, no grounding for the quarterback. And then with the receiver over there, there’s nothing as well.”
On confirming if he has no reason to believe there was an error made with the play clock: “I haven’t looked at the play. I have no idea. I can just tell you the mechanics of how it’s covered on the field.”
LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET
Opening statement: “That one goes without saying, that was a tough one. But, here’s what I do see. I see improvement. I thought our defense showed up today. I thought—even though it wasn’t perfect and the way that ended—that’s the best they’ve played thus far. Offensively, we hurt ourselves in the first half. But we did come back in the second and give ourselves a chance there at the end.”
On what was going through his head during Baltimore’s game-winning field goal: “I just—I don’t even know how to describe it. I just—I didn’t think it would make it. I know he can reach it if you kick it low. But you just—if you said that, ‘They’re going to hit a 66-yarder to win the game,’ you’d take those odds. But he made it. Kudos to him. They put themselves in position to do it, too. That’s when you talk about—for them it’s, ‘How do we get one more opportunity to at least take a swing at this?’ Because that’s why. That’s what happens.”
On if this is a crushing loss: “Yeah, because there again, you feel like you put yourself in that position. Even though we didn’t play perfect. But yeah it does. But I also know that the silver lining is that we’re getting better. We really are. I was proud of the way they competed. I felt like we were going to find out a lot about this crew—our guys I’m talking about—coming out of this because I really think Baltimore is a gritty, tough team year in, year out. If you’re not prepared to face them, they’ll bully you and beat you and beat you up. I thought we went in there and competed, I did. I thought we gave them all they could handle, but they walked away the winner here, so we didn’t do enough.”
On if there should have been a delay-of-game penalty on Baltimore’s final drive: “There’s nothing I can say to that. Because it’s the same thing. Tomorrow you’ll get an apology and it doesn’t mean anything. That’s life. That’s the hand we were dealt and we still had an opportunity. That was fourth and a long way to go and we gave it up.”
On why the Lions defense only rushed three players on the Raven’s 4th-and-19 play: “No, I mean, I know—it’s not—the call I thought was fine, it was just the way we played the call. We—communication errors. Look, we—I’ve said it before. It’s not an excuse, it’s a matter of how quickly you can clean it up. But we’ve got—we do have growing pains. There’s things we have to continue to work out and work out the kinks and grow from this and learn from this. This is really, this is the first time that some of those guys have been through that situation that were out there.”
On if he feels different after this failed fourth-quarter comeback than he did after the Week 1 loss to San Francisco: “I told you guys, I am proud of the way that we fought because we did fight our way back into this game. So I don’t question that. I know we have the right guys here that are made up of the right things. Look, they were crushed, those guys. It hurts. But I also know, I feel pretty confident that these guys are going to come back to work tomorrow to clean it up and then Wednesday they’ll be ready to go for the next one. And that’s all you can ask for of your guys at this point is how do we eliminate these things and correct these things that are biting us in the rear? Because the bottom line we talk about all the time, but you have no idea what that play in the first quarter can do when you’re sitting there at the end of the fourth quarter for the win. So every play counts, man. Every opportunity counts. Every drive counts. You can get three more points in the first half or you get one more stop in the first half, it makes all the
difference.”
On why the offense started so slow and what adjustments were made at halftime: “I did like it. I just think we focused a little bit more on trying to get Swifty (D’Andre Swift) involved. We were trying to get T.J. (Hockenson) going a little bit. They did a pretty good job on defense with him. I just think that we stalled out. We never really got in a rhythm. We were trying to hit some shot plays downfield. We couldn’t get them other than (Quintez) Cephus got the DPI against him, which helped certainly get us to the 50. But Swift kind of had the hot hand, so we were trying to give it to him a little bit. I thought (Jared) Goff played pretty good in the second half, man. He came to life. He gave us a chance, moved us all the way down there. We just have to get going sooner.”
On the defensive line’s performance against Ravens QB Lamar Jackson: “Yeah, they did. I thought they played pretty good. It was something, it was an emphasis all week, keeping him hemmed-up in there and not letting him out. Because that’s where he’s really dangerous. I felt like for the most part those guys did that. They did. They corralled him in there. Really, I thought we handled the run game pretty good. It wasn’t perfect, but for the most part we did what we had to do and there were enough times where we forced him to stay in that pocket and squeeze it on him to where he couldn’t get out. That’s the formula to stop him, or at least try to limit him, if you will, and I thought we did that for the most part.”
On if watching the game-winning field goal was the worst feeling he’s had in a football game: “I’ve had some that were similar. That was rough, that was tough. I lost in the division championship game against San Francisco when I was with the Giants in 2002 and that was rough. We were up big on them against San Fran. That one didn’t feel good. There are a number of these that don’t feel good. They never feel good when you lose, but especially when you feel like it’s in your favor and it doesn’t go that way.”
On the linebackers’ performance today: “I thought, there again, all-in-all without watching the tape, I thought they showed up. I thought they were making plays up and down the field. I thought (Derrick) Barnes was solid. He was certainly – you could feel him, his presence out there and him running things down. And I thought (Jalen) Reeves (Maybin) was steady, as well as (Alex) Anzalone. Look, I thought it was good. Until I can really watch the tape, I won’t know 100 percent on that, but I didn’t feel like there was anything glaring there.”
On how the defense tried to take away long passes in the second half: “Look, our errors just came in some communication. There were some communication errors that came up. Now, there were a couple times where you get hit because you’re being too aggressive to stop the run and they got over our head. There again, there are things that we just we have got to clean up and make sure they don’t show up again.”
On how the team will build off this loss: “Look, I think because – it’s like I told them, I think if you really want a sharpened sword, you want something elite, man you have to put it under a lot of heat and a lot of pressure and that’s what we’re under right now. I think that we’re going to come out the other end pretty good out of this. We just can’t get discouraged and we can’t stop continuing to believe and fight. Because I see where it’s going. I can see it. I feel like things became a little more clear today and I love the grit of this freaking team, I do. Because I just mentioned it again, if you’re not a gritty team, you don’t hold up to this team. So small victories and we have to move forward. Find a way to beat Chicago.”
On if his message to the team would have been a lot different if the game-winning field goal had gone the other way: “No, probably not much. I mean, the difference is you walk away a winner, but I told them even after this I was proud of them. I was proud of the way they fought. Gave themselves a chance, but unfortunately it’s—it’s a pretty good way to look at it because you’re sitting there and it bounces and goes one way or another. It’s, ‘Well, we made just enough plays to where they missed.’ There at the end, it was just enough to where he didn’t have the leg to get it or it ricocheted back and then we did what we had to do. Well, it didn’t this time, so obviously we didn’t do quite enough so. But I’m proud of the way they fought, I really am.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET
On what he was thinking when Ravens K Justin Tucker made the 66-yard field goal: “About as big of a gut punch as I’ve ever been a part of. I guess I’ll start this off by saying that this team, this city has been through a lot, obviously, in recent years and has had these gut punches. For me personally, it’s the hardest one I’ve been a part of. But I think the resiliency that we’ve shown in the past amongst this group and then hopefully the new guys as well, the resiliency to push through something like this will remain. That optimism, that hope, that belief in each other because it was there. It was really there at the end, I know you guys could feel it there at the end with the fans, the crowd into it. We were into it. We felt really good about it and they made a field goal by a foot. He made a great kick. Your hats off to him. Lamar (Jackson) made a great play before that but they made a field goal by a foot and we’re saying a different narrative right now if it’s not. We’re feeling like ‘Oh man, this is –,‘ we stayed true. So, all I’m saying is we will
remain true, we will remain resilient and the gut punches will stop.”
On how he makes sure the emotional sting of the game does not carry over into future games: “Exactly what I just said. Like I said, so many guys in that locker room in that fourth quarter, we had that ‘Oh, we are going to win this game.’ There was no doubt about it. We went down the field on that drive on offense and kicked a field goal, ‘Man, this is our day. We’re going to win this game.’ And it was our day until that last second and like I said, you can say if and when to everything, but if that field goal is a foot shorter, we’re saying, ‘Hell yeah. Here we go. Turn it around.’ All I’m saying is that optimistic mindset, that belief in each other, that belief that this is our day, that belief that we’re going to win, that belief that, ‘Hey man, this isn’t the same old thing every game,’ that belief will remain and needs to remain.”
On if he would have liked to have been more aggressive in the red zone on the final offensive drive to go for the touchdown instead of a field goal: “We were running our best runs. We wanted them to use their timeouts and get them in a situation like we had them in late. Obviously in hindsight, yeah, of course, but we did what we wanted to do. Make them use their timeouts, kick the field goal and take the lead.”
On the shift of the game plan from RB Jamaal Williams to RB D’Andre Swift: “I think you see the hot hand, right? He started getting the ball in his hands and started making some plays. I would imagine (Offensive Coordinator Anthony Lynn) A-Lynn upstairs was saying, ‘Let’s keep getting him the ball.’ And I was conscious of it as well.”
LIONS OLB CHARLES HARRIS POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET:
On the game-winning field goal from his point of view: “First and foremost, it’s a long field goal. We try to execute and get our field goal block out there. You know, did our job, played the call and watched the ball soar. Incredible kick and incredible balance.”
On how well the defense played against Ravens QB Lamar Jackson: “I believe our defense played well. My guys, they went out there and executed but obviously there are things we’ve got to clean up. Our plan for him was obviously he’s a dominant player, try to contain him as much as we can and get pressure on him.”
On how disappointed he was after seeing the Ravens’ field goal go in: “I was very disappointed, but at the same time no excuses. There are no excuses on the defense. Yeah, you’ve got to go back to work for real.”
On if he thought the defense did all they could: “Oh for sure. As a defensive unit I believe we fought. I know for a fact that they don’t want to play this again. That’s how we look at it. We know for a fact that we gave them all we’ve got, and they didn’t walk out of here saying, ‘That was an easy one,’ you know what I mean. You know we imposed our will and our defense and that’s what we’re looking to come back and do constantly week after week.”
LIONS CB AMANI ORUWARIYE POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET
On the defense and their ability to flip the field: “Just trusting the system. Everyone doing their job. And just when the play comes, just make it. That’s what all the coaches tell us. That’s what we try to do.”
On what he saw on the performances of ILB Derrick Barnes, CB Bobby Price, and A.J. Parker: “Yeah, I thought they played really well. I remember my first NFL game, which wasn’t too long ago, but it can be nerve-wracking and I thought every situation they stepped up to the plate. So, I was proud of those guys.”
On if he thought there was a delay of game on the Ravens offense late in the fourth quarter: “I don’t know. I wasn’t really looking at that. I was just focused on the play.”
On how hard it is to handle the series of events at the end of the game: “It’s tough, man. Like I said, we fought our tails off, I feel like. But in the NFL, you’ve got really good kickers in the League. He has a great leg. So, we just got to put ourselves in the position – not even be in that position. You know what I mean and make the plays that we need to make and get off the field.”
LIONS RB D’ANDRE SWIFT POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET
On what started working in the third quarter: “We just calling the plays, executing a little bit better. Didn’t have any penalties on that opening drive. We just got to find a way to start better.”
On his emotions watching the winning field goal: “I mean that’s a tough one. What was it, 67? Something like that. I mean that’s a tough one. That’s all I can say. We just got to — if we played better in the first half, we’d probably be talking about something different right now.”
On what was going through his head when the winning field goal was being kicked: “I was hoping he missed it when I saw it bounce. I was hoping it bounced out of the way and then it went (in). This is a tough one. We just got to find a way to start better that’s all.”
On where this loss ranks in terms of crushing defeats: “It’s definitely up there. As one we needed, one I thought we had, especially when I saw how far that field goal was. I don’t like losing at all. So, we just got to find a way to – I mean, we’re running out of time – we just got to find a way to do better.”
LIONS RB JAMAAL WILLIAMS POST-GAME QUOTE SHEET
On his emotions during the game-winning field goal: “Just wanted to win. Only thing I can say is I’m just proud of my team. I’m proud of the way we keep playing and just our effort. That’s all.”
On what went through his head when the Ravens lined up for a 66-yard field goal: “Hopefully they miss it.”
On the speculation about a missed delay of game penalty against the Ravens late in the game: “I don’t know. I don’t want to get into it.”
On how they can recover from losing on a game-winning field goal: “Just keep fighting. Really, sometimes fate is against us. Sometimes it tries to stop us. Most of the time, this whole game, I felt like we just at the beginning made too many personal mistakes. Same again, just beating ourselves. In the second half, you see what happens when we don’t beat ourselves and play football. We can play with anybody. That’s all I care about is we know we can play with anybody and we can come out and win. It’s up to us to keep playing and keep fighting and not worry about what’s happening right now.”
On what positives can be taken from the loss: “I got positive vibes from just seeing my teammates, and the people that I work with every day and seeing them throw their bodies on the line with 100 percent effort and just win. That’s all. That’s as much of a positive as you can ever get to see your teammates fighting, keep playing, even when everybody always—even when the game doesn’t start yet, they’re already thinking the Lions are going to lose. When you have those types of energies around you and stuff, that’s why I keep my teammates and everyone around you in my close circle. We go to work. I know how we are. I know how we’re supposed to be, I know what kind of teammates we have and how we’re supposed to be. That’s all that matters.
