DETROIT — Dan Campbell bashfully stared down at the lectern in front of him, looking like a toddler who knows he’s guilty.
He nervously stacked a couple of sheets of paper in his hands, as he was asked about his quarterback’s performance. He then took a deep breath, preparing to own up to his mistake, as Campbell so often does. In the aftermath of Detroit’s 42-29 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, it was time to face the music.
Jared Goff went a perfect 18-of-18 in the win. Campbell left him hanging in the locker room.
“I just gave the game ball to somebody else,” Campbell said, smiling, as the local media room laughed collectively. “So, I feel awful right now. I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not realize he was perfect.”
Coach Campbell on Jared Goff’s performance tonight pic.twitter.com/QCwkneojX8
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024
Against the Seahawks on “Monday Night Football,” Goff set an NFL record for most completions in a game without an incompletion. However, the simple fact that there were several viable recipients of the game ball after the win tells you what kind of performance this was for the Lions — in particular, this Detroit Lions’ offense.
It was much needed.
Entering Week 4, Goff and this Detroit offense had not played up to their lofty standards. This offense has taken up shop in the top 5 of scoring offenses the past two seasons. They were league average through three weeks in that department, ranking 16th at just 20.7 points per game, scoring touchdowns in the red zone just 38.7 percent of the time (26th in the NFL). Their season high was 26 before tonight, needing overtime in Week 1 to get there. The offense had yet to score more than 20 in regulation through three weeks.
The yards have been there. The consistency hasn’t. This unit had yet to put together a complete performance. They all wanted more.
“Our defense is playing great,” Amon-Ra St. Brown said after Detroit’s win over the Cardinals last week. “I feel like we’ve got to, as an offense, put more points in the board. … Nice to get a win, but we feel like, as an offense, we could still get a lot better.”
Some of those struggles were on Goff. He had more interceptions (4) than touchdowns (3) through Detroit’s first three games. His passer rating of 79.2 during that span ranked 23rd among quarterbacks. His EPA per dropback early this season was 18th in the league, after finishing seventh last year and fourth two years ago. When Goff is in rhythm, seeing the field well, and not trying to overcompensate for an overall stagnant offense, he plays some of his best football. But sometimes, he simply looks off when things around him are in sync.
Monday night was a return to form, for a quarterback and an offense that knows there’s a high level of play achievable, week in and week out.
It started early. After a rough three-and-out to begin the game, you wondered what kind of night this would be, against a Seahawks defense that had taken care of business en route to a 3-0 start. But on the Lions’ second possession, the offense would remove all doubt — going 93 yards on 12 plays for a 7-0 lead. It was an impressive drive capped off by three consecutive David Montgomery goal-line runs, with the final one punched in from 1-yard out — vintage stuff.
The Lions scored on three of their five first-half possessions, jumping out to a 21-7 lead at halftime. But this was the Seattle Seahawks on the opposing sideline. They’ve put up 51, 48 and 37 points in their last three contests against the Lions — all Seattle wins. You knew they weren’t going down quietly. And they didn’t.
Geno Smith played at a Herculean level, completing pass after pass, escaping sacks, navigating tight pockets and stepping up to extend plays when needed. For a Lions defense that had kept the team afloat when the offense struggled, this was a night they didn’t have it. Penalties were racked up. There was trouble finishing, trouble tackling. It was a sloppy effort for the defense, which gave up 516 yards and 38 first downs — two shy of tying the NFL record.
The offense was going to need to keep scoring on a night like this. Not a given, considering their second-half struggles.
But they put together their best effort when it mattered most.
“We really needed to show growth, especially coming out in the second half,” left tackle Taylor Decker said of the offense. “Because we’ve had spurts here and there where we played really well, but we know we need to be able to play a full four quarters to get where we want to go. And then the defense was really, really solid for us the first couple weeks of the season, and we were able to kind of grow and pull our weight a little bit more today, so that feels good.”
The Lions kept scoring. And scoring. And scoring some more. Every time Seattle inched close, Detroit pulled away, flexing its offensive firepower in the process.
Up 28-21 after a Seattle score to start the third quarter, the Lions answered with a 70-yard drive, highlighted by a pass from wide receiver St. Brown to Goff, on a play Ben Johnson calls “Alcatraz.” The Lions have been waiting to run it but needed the right look.
They got it.
Jared GO-OFF#SEAvsDET | 📺 ABC/ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/U0zwvFn75D
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024
“That play has been in for a long time and we’ve never gotten the right situation for it to get called,” Goff explained. “I think we actually have called it in a game before, and then if it’s not the right look, I get out of it. But, that was the right look.”
Seattle quickly responded with a score of its own, once again making it a 7-point game. That’s when you knew the defense didn’t have it, and points were a prerequisite to a win. It didn’t take long to alleviate concerns about a comeback. Only one play.
Goff hit Jameson Williams on a pass over the middle. Williams flashed his signature speed, began high-stepping at the 30-yard line, then dunked the ball through the goalposts — an homage to Lions’ great Calvin Johnson, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Sunday and was inducted into the franchise’s ring of honor Monday evening.
You knew the offense was back after that one. If anything, it was a glimpse of how explosive this group can be when they’re firing on all cylinders with a fully realized Williams in the mix. That play, and his blocking throughout the night, is the reason why Williams received one of the game balls from Campbell in the locker room.
Waymo: Primetime Mode#SEAvsDET | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/D6S8q4PAud
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024
And finally, it’s worth further analyzing how good Goff was in prime time. He had 18 pass completions for 292 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He hauled in his lone target — probably for the season, though you can’t rule anything out with Johnson calling plays — for a 7-yard touchdown. He hung in the pocket and delivered, making the right reads, playing within the structure of the offense and letting his playmakers do their thing. An 18-for-18 stat line isn’t sustainable, but this style of play is. It’s exactly what the offense needs from Goff.
“I don’t want to speak for Jared, but I would be willing to bet somewhere in there, he knew that he was going to have a good game,” Campbell said. “I felt like last week was his get back to balance, get back to center. Take what’s there, be smart with the football, play fast, play efficient, and before (it was), ‘Maybe I’m trying to do more than I need to do.’ … And so I felt like, after last week, this is going to be the week, like all right, now he finds that happy balance and man, he really did. He came alive.”
In total, the Lions recorded 389 yards, averaged a whopping 7.8 yards per play and put up a season-high 42 points. Detroit’s running backs, Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, combined for 118 rushing yards and three touchdowns. They took care of business against a Seattle defense that was down several key pieces. And when Detroit’s defense needed a stop at the end of the game, it got one from Kerby Joseph — the other recipient of the game ball from Campbell. It was Joseph’s third interception in four games, with the Seahawks still fighting down by 15, that sealed the victory.
Lining ’em up and knocking ’em off pic.twitter.com/59tOia82Yi
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024
The Detroit Lions are 3-1 entering their bye week. Most players and coaches will tell you they prefer a bye scheduled later in the season, but the early one will allow a banged-up team some time to rest, self-scout and prepare for a trip to Dallas versus the Cowboys in Week 6.
All things considered, the Lions are right where they need to be, amid a season of sky-high expectations.
“We play a pretty physical brand of football,” Campbell said. “We played some physical opponents these first four weeks and so, I do think it’s coming at a good time. And it’s good to get the three. It’s good to get to 3-1 with this bye. We rest up, we heal up, we get fresh again, and then we make a big push.”
(Photo of Jared Goff after catching a pass for a touchdown: Junfu Han / USA Today via Imagn Images)
