The train keeps chugging along. It doesn’t matter who is there or not. When the Lions’ 12th win in 13 games ended late Thursday night, Brian Branch, Alim McNeill … heck, half the starting defense was missing, and guys who couldn’t tell Woodward Avenue from Woody Allen were missing. I’m carrying Detroit out there -Uniforms.
Doesn’t matter. This is a magical run in a magical season. And there seems to be no obstacle these Lions can’t overcome.
Even her own feet.
Seriously. On a late fourth-down gamble that will live on in Detroit football legend today, Jared Goff tripped over his lineman’s leg, fell to his knees, but still managed to get the ball to David Montgomery like a mother , pushing her baby into the protective grip of a rushing firefighter.
DAVE BIRKETT’S NOTES: Dan Campbell rolls on fourth down
“(Goff is) an athlete!” Dan Campbell would later joke.
“Yes,” Goff replied. “Really sporty to fail a routine handoff.”
Doesn’t matter. Montgomery took the ball and darted through the Green Bay defense for 7 yards, a first down and essentially the game. A fourth dice roll that could have exploded right in their face instead worked perfectly.
Goff left the field, took a snap, ran down the clock, and kicker Jake Bates went out, recited a Bible verse to himself and kicked the game-winning field goal as the clock ticked down to zero.
“Wild ones from the north!” Campbell would call his team when this thriller ended 34-31. But even savages think about danger from time to time. Campbell wasn’t having it. Despite the fact that his defensive lineup was so devoid of star players, it was like going to a Rolling Stones concert to see Charlie Watts.
“No excuses,” Campbell said. “Our guys knew where we were. We don’t need to talk about being tough. We don’t need to talk about resilience. We live it.”
The train keeps chugging along.
CARLOS MONARREZ: The Lions’ injury-plagued defense deserves credit for its performance against the Packers
All about fourth downs
Now you could point to many key factors for this division win, which secured a place in the playoffs so early that it almost couldn’t be described as a Christmas present.
They could start with the defense, which cobbled together a game plan Thursday under coordinator Aaron Glenn with new faces like Kwan Alexander (signed from Denver’s practice squad), Jamal Adams (previously with Tennessee) and Jonah Williams (signed from the Rams’ roster). has. practice squad) and Myles Adams (former Seahawks). According to Campbell, Glenn told his patchwork group to “break up.” And despite allowing 31 points — albeit on multiple short-field drives — they held Green Bay to a third-down conversion all night, got a sack, forced a fumble and throttled running back Josh Jacobs in one night of 66 yards on 18 carries.
You can now remove the Hello, My Name Is stickers.
You could also give credit to Goff, who recovered from an early bad interception on Thursday night as if he had actually yielded yourself Amnesiac, he completed his final 13 passes of the game and threw a total of three touchdowns.
You could certainly point to Tim Patrick, who caught two of those touchdowns, or Amon-Ra St. Brown, who made a handful of big plays when needed.
But honestly? This game was about fourth downs. They have become the symbol of the Lions under Campbell: the good, the bad, the questionable, the taken for granted. Outsiders are amazed when Detroit constantly attacks them. TV announcers marvel and rave.
But Lions fans now take them for granted. And if Fourth Downs could hold a paintbrush and a palette, they would have painted Thursday night’s story.
“The players knew it. Coaches knew it
The first score came late in the second quarter when the Lions were just a stone’s throw from the goal line. On second-and-1, Goff ran a sneak and appeared to get in. But the decision was reversed. On the next play, Montgomery took a pitch and suffered a 1-yard loss.
So what does Campbell do on fourth-and-2?
Do you really have to ask?
The offensive stayed outside. Goff dropped back (passing on fourth-and-2?) and found Jahmyr Gibbs in the end zone. Landing. The crowd roared. The Lions went into halftime with a 17-7 lead.
The second quarter tone loss was a failure. Late in the third quarter, with 31 possessions of their own, the Lions tried anyway and were stuffed on a Gibbs run. 31 alone?
Campbell gritted his teeth. He showed no emotion. Four plays later, the Packers were in the end zone and had secured a 28-24 lead.
“Did you have any doubts about your decision after that?” Campbell was later asked.
“No. Nobody. Look, the guys knew it. The players knew it. The coaches knew it. … We could be two points ahead, we could be two points down. But just because we’re one or the other, we have to we play our style of play.”
JEFF SEIDEL: Gamblin’ Dan Campbell makes this decisive Detroit Lions playoff victory an unforgettable experience
Dan Campbell, master painter
That brings us to the final fourth down attempt, which Goff almost botched and which Montgomery somehow made look easy. Consider the situation. There were 43 seconds left in the game. The score was tied. The Lions have a solid kicker and were sitting at Green Bay’s 21-yard line. And the Packers only had one timeout left.
I bet 31 other NFL coaches would have chosen the field goal. Take the lead. Go ahead. Rely on your defense.
But Campbell trains by feel. His games are as spontaneous as a Jackson Pollock painting, everything pours, splashes, wipes. Only he knows where the colors go.
“I just felt like we had to finish it on offense,” he explained. “I didn’t want to give the ball back and I believed we could get it. I believed we could convert. I trust this O-line, I trust David.”
This trust is the glue that sticks this amazing 2024 mural to the wall.
“(It’s) bigger than anything else,” Goff confirmed. “The only thing you want from a head coach is for him to believe in you. And that gives us that certain something to make it happen. I’m not the one running or blocking, but I’m sure the guys up front are saying, ‘Okay, you give us a chance to… finish this game on our terms.’ It means a ton.”
Now that means a lot of fun. Detroit has won 11 straight, a franchise record, and is now in the playoffs. The Lions have come this far. When Campbell was asked how it felt to clinch a playoff spot so early, he admitted he didn’t even know they had made it until he got to the postgame press conference.
“I wish I had told the team,” he said with a laugh.
Can you imagine a Lions team just two years ago – let alone the last six decades – that didn’t know exactly when it had decided to make the postseason? The champagne would have been in ice.
But these Lions aren’t even impressed. They are on the hunt for larger game.
“Of course we wanted to be there,” Campbell said, “(but) we want to do it in a different way. “We want to do it on our own terms and find a way to get to that No. 1 seed. And that is the priority.”
Do you hear that? It’s no longer about being good. It’s about being the best. Do you know how that sounds? It sounds like something that has no plans to slow down before its final stop.
The train keeps chugging along.
Is it too early to ask what the weather is like in New Orleans in February?
Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com . Check out the latest updates on his charities, books and events MitchAlbom.com . Follow him @mitchhalbom .
