Lions News

[whatever_gong82]

Justin Herbert throws 4 TD passes, but Chargers fall to Lions
The Chargers rallied to tie the score four times but Riley Patterson kicked a 41-yard field goal to win for the Lions as time expired


By ELLIOTT TEAFORD | eteaford@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: November 12, 2023 at 4:11 p.m. | UPDATED: November 12, 2023 at 8:33 p.m.



INGLEWOOD — The Chargers only got it half right in their 41-38 loss Sunday to the Detroit Lions at SoFi Stadium. They scored 38 points, but they gave up 41. They gained 421 yards, but gave up 533. They scored the tying touchdown with 3:34 left, but gave up the winning field goal as time expired.

“It was nothing they did, it’s what we didn’t do,” Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack said. “It’s what we didn’t do, yeah. That’s on me. I’ll take that being one of the guys, especially on the outside. We’ve been consistently playing the run and we gave up 200 yards rushing.


“You’re not going to have a fun day.”


As he did after the Chargers’ 31-17 loss Oct. 22 to the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Coach Brandon Staley blamed himself for failing to have the defense as prepared as it needed to be against a team with a quality record and an offense capable of scoring at will.

“I didn’t do a good enough job for us today,” Staley said.



Quarterback Justin Herbert rallied the Chargers again and again, leading them to touchdowns on each of their final five possessions, but their loss to the Lions ended their modest two-game winning streak and left them needing six victories in their final eight games to match last season’s 10-7 record.

Herbert completed 27 of 40 passes for 323 yards and a season-high four touchdowns with one interception. The Chargers (4-5) rallied to tie the score at 3-3, 24-24, 31-31 and 38-38, but they never led the Lions (7-2) and seemed to be running on a treadmill from beginning to end.



Herbert’s fourth touchdown pass, a 38-yard catch and run by wide receiver Keenan Allen, brought the Chargers even with 3:34 remaining in the game. But it was plenty of time for quarterback Jared Goff to drive the Lions for the game-winning field goal. Riley Patterson split the uprights from 41 yards.

“Losing is never fun, but I thought we battled today,” Herbert said. “We can look at this film and say, ‘We can build off this.’ But there were a lot of things in the first quarter that we didn’t do a good job of, and I didn’t do a good job of. If we’re not fighting back, maybe the score goes differently.



“At least we turned it around. At least we did our best in the second half.”

In the final analysis, the Chargers’ defense made the difference for the third consecutive game. In the first two, victories Oct. 29 over the Chicago Bears and Nov. 6 over the New York Jets, their defense suffocated the opposition and gave up a total of 19 points, including six against New York.



Detroit scored 24 points by halftime Sunday, leading by 24-27. The Lions punished the Chargers on the ground, gaining 177 yards on 19 carries, an average of 9.3 yards per attempt. David Montgomery’s 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter accounted for a big chunk of the yardage.

Near the end, though, it was the passing game that killed the Chargers’ chances to win. Goff started the Lions’ winning drive with a screen pass to Kalif Raymond for a 41-yard gain that gave Detroit a first down at the Chargers’ 34-yard line. When the drive stalled, the Lions went for it on fourth-and-2 at the 26.



Instead of kicking a field goal, the Lions went for it and got it, with Goff connecting for a six-yard gain on a pass to Sam LaPorta. With the Chargers out of timeouts, the Lions ran down the clock with a series of kneel-downs before Patterson kicked the game-winner as time expired.

Goff, a former Rams quarterback, completed 23 of 33 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns. Amon-Ra St. Brown, a former USC standout, caught eight passes from Goff for 156 yards and one touchdown. Montgomery rushed for 116 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries, an average of 9.7 yards per attempt.


The Chargers didn’t force a turnover.



“I don’t want to blame it on nothing, but we didn’t come to play today,” Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. said. “We didn’t get it done today. (The offense was) ballin’. I feel bad for letting them down today, especially as one of the captains on defense. We’re going to control what we can control and get back to work.”

The search for a complete game continues next week against the Packers in Green Bay.

[whatever_gong82]

Popper: Chargers defense fails Justin Herbert (yet again) in shootout loss to Lions



By Daniel Popper
50m ago



INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff set up in shotgun formation. It was the final play of the first quarter. Detroit was at the Los Angeles Chargers’ 13-yard line and needed a yard for a first down.

Goff took one look at the Chargers’ defensive front before adjusting the play. Goff moved under center. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta shifted to the backfield. LaPorta was to Goff’s left, 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage. St. Brown was to Goff’s right, 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage. They both joined running back Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield. Gibbs was directly behind Goff, 9 yards deep.



Goff took the snap and handed off to St. Brown on a stretch play to the left. Gibbs played decoy on a fake pitch to the right. LaPorta executed a cut block on edge rusher Joey Bosa. Receiver Antoine Green, aligned split off the formation to the left, blocked down on safety Alohi Gilman. St. Brown followed his pulling left guard, Jonah Jackson, for an easy first down, attacking cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. on the edge.



It was just one play in the Chargers’ 41-38 loss to the Lions on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. And even a meaningless play in the outcome of the game. The Chargers, now 4-5 on the season, came up with a goal-line stand later in the drive — one of just two stops Brandon Staley’s defense forced in the game, not including a one-play possession at the end of the half.

Still, this play was a microcosm of what is wrong with the Chargers and has been wrong for years.



That is because Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson stole this concept from the Chargers’ loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs last season, according to Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. Remember the fourth-and-1 conversion run from Travis Etienne Jr. that effectively iced that game? Yeah, that play.

Johnson iterated on the concept. He replaced one tight end edge blocker with a pulling guard. He added Gibbs as a decoy. It was a run to the left instead of the right. But he also kept many of the same blocks — the receiver on the safety, the backfield tight end on the edge rusher. And Johnson was attacking the same player in the Chargers’ run fit: Samuel.



“We got that play to end the game in Jacksonville,” James said in the locker room after Sunday’s loss. “It was that same play, and they hit us on it.”

This is what Staley’s Chargers tenure has boiled down to: Same you-know-what, just a different day.



Stop me if you have heard this before: Justin Herbert was stellar. After an early interception, he willed the Chargers back into the game and kept them in a wild shootout. Herbert finished 27-of-40 passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns. The Chargers scored touchdowns on five straight drives to finish the game.

The defense, however, was overmatched.

“Justin was fantastic tonight,” Staley said. “He gave us a chance.”


Oh wait, my mistake, that is what Staley said after the Chargers defense spoiled Herbert’s heroic performance in a Week 18 loss at the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.

This is what Staley said Sunday: “Justin was fantastic in the game. I thought he gave us a chance.”

Same you-know-what, just a different day.

Justin Herbert throws against Detroit Lions_11-12-2023.jpg

Almost two years later, Staley’s defense still is not reciprocating by giving Herbert a chance.

Sure, the Chargers can go out and play well against bad offenses. That is the not-so-hidden secret in all of the purported turning points over Staley’s tenure as head coach and play caller.



When they take the field against good, well-coached offenses, they are almost always overmatched. Outclassed.

Since the start of 2021, Staley’s defense has finished 15 games with a positive EPA per play on defense, according to TruMedia. To put it simply, they have positively had an impact on the game 15 times. The quarterbacks they have faced in 13 of those games: Nick Foles, Zach Wilson, Aidan O’Connell, Derek Carr (three times), Tyson Bagent, Drew Lock, Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis, Baker Mayfield, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke, and Mac Jones. The other two: Joe Burrow in 2021 and Tua Tagovailoa last season.



Staley might want to hang his hat on those two performances against Burrow and Tagovailoa.

The evidence to the contrary is overwhelming.



Sunday’s showing against the Lions was the Chargers’ worst EPA per play on defense in Staley’s three seasons as coach, according to TruMedia.

“I take full responsibility,” Staley said.



It started with the run game. The Chargers’ run defense went from carriage to pumpkin. The Lions rushed for 200 yards on 31 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run from running back David Montgomery in the second quarter. They gave up 177 rushing yards in the first half. That opened up everything in the playbook for Johnson and Goff, most notably the play action and screen games.

“You can’t allow them to play like that, and we allowed them to play like that,” James said. “That’s what you get.”






St. Brown caught eight passes for 156 yards and a touchdown, becoming the latest elite pass catcher to torch Staley’s defense. He joined Tyreek Hill (215 yards), Travis Kelce (179 yards), Justin Jefferson (149 yards) and CeeDee Lamb (117 yards) on that illustrious list.

The Chargers allowed six plays of at least 25 yards. One of those was a 33-yard completion to St. Brown in the third quarter. On the next play, St. Brown scored from 20 yards out on a screen.


“They were able to do anything they wanted to,” cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor said.


The Lions totaled 533 yards on offense. It is the second time the Chargers have allowed at least 500 yards this season.

“They schemed the game to their strengths,” edge rusher Khalil Mack said.



NFL offenses have put up at least 475 yards 14 times this season. The Chargers were playing defense in four of those performances.

“We have to be able to adjust,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said.


Since 2021, the Chargers have given up 112 plays of at least 25 yards, according to TruMedia. I don’t have to tell you, but I will anyway: That’s the most in the league.

“I know the group that I’ve been coaching for nine games,” Staley said. “We’re good enough on offense, defense and special teams to beat anybody we play.”


Through it all, the Chargers tied the Lions at 38 in the fourth quarter. Herbert hit Keenan Allen for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1. It was a beautiful design and call from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.



Allen finished with 11 catches for 175 yards, battling through a shoulder injury.

On the first play of the next possession, Lions receiver Kalif Raymond ran wide open on a crossing route off play action. He exploded up the sideline for a 41-yard gain, getting into field goal range with 2:46 remaining.


Later in the drive, Lions coach Dan Campbell opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Chargers’ 26-yard line. LaPorta found a soft spot in the Chargers’ zone. Goff found him for the Lions’ fourth conversion in five fourth-down attempts.

Kicker Riley Patterson then hit the winner from 41 yards as time expired.


Does that name sound familiar? It should. Patterson played for the Jaguars last season, and he ended the Chargers’ season in Jacksonville with a 36-yard field goal.


“I didn’t do a good enough job on defense for us today,” Staley said.


Same you-know-what, just a different day.


Daniel Popper is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Chargers. He previously covered the Jacksonville Jaguars for The Athletic after following the New York Jets for the New York Daily News, where he spent three years writing, reporting and podcasting about local pro sports. Follow Daniel on Twitter @danielrpopper

[whatever_gong82]

Lions mirror Dan Campbell in win, beating Chargers with aggression and confidence

Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell_11-12-2023.jpg

By Colton Pouncy
2h ago



INGLEWOOD, Calif. — There were few doubts, if any, as to what Dan Campbell would do when decision time arrived.

In many ways, it’s a sign of the identity Campbell has developed, and who he has become in the NFL. No longer the butt of various kneecap jokes, no longer just a caricature of a football guy, no longer the happy-go-lucky coach without proof of concept — Campbell is the heart and soul of a Detroit Lions team that wakes up each Sunday expecting to hear an impassioned victory speech from its head coach in the evening.



Campbell — aggressive in nature while offering few apologies for his tendencies — has developed a group that has adopted his mentality and appreciates it. They know not every coach would make the decisions Campbell so often does, telling them to go get it. It gives them confidence, players say, and that confidence derives from Campbell’s trust in them.



When it all works together, it manifests in ways much like Sunday.

“I wanted to finish with the ball in our hands,” Campbell said, moments after his offense executed a game-winning drive to perfection to knock off the Los Angeles Chargers 41-38.



Those decisions are part of the Dan Campbell Experience. He’s always been aggressive. Known to break out a fake punt or steal a possession when the opposition least expects it, Campbell’s players have come to expect that he’ll trust them to succeed in crucial moments. But there have been other times when Campbell has second-guessed the basic principles that got him this far.

Last year’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3 is a perfect example. Up 24-21, facing a fourth-and-4 from the Minnesota 36 with 1:14 to go, Campbell opted to kick a field goal rather than try to win the game with a first-down conversion. A field goal would’ve kept it a one-score game, with Minnesota guaranteed to receive the ball back with a chance to win. A first down would have allowed the Lions to run out the clock. Campbell attempted the kick, the Lions missed and Minnesota marched down the field and won.



That loss ate away at Campbell. Coaches so often remember the lows after losses more than the highs of a win. Best believe he still remembers that one.

“I just — I hate it,” Campbell said at the time. “I just hate the decision. I wish I would’ve put it back in their hands offensively and so be it. I just wish I would’ve done that.”



These days, though, Campbell is a wiser man. He’s also more secure in his decisions. He’s seen what works and what doesn’t. There was some trial and error earlier in his Lions tenure, as he navigated rosters light on talent. But as Campbell’s confidence as a head coach has grown, so too has the confidence of his players. They’ve elevated one another. And they’re not surprised when their head coach puts them in positions to win games like he did Sunday evening.

“I was excited,” wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said of the Lions’ fourth-down call late in the game. “I even gave Campbell a high-five coming off the sideline. I mean, I don’t know how many coaches are gonna go for that on that situation, so, I mean, hats off to him.”

Campbell’s aggression paid off in more ways than one Sunday. On a drive late in the first quarter, the Lions went for it on fourth down on three separate occasions. The first, a halfback draw up the middle for 6 yards when the offense needed 4 — as the offensive line imposed its will. Another, as quarterback Jared Goff handed off to St. Brown for a first down. And again on a fourth-and-goal from the 1, as a Goff pass fell incomplete for a turnover on downs.



Rather than letting the failed attempt cloud his judgment and get away from who he is, Campbell was right back to his aggressive ways when he found himself in the same scenario on Detroit’s next possession. That fourth-and-goal from the 1 resulted in a Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown run. A 4-point gain in a game the Lions won by 3.

But perhaps the best example of Campbell’s fingerprints on this Lions team came in the fourth quarter. A Lions defense begging for a stop couldn’t get one. The Chargers had scored touchdowns on their previous five possessions, including one from quarterback Justin Herbert to wide receiver Keenan Allen that tied the game at 38 with 3:34 to go.



On a day when defense was optional, it certainly felt like the team with the ball last would win. Campbell made sure that team would be his.

Facing a fourth-and-2 from the Chargers 26, tied at 38 with 1:42 to go, Campbell could’ve simply taken the field goal and a 3-point lead. But he wanted more. He didn’t want to leave the game to chance. He wanted to win it. Right then and there.



As the broadcast camera panned, there was Goff in the huddle, passing along the play call to the other 10 Lions ahead of a do-or-die moment. There were Herbert and Allen, helmets off, hands tucked into their shoulder pads, watching from the opposing sideline and waiting for their chance to win it. And then, there was Campbell — chomping away, waiting for his team to end any hope of that.

The Lions met the challenge.

The successful first-down conversion from Goff to tight end Sam LaPorta kept the Lions offense on the field and, more importantly, the Chargers’ offense off it. After L.A. called its final timeout, the Lions ran the clock down to two seconds, setting up a game-winning, 41-yard field-goal attempt from Riley Patterson.

The stars aligned for the finish Campbell envisioned. Patterson did his job bringing it to life.

The Lions were 4-of-5 on fourth downs in this one. The aggression was something Campbell felt was needed when the week began, and even more so as the game played out and his defense didn’t have it. Earlier in the week, he informed his players they would be aggressive in those situations. He prepared them for the moment, spent time on it in practice and watched them execute when it mattered most.

“We want to make him right,” Goff said. “And it gets us a little bit more motivation to make things work. He trusts us, he’s showing us he has full faith in us to make it work in a scenario that, maybe, the odds are stacked against us in some way and he’s saying, ‘No, they’re not.’ He trusts us and lets us go to work.”

“It just makes us more confident as players, you know?” offensive tackle Taylor Decker said. “When your coach believes in you and you know that he believes in you — whatever the analytics or the percentages say — he’s like, ‘No, we’re gonna go out there and we’re going to win this game.’ And we love that.”



Those are the words of players who have the utmost confidence in their head coach, because of the confidence he instills in them. Don’t underestimate the power of talent and trust working in tandem together. Now that Campbell has a roster capable of coming through, you’re seeing the results, and seeing a head coach grow into his own in real time. His Lions are now 7-2, maintaining a first-place lead in the NFC North, holding on to the NFC’s No. 2 seed through 10 weeks. Campbell has them eyeing a home playoff game and perhaps this franchise’s first division title in 30 years.

When you see games like Sunday, when his decisions lead directly to wins, it’s hard not to envision him as the eventual winner of Coach of the Year.

But in the meantime, he’ll take each win as it comes, amid a season that’s shaping up to be special.



Colton Pouncy is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Lions. He previously covered Michigan State football and basketball for the company, and covered sports for The Tennessean in Nashville prior to joining The Athletic. Follow Colton on Twitter @colton_pouncy

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[whatever_gong82]

[jaadam4]

Even if he missed it there should have been a flag. The defensive player jumped over the center. That’s against the rules

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

[jaadam4]

Wow, that Brock Wright play was sick

[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery fulfill Lions' draft-day vision


Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News



Inglewood, Calif. — Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are officially a tandem.

While the two Lions running backs have shown excellence by their lonesome this season, it’s been a rare occurrence for each of them to be uber-productive in the same game. But with Montgomery’s return to the lineup in Sunday’s 41-38 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the “two-headed monster,” as head coach Dan Campbell called it, is off and running.



Montgomery rushed for 116 yards and a score on 12 carries — highlighted by a 75-yard touchdown run in the second quarter — and Gibbs had 77 yards and two touchdowns on 14 rushes, plus 35 yards receiving. It’s the game the Lions were dreaming of when they selected Gibbs No. 12 overall out of Alabama in the draft.

Gibbs' best moment came right before he scored the game's first touchdown with 4:18 to go in the first quarter. He hit a hole on the right side, cut left and raced to the pylon before getting pushed out at the 1-yard-line for a 35-yard run, then punched it in on the next play.

“To me, this is part of the vision coming alive now," Campbell said. "They both deliver something different. They’re both very unique and they’re dangerous…it’s good to see. Gibbs continues to grow and it’s great to have David back.”

Montgomery missed the team’s last two games with a rib cartilage injury suffered in the team’s Week 6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his absence, Gibbs shined, particularly in Detroit’s last game before the bye week. He ran the ball 26 times against the Las Vegas Raiders, tallying 152 yards and a 27-yard touchdown that displayed the same type of cut-back elusiveness he showed in Sunday's win over the Chargers.

Earlier in the season, there was a bit of confusion regarding how the workload would be split. The Lions had spent significant draft capital on Gibbs, but Montgomery was getting a majority of the carries. Now that both are at full speed, their impact is multiple.

“I think it’s great,” Montgomery said when asked about the dual production. “Took (Gibbs) a little bit to come along, but as everybody can see — the world can see — he’s coming along. I mean, I told him that I’m following his lead, so it’s a beautiful thing to have two guys being able to perform at a high level, but it also brings some competition, too.

“(Gibbs lets) me know, like, 'All right…I gotta step it up a little cause he going crazy.’ He would say the same thing back to me, so it’s super, super dope to have him.”



nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi

[froot loops]

Wow, that Brock Wright play was sick

Goff audibled into that play.

[jaadam4]

Goff audibled into that play.

That's even more fantastic.

[-Deborah-]