Gameday at Chicago: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

[froot loops]

I think it's very notable that Campbell was an interim head coach in 2015 and then spent 4 years in New Orleans as the assistant head coach. I think that allowed him to be totally prepared for the job.

[whatever_gong82]

I think it's very notable that Campbell was an interim head coach in 2015 and then spent 4 years in New Orleans as the assistant head coach. I think that allowed him to be totally prepared for the job.

I'm not really a Sean Payton fan, but I'll admit that he usually has his teams well prepared for whoever they're playing against.

Plus, Payton, like Dan Campbell, is from the Bill Parcells tree of Head/Assistant Coaches, which includes Bill Belichick ironically enough.

[whatever_gong82]

Three and Out: Strange rooting interests, Mahogany wows and load management might need to be on the menu

Justin Rogers
Dec 23



Here are three observations after a second viewing and a night to ponder the Detroit Lions’ 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears.


Grin and bear it

Things are about to get weird.

OK, I concede it doesn’t have to be that way, but with all due respect to Rasheed Wallace’s mantra “If it ain’t rough, it ain’t right,” the Lions could really use a stress-free week before the start of the postseason.


Hear me out. With the Philadelphia Eagles running into some injury misfortune on Sunday — losing starting quarterback Jalen Hurts and backup Kenny Pickett to injury in a last-second defeat to the Washington Commanders — the Lions gained an incredibly valuable buffer with one of two challengers for the top seed in the NFC.

The other half of that equation, the Minnesota Vikings, did the Lions no such favor. The NFC North rival fended off a stiff challenge from the Seahawks in Seattle with a late Justin Jefferson touchdown.


The Lions and Vikings have matching 13-2 records with two games remaining. The good news is the Lions hold the tie-breaker, but the sides play again in the season finale. Regardless, if the Vikings were to lose next week, paired with a Lions win on Monday Night Football, the Honolulu blue and silver will lock up the conference’s top seed for the first time in the Super Bowl era.

Here’s the catch, you have to root for the Packers.


I get it. It runs against everything you’ve been conditioned to believe in as a fan of the Lions, but in this case, the enemy of your enemy is your ally.

Here’s everything the Lions stand to gain with a Packers’ victory in Minneapolis next Sunday:


The chance to lock up the division and the conference on Monday night in San Francisco, securing a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the Super Bowl.

The ability to rest some key starters for a half or the full game in Week 18. Alternatively, it could be an opportunity to give some younger, inexperienced players on the roster live reps to aid their development. Who knows? Maybe Hendon Hooker has a Matt Flynn-esque game in him.


If the conference is locked up, you'll likely avoid being slotted into primetime for the season finale, given there would be no meaningful playoff positioning at stake.

No one is asking you to wear a Cheesehead in public. But I promise it’s OK to pump your fist when no one is looking if Josh Jacobs runs one across the goal line or Xavier McKinney picks off Sam Darnold. No one needs to know.


Eye-opening debut

It’s difficult to focus on a singular offensive lineman while watching live, but on second viewing, I zeroed in on rookie Christian Mahogany, analyzing how he answered the bell in place of injured starter Graham Glasgow.

Pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. Despite having significantly more experience playing on the right side coming into the league, Mahogany looked comfortable and natural on the left in his first NFL start.


As a run blocker, he fired off the ball, regularly knocking his man back at the point of attack. Alternatively, he reached his landmarks in the second level to body assignments both on runs and screens.

In pass protection, he played with quick feet, a strong base, and active hands, making the necessary adjustments to mirror his man or help a teammate when Chicago's front tried to execute a twist/stunt. Mahogany regularly provided a late assist to keep quarterback Jared Goff’s pocket clean.


He did have one notable breakdown in pass protection, getting bested one-on-one on a third down that resulted in Goff getting hit as he threw, causing an incompletion. But, overall, the results were stellar.

Not bad for a guy who got knocked on his ass by mononucleosis this offseason, costing him the entirety of his first training camp.


Of course, there will be a level of overreaction, including some who will call for Mahogany to immediately replace Glasgow in the starting lineup. It's unlikely the team would abruptly bench the accomplished veteran, but they could feel compelled to give Glasgow an extra week or rest for his injured knee given Sunday’s results. The 49ers, like the Bears, don’t have a particularly daunting set of interior defensive linemen, especially with two-time Pro Bowler Javon Hargrave on injured reserve.

More important than the immediate, Mahogany offered a glimpse into a possible future of Detroit’s offensive line. Again, we have to be careful not to overreact to the small sample size, but his movement skills and temperament were as promising a combination as we’ve seen from a Lions backup o-lineman in a while.


The Lions face some offseason decisions with the unit. Presently, the future of the right guard spot is cloudy with stellar veteran Kevin Zeitler operating on a one-year deal. And, even though he’s under contract for two more seasons, it’s difficult to say Glasgow will see the final year of his deal with a projected $8.4 million cap hit in 2026 as he enters his age-34 season.

The Lions could use an injection of youth to the unit with three starters over 30. Perhaps we'll see Mahogany emerge as part of that solution as early as next season.


Easy does it

While Mahogany was a question mark coming into the contest, running back Jahmyr Gibbs was not. There was no doubt the second-year back would be prepared to handle a bigger share of the workload with David Montgomery on the shelf.

Just like he did against the Raiders last season, Gibbs delivered in the featured role in Chicago, grinding out 154 yards and a touchdown with a career-high 27 touches. And while he might be a little sorer than normal this Monday, you couldn’t tell the 5-foot-9, 200-pounder had gone to war for four quarters during a locker room interview shortly after the final whistle.


For as much as we like to think of Gibbs as a speed-and-space weapon, he’s equally physical and tough. Plenty of his runs on Sunday were between the tackles, where he never hesitates to lower his shoulder into a would-be tackler.

During his postgame interview, Gibbs claimed to be used to this type of workload, but that’s not necessarily true. He only topped 27 touches once in college and 20 carries three times.


Still, there’s no question, he won’t hesitate to take on as much as the Lions ask of him. But I’d argue the team has to do a better job managing the back’s load down the stretch. And, to be fair, they did adjust in the second half against the Bears.

Remember what has helped fuel Gibbs’ outstanding sophomore campaign. It's been the rotation with Montgomery. They keep each other's legs fresh. And even though the Lions are on the cusp of earning a first-round bye, and potentially face a less-than-demanding Week 18, they need Gibbs at his best for a possible for a Super Bowl run.


Admittedly, he’s made impressive strides with the way he manages his body, through both his prehab and post-game recovery routines, but this is still a player who has been hindered by soft-tissue concerns his first two seasons.

Craig Reynolds and Jermar Jefferson aren’t as dynamic as Gibbs. It’s a sentence so obvious it didn’t really need to be said. Still, the backups can grind out 4.0 yards per carry, run decent routes out of the backfield, and hold up in pass protection. A little more balance between those two and Gibbs against San Francisco, and Minnesota in Week 18 if necessary, could pay dividends when it matters most.



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

X: Justin_Rogers

Bluesky: Justin-Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Pride of Detroit Direct
by Jeremy Reisman


The 2024 Detroit Lions can now officially lay claim to the best regular season team in franchise history. At 13-2, the Lions set a team record for most wins in the regular season. Obviously, this season will be defined by what they do in the postseason, but don’t forget to enjoy the journey. It’s a special season, with special players, and some really, really special plays along the way.

In this week’s Victory Monday newsletter, we’re going to talk about learning to win again, celebrate Detroit’s versatile passing offense, and offer you a postgame video recapping it all and looking forward to the NFC playoff picture.


The defense is learning to win again

If you’re like me, you didn’t exactly come away from the Lions’ 34-17 victory over the Chicago Bears feeling great about the defense. The scoreboard may only show 17 points allowed, two takeaways, and only three points allowed in the entire second half, but it certainly didn’t feel like the Lions defense was in control against one of the worst offenses in football.

Detroit allowed 382 yards of offense–Chicago’s fifth-highest total this year–and their 43% success rate is higher than their season total (40.7%).

But something coach Dan Campbell said after the game really resonated with me. He admitted that their defensive effort against the Bears won’t be enough against the NFC playoff teams that lie ahead.


“There was things we needed to clean up with where we we’re at and begin to learn how to play with where we were at,” Campbell said. “We did that. Now next week we'll know a little bit more and be able to adjust, and then the final week, we'll learn a little bit more and be able to adjust. By then, you're in the playoffs and you're playing your best football with where you're at.”

I can’t shake that line: “Learn how to play with where we were at.”


I think it’s a pretty fair interpretation that Campbell is referencing their injury situation on defense. They are learning to live in the new normal. And that new normal means no more Alim McNeill, no more Carlton Davis, no more Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Malcolm Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes, or Mekhi Wingo. While some of those injuries are not new, the Lions are still living in wake of that impact, and it’s only getting multiplied by some of the depth pieces getting carted off, as well.

Detroit is still figuring it out. They’re still collecting data on what works and what doesn’t work, and what better game to do that in than against one of the worst offenses in football. You can play around with lineups and formations and schemes, and then build upon it the next week.


Because the new normal also means getting Ifeatu Melifonwu back, Detroit wasted no time in getting the fourth-year defensive back into the game. Despite not playing all season and only getting in three practices following his IR activation, Melifonwu played in 51 defensive snaps (80%) on Sunday against the Bears, giving the Lions defense an entirely different dynamic in the return of three-safety sets. Amik Robertson manned the outside and held up relatively well. Terrion Arnold was put on an island several times and succeeded.

The new normal also means a heavy reliance on guys like Pat O’Connor (52% of snaps) and Levi Onwuzurike (62%) to step up and plug the middle of the field, while sending Brodric Martin and Jonah Williams. They found a lot of success there, as D’Andre Swift managed just 20 rushing yards on nine carries.


Detroit also shifted their strategies at the linebacking corps quite dramatically in this game. With the return of Trevor Nowaske (38% of snaps) and the addition of Anthony Pittman (17%), the Lions made Kwon Alexander and Jamal Adams inactive, and relegated David Long to solely special teams duties. Those three players who didn’t contribute on defense this week combined for 57 snaps last week.

All of that is to say that this team is still learning to play together. An effective defense requires all 11 players to do their job, and these players have yet to develop chemistry with one another. Sunday was a step in that direction, and the progress from last week–no matter how small–was notable.


And while I do there there are still some serious personnel concerns (mostly at EDGE), don’t forget that the new normal is also likely to include both Alex Anzalone and Jalen Reeves-Maybin very soon.

So while the Lions continue to figure things out in the secondary, build some more trust and chemistry on the defensive line, and get healthier at the linebacker level, there is reason to believe the defense could finally start figuring things out just in time for the team’s playoff run.



The Lions’ dynamic passing attack is arguably best in the NFL
By Brett Whitefield, owner and COO of Fantasy Points


*Before we dive in, remember that all data cited in this section is provided exclusively by Fantasy Points Data Suite - right now you can get 25% off of a Data Suite subscription by using our exclusive promo code POD25.

The Detroit Lions went on the road and into the cold to grab their 13th win of the season, a new franchise record. They are also 14-3 in their last 17 in division games, which is a great starting point for piling up successful seasons. Only the Chiefs (15-2) have a better division record over that span. The Lions also broke the franchise record for most points scored in a season (479).

Against the Bears, the pass game was absolutely humming. It has been hot all year long from an efficiency standpoint but now it is really ticking from a volume standpoint as well. The numbers bear that out, and I think it’s more than fair to say they have the most balanced passing attack in the league.


The Lions have the unique ability to win in every facet of the passing game. Starting with their elite pass-protection, they can handle insane volume while keeping their QB clean. They have downfield threats in Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta, and eventually Kalif Raymond. They have run-after-the-catch monsters in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and LaPorta. They have elite route runners that can dice up man coverage. They have IQ pass-catchers that can exploit voids in zone. They even have a big-bodied catch point warrior/possession X-type receiver in Tim Patrick. Whatever the problem is to be solved in the pass game, the Lions have the answer. The icing on the cake is Ben Johnson and his trick plays.

With it being Pro Bowl voting season, I thought it would be fitting to lay out Pro Bowl cases for the engines of the Lions pass game via advanced data. Enjoy.


Jared Goff

Ranks 2nd in “highly accurate” throw rate (55.5%)

Ranks 5th in catchable ball rate (78.2%)

Ranks 2nd in EPA per dropback

Ranks 2nd in adjusted net yards per attempt (8.22)

Ranks 10th in turnover-worthy-throw rate (2.3%)

Ranks 3rd in passing yards at the intermediate level (1212)

Ranks 3rd in yards per attempt when blitzed (9.24) and 5th in passer rating (114.7)


Amon-Ra St. Brown

Ranks 5th among all pass-catcher in average separation score (0.153)

Ranks 1st among all pass-catchers in first downs per route run (0.142)

Ranks 7th among WRs in forced missed tackles (15)

Ranks 8th among WRs in yards per route run vs Zone (2.69)

Ranks 2nd among WRs in catch rate (81.5%)


Jameson Williams

Ranks 6th among all pass-catchers in average separation score (0.152)

Ranks 1st among WRs in yards per target (11.87)

Ranks 2nd among WRs in YAC/REC (8.49)

Ranks 7th among WRs in YPRR vs Man coverage (3.10)


Sam LaPorta

Ranks 8th among TEs in yards (599)

Ranks 7th among TEs in yards per target (9.36)

Ranks 5th among TEs in YAC/REC (6.23)

Ranks 5th among TEs in forced missed tackles (10)

Ranks 2nd among TEs in average separation score (0.097)

All of this despite ranking 16th in target share (14.2%)


Jahmyr Gibbs

Ranks 3rd among RBs in receiving yards (440)

Ranks 4th among RBs in yards per route run (1.73)

Ranks 2nd among RBs in yards per target (8.46)

Ranks 5th among RBs in forced missed tackles on receptions (13)

Ranks 3rd among in 1D/RR (0.094)


Trick Plays

Rank 1st in passing yards on trick plays with 161

Rank 1st in passing TDs on trick plays with 5

Have a perfect passer rating of 158.3 on trick plays

9 completions on 9 attempts for 5 TDs and 4 first downs


VIDEO: Jeremy and Erik recap the Lions’ win over Bears + look at the playoff picture

 

[whatever_gong82]

Lions remain focused while NFC North still up for grabs: ‘Nobody writes our story’


Paywall article.


By Colton Pouncy
Dec 22, 2024


CHICAGO — Contrary to popular belief, the Detroit Lions are still here. They never went anywhere — except to Chicago, for a get-right game. And as the Chicago Bears learned on Sunday, after a 34-17 loss, this was the wrong week to get them.

“Nobody writes our story,” coach Dan Campbell told his players this week. “We’re the only ones who write our own story. … We have the pen and there’s a lot of football left.”


Those words came from a question asking Campbell what his message to the team was, amid a week when doubt crept in. The Lions had just lost to the Buffalo Bills by six points at home in a shootout. It was their first loss in three months, so perhaps reactionary takes and questions should’ve been expected. Lions players and coaches, much to their chagrin, had to answer them all week long.


Like they weren’t 12-2. Like their goals for the regular season and beyond didn’t remain in front of them. Like they should just accept that their season was over.

It didn’t make sense to them. It never made sense to them.


“We’re 12-2,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “We’re 12-2, the sky is falling? We’re going to the playoffs, we in the tournament. Why in the hell is the sky falling for us? … We have a chance to win out and accomplish everything that we want to accomplish. So why should we sit back and wallow and think that the sky is falling? It’s dumb.”


The source of the outside fear was injuries, of course. Cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Khalil Dorsey, defensive tackle Alim McNeill and running back David Montgomery joined Aidan Hutchinson, Derrick Barnes, Alex Anzalone, Malcolm Rodriguez, Marcus Davenport and others on a lengthy injury report that reads like a profile in The New Yorker.

Some of the reactions this week were understandable, to an extent. The best season in Lions history, derailed by season-ending injuries. A once dominant team, forced to scrape by. And with the Eagles and Vikings lurking, tied atop the standings at 12-2, the Lions were destined to lose their grip on the NFC North and No. 1 seed, until their lack of depth finally shows and they’re inevitably bounced in the playoffs.


Put the pens down for a second. Close the laptop if you’re writing that narrative. These Lions want you to know there’s more to document.


“I think anything can happen in this league and we knew injuries were going to happen going into the season and we don’t want them to happen, but just like Coach Campbell has been saying all week long, no one’s going to write our story for us,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us this week to win this game and then we already know that we’re going to be a part of the dance, and all bets are off once we get in there.”


The Lions had turned their full energy toward beating Chicago. They practiced outside all week to prepare for the elements. They were eager to get back on the road, secretly liking the feeling of ruining a home crowd’s day. And they have not lost two games in a row since October 2022, when they started 1-6. They closed the year winning eight of their final 10 games — the precursor to the best two-year stretch in franchise history.

Short-handed and all, the Lions were coming. Campbell saw it in practice all week.


“I wanted to see us play Detroit football, and I wanted to win,” Campbell said. “That was it. I gave no other stipulations. … I just wanted to see our identity take shape and I wanted to win this game, and we did that.”

Let’s start with the defense since that’s the biggest question mark facing this team. Things were better on Sunday. The best they’ve been in some time.


The Lions held the Bears to just 17 points — their lowest allowed since Week 12 vs. the Colts. About a full month. They won the takeaway battle with two recovered fumbles, after struggling in that department for a bit. They welcomed safety Ifeatu Melifonwu back, who contributed with a key sack late in the game on a blitz off the edge. The defense wasn’t without flaws, but that can’t be the expectation. Some timely plays and a tight red-zone defense (1-of-3 on Sunday) was a much-needed step in the right direction, and something this defense so desperately wanted to get back to.

“All that media stuff, we know our identity,” cornerback Terrion Arnold said after the game. “We don’t really get into that. … We still got the same mentality. When we go in the game, we just know at the end of the day we just gotta go out there and play our brand of football.”


And so, the Lions played their brand on defense and offense. They ran the ball — without Montgomery — for 146 yards. It was almost as if they had a former first-round pick to lean on or something.

All week, coaches talked about their belief in Jahmyr Gibbs, and how they felt he was ready for increased touches. He finished the day with a season-high 27, turning them into 154 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. He said on a couple of occasions before the offense headed back on the field, he asked his coaches whose drive it was at running back.


“Uh, yours?” they told him.

Oh, right. Force of habit. This is a bit new to Gibbs — at this level, at least. But he’s been a No. 1 his whole life. The Lions made him one again on Sunday and needed everything he gave them. They’ll need it the rest of the way, too.


Elsewhere, Jameson Williams was a force as he closes in on his first 1,000-yard season. He finished with five catches for 143 yards and a touchdown — on a beautifully thrown ball by quarterback Jared Goff. Detroit’s passing game, with Goff leading the way, has been on a heater of late. He’s thrown for 4,095 yards and a career-high 33 touchdowns this season, with two games remaining. In his last three games alone, Goff has thrown for 1,113 yards, 11 touchdowns and just one interception. It’s no coincidence the offense has been humming with him playing at such a high level.


“Jared was fantastic in the air today,” tight end Sam LaPorta said. “No interceptions, a lot of completions, three touchdowns. Really balanced today. That’s what we’re looking for each and every week.”

And then, there was Johnson — high on the list of reasons why you shouldn’t count the Lions out yet. Detroit has scored 34, 42 and 34 points in the last three weeks. His bag of tricks is deeper than a Michigan pothole. We saw it on Sunday.


The play design everyone was talking about after the game, of course, was a brainchild of Johnson. But its origin perfectly encapsulates what makes him so special. He can draw inspiration from anywhere and use it to his offense’s advantage.

When the Packers traveled to Chicago to take on the Bears in September 2023, there was a play on which Jordan Love dropped a snap, picked it up and found a wide-open Luke Musgrave for a gain of 37. The fumble froze the Chicago linebackers and allowed Musgrave to leak out for a big gain. It was not intentional. Johnson’s version was.


He saw it on film, then asked Goff if he thought he could fumble on purpose and pick it back up.

No? OK, how about a fake stumble?

That’s how Johnson operates. It’s a collaborative process, finding out what his players can and can’t do. Along the way, they incorporated Gibbs rolling to the ground into the play — something Goff said really sold it. Once there was a comfort level, Johnson had his players re-create it, practicing it about three or four times before the game in practice. They were coached to yell, “fumble, fumble, fumble,” during the play, an extra layer to the confusion. Then, they ran it for a touchdown.

https://x.com/Lions/status/1870922831812300989

“It’s called Stumble Bum,” LaPorta said. “No particular reason, I don’t think.”

“Ben’s smart,” wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “He’s watching tape, tendencies, things that work, things that can’t work. Almost all the plays that he draws up, there’s a reason behind it and there’s intent behind it.”

The Lions are back on track, as we inch closer to the end of the season. Sunday was their 13th win of the season, setting a franchise regular-season record. Campbell said he wants his team to enjoy it. But not yet. There’s still work to do.


They’re hoping to lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye and got some much-needed help on Sunday. Shortly after Campbell took the stage for his postgame news conference, the locker room could be heard erupting through the thin walls behind him. Jayden Daniels had just found Jamison Crowder for a go-ahead touchdown against the Eagles with six seconds left. The reporter writing this story turned his laptop around to show Campbell the score, with time winding down.


“Why don’t we just sit here and wait for this,” Campbell said, drawing laughs from the room.

If the Lions beat the 49ers next week and the Vikings lose to the Packers, the division is theirs and the conference runs through Detroit. However, the Lions have positioned themselves to avoid scoreboard-watching down the stretch. Win out and they don’t have to worry about anything else outside of their building.


Not that they ever have anyway. Sunday’s game reinforced that.


“I was proud of our guys for bouncing back,” Campbell said. “I knew they would. Right mindset. Look, it takes a special group of guys to emotionally, physically, psychologically bounce back after a tough loss, especially when you haven’t lost in a while, go out, win on the road again. … 13 wins has never been done, and I told them one day we’ll be able to look back and enjoy that, but not yet. It’s not the time. … But as far as today, we did what we had to do.”


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

[edindetroit]

[whatever_gong82]

Here's a good news article about a Lions fan saving someone at the Bears game today:

Lions saw a real hero on sidelines as Detroit fan saved a life during pre-game workouts

Jeff Seidel
Detroit Free Press


CHICAGO — Before the Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday in Soldier Field, something magical happened on the sideline.

“This is the season of miracles,” said Ben Roth, a longtime Lions fan, who happens to be a paramedic from Frisco, Texas.


Who just happened to be at the Lions game Sunday.

Who just happened to get some special field passes to go down on the sideline — I mean, he wasn't even supposed to be there, so close to the players.

But he just happened to be in precisely the right spot, at the right time, to save somebody’s life.


“Miracles,” Roth said, his voice trailing off.

Indeed.

But I’ll get to that in a second.


Because it’s important to set the scene.

How Roth ended up on the sideline is what truly makes this so special. All the tiny things that added up to this moment, like a pebble hitting a lake, all those ripples coming together at the perfect time.


From Roth's love of Barry Sanders to seeing a familiar sweatshirt in the stands to having a chance meeting with a guy with a special field pass to, well, having the foresight to scream for an AED.


Rooting for Barry Sanders

It all goes back to Barry Sanders.

“I've been a Lions fan for 35 years,” Roth said. “It started when I saw Barry Sanders play when I was 6 years old. I said, 'whatever team he gets drafted by will be my favorite team.’”


And that’s how a guy from Frisco, Texas — somebody who works as a firefighter and paramedic in Plano — ended up a Lions season ticket holder.

“We usually make it to four to five games a year as a family," he said, "and I'll get one or two by myself."



On Sunday, Roth took Isadora, his 6-year-old daughter, to the game against the Bears and they were sitting in club seats. “As close as you can be without actually being on the field,” he said.

That’s when things started to come together in the strangest of ways.

Roth noticed somebody wearing a North Texas shirt.


How strange? What are the chances of seeing that at a Bears game?

“Because my wife is the head swimming and diving coach for the University of North Texas,” Roth said. “I said, ‘Hey, can I take a picture with your son? My wife's the head coach at that college.'"


“And he said, 'Yeah, no problem.’”

So, they took a picture, and they started talking.


“He said, ‘Hey, we have two field passes,'" Roth said. "'My wife got sick yesterday, so if you want to come down with us? We want to get the tickets to a girl dad.'"

Well, Roth is certainly qualified as a girl dad. This was the second time he's taken his daughter to a Lions game.


“I so appreciated it,” Roth said. “Usually, my wife comes, but she's had enough cold weather games in her lifetime that she's like, 'You guys go.'”

So, they used those special passes to go down on the field about an hour before the game.


A man collapses

Down on the field, a man collapsed about 12 feet away from Roth.

“All I heard was somebody say that somebody just passed out,” Roth said. “So I turned and went to work and started helping.”


Let me just pause here to point out something important: You wanna talk about heroes? You wanna talk about people who have something special inside? Here is a guy who was at a Lions game, on a cold day in Chicago, down on the sideline with his daughter, and he sprang into action. Because that's what people like this do.


Yes, that’s hero stuff.

At first, they thought the man was having a seizure.


But Roth has been a paramedic for 17 years and he’s seen this before.

“A lot of times before you have a heart attack, you have what looks like a seizure,” he said.


So, Roth did an incredibly smart thing.

He called for an AED (automated external defibrillator) machine before the man's heart stopped.


“Hey, get ready to do CPR,” Roth said. “And they're like, ‘he has pulse.’”

“I was like, ‘he’s about to lose it.’”


Sure enough, the man’s heart stopped beating.


Roth started compressions on the man’s chest, doing CPR, and then stepped back to take charge.

“I did a couple compressions, but I knew that we needed to do some more higher end medical stuff,” Roth said. “CPR is one of those things that a lot of people can do with the right training.


"So we asked the Troopers to do that and then I asked another gentleman to keep track of the time for me, because I didn't know when we were going to get somebody over there.”


The Bears rushed over an AED machine in about 30 or 40 seconds, according to Roth.

“We placed the pads on his chest,” Roth said. “The AED identified that he was in a rhythm and needed to be shocked.”


Roth told everybody to back up.

“It can go through the body to another person,” he said.


Roth pushed the button and shocked the man’s heart.

He was brought back thanks to an entire team effort that included the Bears and the Illinois State Troopers.


“We continued CPR for a little bit more, just to make sure that it wasn't a 'fake get back,'” he said. “Sometimes a person will come back and they'll immediately go back into arrest.”


But the man did come back.


“He came to and I was able to talk to him a little bit,” Roth said.




The last Roth saw, the man was being carted off the field.

“He was talking to me,” Roth said. “Told me his name, his birthday, about everything.”

And Roth went back to the stands.


“The guy I was sitting with said, ‘Hey, Dan Campbell, walked by while you were doing all that stuff,’” Roth said.

Wild, right?

All the things that came together in that moment?


“It's an adrenaline rush from the aspect of doing my passion, which is helping people,” Roth said. “But it was a little bit scary, because as a firefighter and a paramedic, you get notified for a call and you have your coworkers with you. Your brothers, your sisters, you have them with you.

"You have the equipment, you have an idea what you're going to do and that it happened right in front of me. So I went back to the very basics and just did CPR. Then once the equipment got there, I felt a lot more comfortable.”




“This is why I became a firefighter,” he continued. “I'm just happy that there was an AED around. I'm happy the Bears staff was able to get there as quick as they did. I was happy I was in the right place. Hopefully he gets to celebrate Christmas with his family.”


All in all, it was a pretty amazing day for Roth. The Lions won. He got to spend time with his daughter. Oh, and he saved a life.

“I wanted the Lions to win,” he said, “but this is a far bigger win.”

A true season of miracles.


Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

Here is the interview with the Lions fan that helped save someone:

[DanO]

Here is the interview with the Lions fan that helped save someone:

LOVE!!!

[edindetroit]

It was a reference to something Coach Campbell said after the loss to Buffalo. I've already forgotten the context.

"What happens is you get used to eating filet, and I'm talking all of us, and everything's good. Life's good," Campbell said, referencing the Lions' 12-2 season to date. "But you forgot what it was like when you had nothing, and you ate your (expletive) molded bread. And it was just fine, and it gave you everything you needed. Sometimes you got to get punched in the mouth and remember what it used to be like to really appreciate where you are, and we'll do that.