Analysis at the half: Jared Goff is leading his former team, but the Lions defense is having trouble.
Halftime analysis: Although Jared Goff is captaining his old team, the Lions defense is struggling.
Playing some of his best football of the postseason, Jared Goff has led the Lions to three straight touchdown drives and a 21-17 lead at halftime against the Rams in a wild-card game at Ford Field. He has completed 15 of his first 16 passes.
With players dancing on the field and celebrities sprinkled among the crowd, this place is electric like never before. The volume is unbearable. Goff has been impenetrable against the team that gave up on him three years ago in the midst of the chaos. In the Matthew Stafford trade, he was sent to Detroit along with a ton of draft picks, including two first-round picks. He was no longer wanted by Los Angeles at all, and now Goff is playing competitive football with his former squad.
This week, Goff stated, “Obviously there’s a personal connection (to L.A.)”. “But I really want to win a game for this city, since we haven’t had a playoff game in a long time. For the first time in a very long time, we have a playoff game at home, and that matters far more than anything else. Personally, I want to contribute to this victory and give my all at work.
To date, Goff has accomplished that and is at his best when he targets Josh Reynolds, another former Ram who was cut before moving to Detroit. He began the game with a 33-yard reception during a smooth opening drive, and by the half, he had five catches for 80 yards.
David Montgomery put a stop to that opening drive with a brutal one-yard touchdown run up the middle, and later in the first quarter, Jahmyr Gibbs, his peanut butter and jelly partner, added a 10-yard scoring run. The crowd erupted in cheers as Detroit gained a 14-3 lead.
In the second quarter, head coach Dan Campbell showed no fear by going for it on a fourth-and-1 play from the Rams’ 2-yard line. To start the game, Goff connected with rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who had only been playing for a week before he hyperextended his knee in the regular-season finale, for his third straight touchdown.
The biggest moment is seeing Detroit’s offense, and Goff in particular, play some of its best game. However, the Lions’ defense has squandered opportunities, which has prevented them from pulling away. In the first quarter, they gave up a conversion on third-and-15, and four plays later, Stafford punished them with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Puca Nacua. The Lions’ next possession ended with Stafford connecting with Tutu Atwell for a 38-yard touchdown pass after the team failed to get off the field on fourth-and-5, much to the ire of Aaron Glenn.
The Lions pressured Stafford into an errant throw on third-and-goal to open the game, forcing a field goal. Otherwise, the former Lions quarterback has kept apace with Goff, completing 12 of 16 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
