Not gonna say it. Not this time. Not after this one, on this Sunday, after a stirring comeback, after everything … really? Seriously?
A bounce off the goalpost?
From 66 yards away?
As time expired?
You can’t make this up. I can’t make this up. The Detroit Lions can’t make this up.
And yet … it happened. No matter how many fans stayed and stood, stunned, buzzing from the moment near-elation turned to shock, the moment Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker ripped a 66-yard field goal to beat the Lions, 19-17, at Ford Field.
A kick that hit the crossbar, bounded up and over and into the net. No, I’m not gonna say it.
Instead, let’s focus on — and I know this is hard — but let’s focus on why the Ravens needed a prayer to beat the Lions, how this team almost got blown off the field in the first half, but didn’t. How three missed touchdown catches by Marquise Brown seemed to be a signal from somewhere — TV executives? The Gods of Brush Park? Coach Dan Campbell’s karma? — that the Lions needed to stay in the game.
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They did, though it wasn’t just the result of Baltimore’s charity. It was an opportunistic defense, which played with more spirit and force. It was a halftime adjustment from offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, who called for more screens and short crossing routes in the second half.
It worked. So did getting D’Andre Swift the ball more.
The Lions running back was recipient of those short passes. So was receiver Kalif Raymond, whose speed helped flip the game in the fourth quarter.
Here was a receiver making plays. It had been a while. Maybe it was Calvin Johnson’s presence — the Hall of Famer made an appearance on the field at halftime, where he was honored by the team and Sheila Ford Hemp.
The owner was booed as soon as she took the microphone. Johnson motioned for the crowd to stop.
It wouldn’t.
Not after all these decades of losing, of days like todays, when the crowd stayed, put its heart on the table yet again, then watched, improbably, impossibly, as another kicker from another team ripped out its hearts.
Even then, it was hard to believe. Not just the kick, but the way it happened, when the Ravens had faced a fourth-and-19 deep in their own territory, when Campbell got conservative on defense and rushed only three, giving Lamar Jackson time to stand in the pocket, stand, stand some more, and find Sammy Watkins near midfield in an open crease.
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Campbell talks about a thin margin for error. That his team doesn’t have much … or any.
Perhaps this is true. Still, the toughness and competitive spirit of this team helps counter that lack of margin.
Think about the last three possessions of the game, how the Lions pressured Jackson, forcing him into a flat-footed interception, how Amani Oruwariye picked it and how the LIons cornerback sprinted to the Ravens’ end zone to pump up the crowd.
How, on the first play of the Lions’ ensuing possession, Goff flicked it to Darren Fells in an open pocket for 24 yards. Then how, after a Swift run for a couple yards, Goff threw over the middle to Raymond, who turned back toward the ball to haul it in inches above the turf, the kind of low-key spectacular catch that will never make a highlight reel.
Think about how Ravens’ coach John Harbaugh challenged the catch. How officials upheld it, costing Baltimore a timeout. A risky move, the kind of move the Lions might make, because they have to.
Think about how Lynn called for a yet another screen pass to Raymond. How Goff hit him, how the Lions found themselves in the red zone, setting up a chess match between clock and score — the Lions trailed 16-14.
Lynn and Campbell ordered two straight runs, forcing Harbaugh to burn his final two timeouts and setting up a decision for the Lions.
Pass and try to pick up a first down? But risk an incompletion and leave 25 seconds or so more for the Ravens?
Or concede the first, run the ball and use the clock?
Campbell called a run and put the game in Jackson’s hands. Or, rather, the hands of his defense.
His defense?
Yes, his defense. It almost worked, too. The Lions sacked Jackson, forced him out of bounds, and forced an incompletion.
Then, on fourth-and-19, Campbell sat back, rushing three, and gave Jackson time.
And then, a kick for the ages. A gut punch for the ages, too, even by Lions’ standards.
Sixty-six yards? A bounce off the crossbar? That falls improbably forward?
Indeed, it was, and did, and into history.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.