When it felt like all was lost for the Lions, they scratched and clawed their way back for their 8th victory of the season. This one was even better because not only was it against the Chicago Bears, but the Lions were down 12 points with 4:15 left in the game.
Even with time working against them and the inability to get out of their own way, the Lions didn’t quit. The credit goes to the players for fighting until the end and to the coaches for getting this team to buy in no matter the situation. Now we see a Lions team with their first 8-2 start since 1962.
Plenty of smiles were on the faces of players, coaches and fans after this win over the Bears. Here are some key quotes from players and coaches after the Lions’ 8th win of the season.
While Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw three interceptions, he showed his resiliency. He led the Lions down the field not once but twice as the game was in its closing minutes. He even admitted that he didn’t play great. After the game, Goff said, “not my best ball for about three and a half quarters, but found a way to make it work there at the end.”
Goff added, “It’s a sign of a good team. We’re a resilient group. We’re tough. We have a lot of courage and we don’t back down from anything.”
As the Lions inched closer, one of the key plays in the fourth quarter was a 32-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Jameson Williams. While it’s been some up-and-down for Williams in Detroit, he seems to make a big play whenever he gets his hands on the football. Today was no different as he record two receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown. Here’s what was said about Williams and what he had to say after the game:
- “He’s part of the herd, he’s been accepted. The way he goes and blocks and he’s starting to run some pretty good routes. He’s making some catches. There’s a lot of guys that are beginning to trust him.” — Dan Campbell
- “The last couple weeks for him have been so good. He’s practiced so well, and we do trust him now. I trust him a lot. I trust him to make that throw.” — Jared Goff
- “But it’s open, after that, we make that read it’s on the corner, is he going to go high or low. It’s me or it’s a corner route under me. So, it’s either or, Jared made the read and we just got on the board quick. We got a stop, we got back on the board again. So, it was good.” — Jameson Williams
To take the lead, the Lions relied on Goff to string together a 73-yard drive that ate up just over two minutes of clock. On that drive, Goff completed passes to Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown. To cap that drive off, the Lions handed the ball off to former Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery with 31 seconds left on the clock.
As Montgomery jogged into the end-zone, Ford Field erupted in a way that I’ve never heard before. After the game, Montgomery got plenty of praise from his teammates. Here’s what was said about Montgomery and what he had to say after the game:
- “David is a stud. I know this game meant a little extra to him. He showed up. He really did. Him getting that touchdown at the end is kind of poetic. He played well all day.” — Jared Goff
- “I knew this one was on his bucket list the moment I met him. 5, I’m with you all day. Shoot, wherever you go, I’m there. If you wanna get dirty, we can get dirty, I don’t care. But, uh, I told him I had his back no matter what. I was going to match his energy and his stamina, too. I’m glad that he got the touchdown at the end and the win.” — Penei Sewell
- “I call this place the land of the misfit toys. You get lot of guys that been told no they whole life, been told they’ve never been good enough. People look at this city for a while as not taken serious, and now we’re getting to be serious. The city of Detroit is behind us and you can feel it, ya know? We have a bunch of guys in this locker room, the coaches, high character guys, gritty guys, ya know? You see what it’s like, for a long time, when you done got beat down. The tide begins to change.” — David Montgomery
One of the final plays of the game was a strip sack from Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson. After going four straight games without a sack, the streak was finally broken for the talented defensive end. After he knocked the ball out of the hands of Justin Fields, the ball was kicked into the back of the end zone by Darnell Wright for a safety.
This was enough to put the Lions up 31-26, and it sealed the comeback win for Detroit. Here’s what was said about Hutchinson and what he had to say after the game:
- “Hutch goes out and makes the sack-fumble of his life for a safety. To me, those are the moments we’re built for…” — Dan Campbell
- “Fields was sitting there, didn’t see me, and it all happened really fast. The tackle was trying to pick it up, and I just kinda pushed the tackle and he ended up kicking it. And I booted it into the stands somewhere, so that’s going to be a nice little find.” — Aidan Hutchinson
Tonight, the roars from the crowd still echo inside of Ford Field despite sitting empty until the Lions next game. That game will be on Thanksgiving Day against the Green Bay Packers. Regardless of the record, the Lions will need to play better football on all three levels. It feels like they should but we will see how this team responds despite a close call against the Bears.