Here’s the ball, Jared Goff.
Here’s your chance to help win the game for the Detroit Lions. To make everybody forget that underthrow to Jameson Williams.
Here’s your chance to keep the Lions in the hunt for the NFL playoffs. To keep this season alive. To keep this magical, improbable, rags-to-riches story going.
Now, let me set the scene:
The Jets had all the momentum after scoring a touchdown with 4:41 left, taking a 17-13 lead. Now, it was Goff’s turn, as the Lions take over on the Jets’ 22.
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First play: Goff drops back to pass. He shuffles. Shuffles. Buying time. And he hits tight end Brock Wright over the middle. What a wonderful design. A first-down worthy play. Only there’s a problem. Wright drops it. He freakin’ drops it. This is the Lions story we know so well.
Second play: Just when you think the Lions are in pure passing mode, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson throws a changeup and runs the ball. D’Andre Swift bursts through the middle for 8 yards. What a clever play, burning the clock, wanting to hold onto the ball while driving downfield, taking pressure off that passing game. Give credit to Johnson, give credit to the offensive line.
Third play: Goff turns to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Mr. Reliable. Mr. Clutch. And St. Brown breaks a tackle and picks up a first down. Of course, he does. And the season is still alive.
Fourth play: Another handoff. Justin Jackson goes off left tackle for 3 yards. Clearly, the Lions are in four-down territory. Under 3 minutes now. The pressure is building. Breathe Lions fans, just breathe.
Fifth play: The Lions dust off their playbook, dig in the back where the pages are stuck together and pull out another surprise. An I-formation with a fullback. That’s gotta mess with tendencies. So the Jets have to be thinking: here comes a run. Right? Goff fakes the run, looks deep but nobody is open. Then, he does the smart thing. He doesn’t force it. Doesn’t make a massive mistake. And that’s progress. That’s growth. That’s encouraging. That’s the subtle kind of play that wins games. Because he throws it into the ground at Jason Cabinda – a player who doesn’t have a catch on the season.
Sixth play: Third-and-7. Goff calls timeout with 4 seconds left on the play clock. Which is enough to make you cringe. They might need that timeout, if this drive fails. Then again – wow, was that smart – because after a discussion, Goff hits Kalif Raymond, just a few inches from a first down. If only he had reached out the ball, he might have picked up the first down. If only he had a route beyond the first down mark.
Seventh play: Fourth-and-inches. This is the game. This feels like the season. You figure Goff would do a quarterback sneak. You figure they would slam a run into the line. But they don’t. That’s not coach Dan Campbell’s style. Go for it, man. Goff fakes the handoff and looks to his right. Meanwhile, Wright is slipping to the left. The guy who dropped a pass earlier. But Goff trusts him. Johnson and Campbell trust him. I mean, think about it. The Lions traded T.J. Hockenson, saying they had tight ends who could pick up their game. And here it comes. This is the moment. Because Wright is wide open.
Goff throws to Wright. He catches the ball and tucks it, and weaves through traffic and scores.
His first catch of the day. The biggest of the season.
Who saw this coming?
Who saw it coming when they traded Hockenson? Amazing.
Defense stands tall … enough
But this story isn’t done.
There is 1:49 left. Just enough time for some heartbreak.
New York quarterback Zach Wilson has the ball. He’s the guy who was benched and inactive for three weeks.
And now, he has a chance to write his own comeback story.
First play: Sacked by Julian Okwara. Wow.
Second play: Wilson overthrows Braxton Berrios, who was open, streaking down the middle and might have had a touchdown. Wilson rushing to get rid of the ball is a reflection of the Lions pass rush. A reflection of all that capital put into that D-line. But yeah, now other teams are making mistakes.
Third down: Wilson hits Garrett Wilson for a first down, just as James Houston IV gets a quarterback hit. By the way, Houston is a freakin’ stud.
Under 60 seconds to play now.
More:Nobody knew Lions’ James Houston 4 weeks ago. Now he’s wowing NFL with pass rush skills
Fourth play: Lions blitz and Wilson throws it away. Again, credit to that entire defense, starting with the D-line.
Fifth play: Zach Wilson complete to Garrett Wilson for 10 to the Jets 48-yard line. But they don’t call timeout despite having three, and the clock dwindles.
Sixth play: Wilson goes for a bomb but it’s incomplete – isn’t that the play where the Lions would usually lose? On a defensive penalty? Or a completion?
Now, there’s just 25 seconds to play.
Seventh play: The defensive line comes through yet again and John Cominsky gets the sack.
Eighth play: Third-and-18. Just 19 seconds left. And Wilson has another overthrow.
Ninth play: Now, 14 seconds to play. Fourth-and-18. Desperation time. Wilson is running around. Scrambling. Buying time and heaves to Wilson for a catch.
The Jets have one second left – ugh.
10th play: Greg Zuerlein misses a 58 yarder. Wide left, baby.
And the Lions do it. They hold on for a 20-17 victory.
Amazing.
This is the type of game they used to lose.
But they overcome their own mistakes.
Like Goff missing Williams for a certain touchdown.
Or wiping out a touchdown run with a hold.
Or several other mistakes.
So be it. Doesn’t matter now.
It’s not about perfect.
It’s about winning.
And that’s what the Lions just did.
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Credit to all
Who won this game? All of them. It wasn’t one play or one player. It was all of them.
These Lions showed toughness and resolve and resiliency.
They overcame their own mistakes.
Goff won it with his arm, not just the passes he completed, but the ones he threw away.
Johnson won it with his creativity.
That defensive line won it with its pressure, recording 10 quarterback hits.
Wright won it with that amazing sprint through the Jets secondary.
Special teams won it – thanks to Raymond’s 47-yard punt return for a touchdown. There were so many great blocks I lost count.
That offensive line won it because they were able to run when they needed it.
That secondary won it, making enough plays to keep this dream alive.
And Campbell won it, just by how he kept this team together after that horrible 1-6 start to the season.
Give them credit. All of them. Even the ones I didn’t list.
The surprising Lions are 7-7, have now won three straight and six of their past seven games.
They have a legit shot for the final wild-card spot in the NFC playoffs.
It’s not much of a stretch to think they are gonna beat the Carolina Panthers on the road.
To think they are gonna beat the Chicago Bears at home.
And to think they are gonna beat the Green Bay Packers on the road.
This is so magical and so surprising and so fun. And the credit goes to this entire organization, top to bottom.
What a run. What a fascinating story. This is getting fun.
Lions fans, you deserve this. Savor every second of it.
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Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.