On fourth down, Jared up under center, turns, gives it to my Umber gets the first down. Jared tripped as he came out from behind center, handed it to Demo, just barely got it to him. He got the first down to the fourteen yard line. You left that clock run now down to thirty and the Packers can't stop it. Final play of the game, barring a penalty. Lion's going for the win. It's gonna be Jake Bates from thirty five yards out left Hash to try.
To win it for Detroit.
There it is Fox. The whole kick away is up. It is good these Detroit Lions. You want to talk about grit, beryl, You want to talk about determination? Do you want to talk about resiliency? Fifteen is all of those things. What a night for the Detroit Lions.
You want to talk about the number one seed in the NFC going through Detroit, We're one step closer to that being a reality.
After the Lions.
Get a thirty four to thirty one victory and a fantastic Thursday night football game. That was Dan Miller and Lomas Brown on WXYT. I'm Greg Rosenthal, I'm in the garage and when we got a big game. We need a big time guest and analysts for one of the best football nights of the year. We could only have Jordan Rodrigue, and we had to play two plays Jordan right off the top, because that told the story of a night when Dan Campbell and this Lion's team was not afraid of the moment.
They go for it on fourth and one with under forty seconds to go.
They pick it up and they get the game winner from Jake Bates.
And I texted Greg Rosenthal in all Cats, Dan Onions Campbell, My god, what a great game.
Let's go.
Oh that ruled.
That ruled so much it did.
And our great producer Eric Roberts is saying, Ah, the first half, you know, I was wondering if this game was totally gonna deliver.
But a lot of times great game are like that.
There was the chess match early and we'll get to everything that happened early, and they were feeling each other out. But I found that all fascinating because you're watching this game and you just know these are two of the seven or eight teams that could win the Super Bowl that are on the list where it's it's realistic, where you can imagine it now. The Lions are right near the top of that list, and that decision to go
for let's start there on fourth and one. I don't think any other coach in the NFL is going for it there. But he does not want to give the ball back to Jordan Love and he is not afraid of not picking that yard up, even though Jordan earlier in the second half they set up a short Packers field goal by going for fourth and one inside their own thirty. That play did not work out, but five
times on this night they went for fourth down. Two of them resulted in touchdowns, two others were converted that last play, and to me, it's just next level thinking. Do you trust your defense or do you know that you're an offensive team and confident that you can pick up one yard there and end the game.
Well, it's true to who they are. I mean, listen man, And I know I sounded like Dan Campbell there. I've been working on that. Listen man, No, they same sounds great coming from you, Greg. The ethos of who they are, I mean, this is who this team is they. I mean you saw on the Amazon Prime broadcast. You saw the close up shot of Dan Campbell, and his jaw was set and his eyes were like dead inside right,
and he was ready to go. And then Alan Kirk on the broadcast were sitting, Oh yeah, they're gonna try to get him to jump right, And everybody in the audience at home, I am certain, was like, they're gonna freaking go for it right here, only if only to kill clock and to set up the field goal and a ch little chip shot a little bit, a little bit further away than that, but an easier field goal for Ja Bates, who has been nails all season since
they picked him up earlier this summer. And it is just so cool to see a team be who it is and you can't do anything about it. And the Packers did, I think, just about there's a couple of little nitpicks. We're going to have just about everything they could. I just hit my own microphone. I'm so heck and fired up this. They did everything they possibly could, you know, with with it. Just this is who the Lions are.
And part of me too, was relishing that short yardage fourth down and that fourth and one right almost almost unnecessary depending on who you asked. But if you're Dan Campbell,
if you're the Lions. That is necessary because Jordan Love was starting to heat up on the other side, executing some beautiful throws late in the game, getting the keeping the Green Bay Packers in it, keeping it tight, taking a couple of leads, and Dan Campbell I feel like almost a part of him and I want to believe this went for it there almost because they failed on
the previous one. He's like, I everyone all the talking heads on the shows tomorrow morning to shut the hell up, because we're gonna get this one.
I do I think Campbell thinks that, But I do think he thinks about it. I think that what it says to the team that this is who we are and we're gonna keep doing this. But I think he is so good at game management because he plays to the strings and he knows that the Packers scored every single one of those thirty one points Jordan in the previous six drives. So that's thirty one points in six drives.
That's four touchdowns in a field goal. The Lions were able to force the Packers to kick a field goal with about three minutes and forty seconds to go, and that almost felt like a death sentence. The Lions are so good on offense that you thought, ooh, them tying it at thirty one with under four to go, I just bet they're going to kill the clock and kick a field goal. And that is what happened. But before that,
it was four straight touchdowns by the Packers. The Lions defense, which I thought was really no in this game, and they're so shorthanded and started out really well, and they picked the team up early when the offense actually wasn't amazing. They punted a couple of times and Goff had that interception. In their first six drives, it's a team game. It's complimentary and and Dan Campbell knows who can compliment. Now, let's just back up a second in that drive, because
I say it, it felt like a FATA company. It's gonna happen, But there's multiple moments where they got to go make it happen.
It's third and nine.
And you get Jamir Gibbs, who as a receiver is such a difference maker.
He caught that fourth down for a touchdown.
You got to pick up that third and nine or you have another really difficult fourth down decision, or you're kicking a field goal with a ton of time left.
Of course they pick it up.
You have second and seventeen after a questionable holding call, and it's just like they'll probably pick up the second and seventeen.
But you can't take it for granted.
Jared Goff is just so awesome, you know, throwing it over the middle on those in breakers he gets sixteen yards. That was to Saint Brown, right, you know, they're just short of fourth down, and they were a little up and down in short yardage on third downs for most of the night, and that set up the big decision. But all the credit goes to GoF too for other than the interception, I think playing a fantastic game and him and the lines being able to execute in those huge moments.
Yes, he ended the game on a thirteen pass heater like talk about clutch, I mean.
After wait, no incomplations, you mean in thirteen in a row.
Correct, Yeah, no, missus. And to aman Rossaint Brown of course on one of those inbreakers, those digs that the Packers for some reason could not cover all night, and they were doing a hell of a job. The Packers were, I think against this Lion's offense. They were getting a ton of penetration up front. They were winning the line of scrimmage a lot. They forced the Lions to go
into their screen game. We'll talk about some of the moves and counter moves in a second, but that after that interception, Jared GoF settled in so well, in part because Ben Johnson and he got in their bag on some of these misdirection plays, some of the screens, some of the quick passes, some of the different things that
settle a quarterback down. And then he started heating up and he was so confident, and even on that handoff on the fourth and one, he falls down because he gets stepped on and he still gets the hand off to the back right, and you're having a heart attack watching it because you're like, this gangly creature is just flying all over the dang backfield because he gets stepped on and it still works out. Because this is a tough team. They are tough minded. They embody their head coach,
they embody their city, they embody each other. They trust each other. That was clear up and down, even in the clutch moments that they had to execute on that last drive, in the calls that their head coach made. Situationally, it just is so clear this team absolutely knows who it is and what it can accomplish. This is the sixth one possession game they have won this season. That
is the third most in the NFL. And a lot of it has come down to having the confidence because they've blown some teams out, But a lot of it, too has come down to having the confidence to just suffocate the opponent and squeeze out these late drives.
Yeah, you sent that stat to me.
I was really surprised because you think the Lions have so many blots, and they do, but they've won so many games at this point that more than half their games have been one score games. They lost that one to the Bucks where it was a weird game where they almost double them in yardage, and then they've won all the rest of them. Let's hear from Dan Campbell on that fourth down decision.
I just, you know, I felt like I just felt like we needed to end it on offense, you know, and I did not want to give that ball back. And I believe we could get that. I believe we can convert, you know. And I trusted that old line. I trusted David, and they came through fourth sense A hell of a call by Ben you know, it just I knew how I wanted to play this game, the team knew it, and and everything in me told me that let's let's finish this, and so we did.
I love how he talks after these things, like after this, it's almost like he's pleading. I don't know why his tone is like that, because we all are in man like, we're all we're all I don't think, no, no, no, I'm saying his tone. I'm not saying he is doing that. I'm saying his tone is like that, urging that please,
you know what I mean? Like that that it's almost like taking so much out of him just to complete the sentences because of how much the game took out of him, and and like just you know, it's just it's very earnest, I would say, And and it's very every time. We're used to it now for several years, and you don't really quite get used to it because you don't hear coaches talk like that after games.
I read it more as he has put like you just said, he has put everything into this game, and then he just spoke to his team afterwards, and it's.
Almost it's almost all.
Out of it, and it's taking everything of him to even put himself back in those moments to like explain where it is.
And I love it. It's it's so human. It's firing me up.
I mean, I'm I think I need to take off my embarrassing winter coat that I'm wearing in the garage still and get comfortable for the rest of the show. Let's actually listen to another fourth down call. While we're thinking about fourth down calls, I want to back it up actually to the fourth down call, the first fourth down touchdown. It's Jared Goff finding Jamir Gibbs. This is in the first half to end it. It's on it at a ten to seven score. It's basically a seven
point play. It's going to change how you feel about the end of the first half.
Golf is going to work out of the gun.
He's got Gibbs to his right. Jared takes the snap back looking throwing heads on a touchdown. Detroit lyons you can't cough with that man. Jamiir Gibbs on the preceding end, what a sick route that time you go like deals that can stick his foot in the ground the way he does and come out of this break.
There's no line back to could cover Hill.
That is such an awesome play call, also an awesome job by me knowing how embarrassing it would be to take off the coat during the podcast, and that's how I know the.
Game is going down for me.
I'm like, I need a highlight to take it off because it was it was embarrassing. But that that play gets to Ben Johnson's brilliance. There were so many moments Jordan where he isolated on just the gotta have it type of plays. Whether it was tim Bett Patrick on an inbreaker on another fourth down call, whether it was Gibbs there, whether it was Gibbs on that third down, even the very first third down of the game. I'm thinking how he got a mon Ross Saint Brown matched
up on Javon Buller, the Packers' safety. The It wasn't perfect because the Packers defense was out there too, and they were getting pressure and they did a lot of good things, but on the biggest plays of the game, they were getting the guys they wanted and they executed. And it really speaks to me of how great this backfield is. Because we just said how great Montgomery is and how much faith he has his success rate tonight was outstanding.
It was well over fifty percent. Gibbs's was terrible.
Actually, Gibbs did not run the ball well, but Gibbs in the passing game was everything.
Had some of the biggest plays in the game.
Yeah, it was impressive to watch the adjustments in this game. Tim Patrick, by the way, two touchdowns tonight after going over a thousand days since his last touchdown. And like I've said this before, I think I've said this to you too. What a love match between Tim Patrick and the Detroit Like what a perfect fit between Tim Patrick and the Detroit LANs. He does everything well that they want, that they need from him to do, and they reward
him for it. And this is this was cool and he got it was cool to watch him getting the two game balls, and like how hyped up he was, and what a cool moment for him after those injuries and then the team change and all of that. But I loved the coaching in this and for both sides of the ball. I questioned a couple of Matt Lafleur's decision making. There was a delay he took in the third quarter that was a punt. Their recommendation for that was to go, but you know, we can nitpick over
those things. I really thought that the coordinators and the play callers in this game, and minus even taking out because we've talked a lot about the situational stuff, but taking that out for a second, I thought the adjustments making the most of the players that they had adjusting extremely quickly, not just half to half, but drive to drive. And we can go deeper in on this in a minute. But I was so impressed by Jeff Hafley with Green Bay.
I was impressed by the game that Matt Lafluor called in the way he adjusted situational stuff aside and there was some you know, we can nitpick to the cows come home either side of the ball, but I was impressed with it. With the coaching there. I was really impressed with Aaron Glenn. I always am because he's done a hell of a job this year. But they are
decimated just over a dozen players to injury. They lost Alee McNeil to a concussion or a potential they're calling it a head injury, but he was in the concussion protocol earlier in the game. They lost him, which is obviously huge because the interior of their defensive line is already decimated. The exterior of their defensive line is decimated.
Jonah freaking Williams, who was just in LA last week and I said hey to him in the hallway, is there now starting for them, playing for the meaningful snaps for them.
Practice squad stop your there just on participation in the very first drive of the game for the Packers, so essentially starting. Quant Alexander's out there. I'm like, wait, he's on the lines. I honestly didn't know Quant Alexander's out there. Jamal Adams is out there, who just came in this week. Janah Williams is out there, who is just in Los Angeles. And then yeah, you mentioned Ali McNeil goes out, Brian Branch went out in the second half of this scheme.
Look like they've comes so much and the guys that were making place for them, like Pad O'Connor was actually it's like, oh, it was like a big factor some pressures. They needed their defense to just get a couple stops to let their offense win the game. And whether that sometimes it comes early, sometimes it comes late, and for them it came early, like by the second half, and we can talk you can talk about the adjustments the
Packers made. The Packers had basically figured them out, but they did get enough stops early while the Lions offense wasn't humming, and they did force a turnover Carlton Davis with a nice play on a Christian Watson catch. You had a great night. Otherwise that they did enough, and that's that's what winning in the NFL, and that's what's so impressive. I love a team full of just like
it's okay to have excellence. Maybe they won't make it to the super Bowl for this regular season, though they are an example of excellence and I like that being rewarded.
You know, that could have been huge too, because after that the Lions only got three points out of that fumble recovery. On the other side, that was when the Packers defense, I think was at their peak right there, forcing the Lions into their A and B plus plans
for a minute there before that game ending drive. What I really loved about I'm gonna start with what Ben Johnson did with his opening script, and I am always such a huge fan of how he so for listeners who might not know the opening script, most teams, most offensive coordinators or offensive play callers on a team, they'll use like a ten to fifteen play sequence and they
will basically organize that play sheet in that manner. And it's not necessarily intended to react to what a defense is doing, but to assert looks on a defense, to force the defense to react to you in certain ways, and if it goes as planned, you can get some answers as to how defenses will react to certain looks that you show, especially pre snap, especially what you do with motion, especially you know, and a lot of times because it is such an assertive plan and you're doing
different things, teams that are good can score on that opener and then forces the defense to then go to its reaction plan versus play by play reaction. But what I love what Ben Johnson does with his script is
he does freaking everything with that thing. Man Like he he'll go like he'll he'll cluster the type the two tight ends together and motion one across the stack and then bring them back, and then motion one on an exit outside and then bring him back and then they run the ball in like duo, or he'll have an
eye formation which he opened, or he'll exit motion. I'm monra in a in a different on different sides of the stack to the outside each time to see which defenders move, or they'll hard count, or they'll change the cadence, they'll change the speed of their motions. They do this all on what is a very balanced run past script.
So instead of saying, you know, a lot of times you'll see past past pass, past pass, I want to see where our passing voids are because I want to get a quick lead to allow ourselves to stay on our A plus plan. They don't care, because they know that they can run the hell out of the ball too, and they need to understand where their run voids are where they can create space and blocking structure within the
run game as well. So he does all of it, and you could see that on their opening drive the Lions had, excuse me, the Packers' defense had to react to one hundred different things just in that sequence of like what ten a dozen plays, whatever.
It was, and they still got their touchdown.
And they still got their touchdown, which is what makes the Lions so good, in my opinion, one of the many things, because they could then stay in their A plus plan. Now bear with me, Greg, bear with me, listener, because I know, I'm in geek out, freak out mode. So what I really really loved then that the Packers and Jeff Hafley did was he just really that defensive line just got going and they started really getting after Jared Goff. Jared Goff started getting under duress by their
defensive line. But then also they were getting movement in the run game too. They were getting penetration. They weren't just winning at the line of scrimmage, they were getting into the backfield. Kenny Clark had a freaking phenomenal game in year nine and he was in the backfield all the time. Okay, so then.
Him coming on there lately is one of the most important things that's happening to the backers because he had about the worst six to seven game stretch of his entire career. I would say, to start this season and you can see this building. It's coming each and every week because they need their stars to step up. Rashan Gary also had a nice sack which was big for them too.
Yeah, and they were winning the line of scrimmage and yes, I know, and I got a couple of blue Sky tweet postset me or whatever it was people saying well, we're missing a couple of lignement. Yes, I know, you still have one of the best GD lines in the NFL.
Minus and they got Kevin Zeisler back.
He left again briefly, but he did come back. So they're only missing one. Let's come down, Yes.
And it's still I mean god like, Dan Skipper is still great man like, look at him in the screen game. So then, speaking speaking of that, so those dlignements, So when they're getting penetration like that, and I'm gesturing, so if you're watching on YouTube, I'm sorry because I look like a psycho person right now. But they're moving north to south when they're getting when they're getting penetration like that, when they're winning the line of scrimmage, they're going north
to south. So what does mad scientist Christian Bale in The Big Short do the freaking drum kit besides whaling metallica? But he starts to move this defensive line side to side.
Right, Wait, wait a second, you can't just you can't just call out Christian Bale from The Big Short and think anyone knows what you're talking about.
Ben Johnson reminds me of Christian Bale in the Big short, keep up.
Well, actually we actually have a picture, Jordan. You didn't know this, but let's show that up on the screen. Continue talking, Well, we show the Christian Bale picture.
Ben Johnson, I can see it. I can see it playing on the drums. I love that, man.
Okay, so stay with me, guys. So they're moving north to south right when they're penetrating in that way, right. But then now Ben Johnson says, okay, let me go to page five in my playbook and we're going to go screen game right. So they start to deploy. There a wide variety of screens, screens that move to the outside, screens that I'm figuring out and investigating a little bit that do this cool thing where they look like a tunnel screen. But then they work their way up the scene,
which is really cool. They start doing these things that basically extend their run game. But they also start moving in the past game the defensive line from side to side, so they can't get that penetration. They can't go north to south. And this game, Greg was full of those little hit my mic again drive to drive counter adjustments that were so it wasn't just like oh, you go in at halftime and you make adjustments and all of that.
It was drive to drive. When Jordan Love was getting the crap blitzed out of him early in the game, four of the Lions brought great pressure four of his five for initial dropbacks he faced the blitz, he only completed two passes for twenty three yards. At that time, Matt Lafleur is like, all right, we're going to run seven consecutive times. It was all of these moves and counter moves, and it was just a masterclass in like
that type of coaching. We could take the situational stuff out and put it in another bucket, but that type of adjustment, understanding your personnel, understanding where you're limited, understanding moves and counter moves like that. I freaking loved this game for that reason. I did two and my face is really red ray.
And it's why these two coaching staffs are two of the six or seven best coaching staffs, whatever you want to put on it. There's a lot of great coaching staffs. Now, Hefley, we're still learning about him. And I tried to come up with a comp for him. You could put him up, and the best I could do is I was thinking of Michael Stolberg from a serious man but also a great character actor. He's a Boardwalk Empire but one of
my favorite Cohen Brothers movie. He kind of reminds me a little of Hefley, and we're still learning about Hefley. And as a big picture thought, I think Packers fans do have to wonder. It's not really about the coaching, but if you're gonna go to the Super Bowl this year, you're now gonna have to win three straight road games, very difficult to do, and you're probably gonna have to beat the Lions and or the Eagles on the way
to doing it, probably both. Is this defense, even with the and everything like, do they have enough to hang in games like that? And and if not? In tonight, I think they showed what the recipe needs to be. Can your offense just be more special than the other offense? Can you win a game like this where you make
fewer mistakes? Because the Lions are probably gonna be healthier and figure some things out defensively, and the Eagles defense is fantastic, So as good as the Packers offense is, and I think as improved as the Packers defense is because they do force turnovers and they're not a siev like they were a year ago. Are both of those sides good enough in the end? Maybe in a one
game sample, but man, it's gotta be hard. It's gonna be hard in that one game sample, and it's got to be really hard to do it back to back weeks against these types of teams. So I think it's a really good Packers team. I think nine to four is an appropriate record for this team. And Jordan Love made some throws in the the second half of this game that cemented why he is on quarterback Island.
They were just awesome.
Yeah, and they were able to hang in this game, but ultimately they weren't quite special enough to even be a banged up Lions team. So that's more just taking the step back, even though I think there's so many positive things to think about them looking forward, what do you agree or disagree? Like, not really talking about the schemes and all that, but just on a bigger picture.
Level, I mean, I think because you are going to expect this defense to grow up with the coordinator, this first time defense. I mean, he's been a defensive coordinator obviously in football, but in terms of the NFL like working with this staff, working with this personnel, fitting different
personnel to the defense. I think the way that he brought this defensive line and they themselves, the players obviously deserve all the credit as well, but the way that he brought this line to life was striking to me because they were so active on a snap to snap basis.
They were so active and yes, you saw scheme, a combination of scheme timing and very gifted players on the Lion's side make these big plays happen right in spurts and phases, but when you watch like the way that they it just they seem so active the entire game to me, like the Lions offensive line just completely had
their hands full. And then when they were I mean, I will say like I really don't want anyone and nobody will on the show I know, but like Jared Goff is not the same Jarre Goff that we know from reputationally in the Alan and Kirk just could not help but bring up on the broadcast tonight, like this dude is calm, he's collected, he works incredibly well under pressure.
He really let had pressure really got to him and flustered him on one possession really and then he recovered and it was a it was a team effort where he was leading the charge and leading the way, of course, but it was a group, a collective that is so clicking and sync playing together, you know, a four wheeled death machine that just understood how to just settle and get back get back on track with some of the like I said, some of that quick.
Was it under pressure that much though in the in the end now part of it the ball.
But that one possession where Jeff Hafley I think picked his spots incredibly well to dial up specific types of pressure that was going to get home or force the throw or or his defensive backs you know, made the play where they needed to those types of things. I think that is extremely promising from this Packers group. And I think if they would have opened up understanding, you know, yes,
we really need to heat my quarterback up. If you're you know, Matt Lafleur, Yes we got to heat him up, so we got to throw the ball a little bit. I get that. But if they opened up with that like we're going to run, try to run it down your throat against your battered defensive front versus some of the dropbacks that he took, I think if they're the adjustment had happened. I know it happened quick, and I'm praising that, but I think if that was the A plus plan versus, oh my god, we're down all of
a sudden, like, what's our A plus plan? What's our B plan? Like, I think that's where you maybe are seeing them go toe to toe a little bit earlier in the game, and then they ended up heating up and taking the lead in a couple spots. I think it was back really gat about this.
Yeah, it was so hard for one aspect of either team to get a foothold because I think, like, oh wow, Josh Jacobs ran really well in this game. They were fishing in the red zone when they got down there, he scored, He had some good runs. But the reality is, other than that first drive in the second quarter, the Lion's defense, as they've done all year, no matter who's on the field, did a pretty good job stopping the run in the rest of the second half, and it
did take love making those throws. And Packers fans who are listening appreciates y'all, because I hate listening to stuff like if it pains me. For me, it's more Celtics, But like I listened to a a couple of Celtics podcast, especially Green with Van b shout out to them. But if it's a painful loss, like I'm not listening to that podcast, the Packers fans will know. Yeah, we're really banged up too. We don't have jay R Alexander, who is the most important player in our secondary along with
Davi or McKinney. We lost Evan Williams, who if you had a ten person list for defensive Rookie of the Year would be on it and is really important. And I think did Javon Boullard come go in and out of this game two? I think he came back in.
Yeah.
That's a lot though, And you didn't have Romeo Dobbs in this game. So there are really important players for the Packers that especially in the secondary. Alexander is absolutely a difference maker and they could have them back for a rematch, and there might be a rematch. Just again thinking big picture, and we can dive in a little more in this game, but again thinking.
Big picture, I love this rivalry is awesome.
This division is awesome because I think the defining Lions game of the Dan Campbell era so far is still the Week eighteen win over the Packers to knock Aaron Rodgers out of the playoffs in his final game as a Packers when the Lions quote unquote had nothing to play for, Like that to me was everything this Lions team is about. But it's gone back and forth. I
was getting flashbacks tonight, Jordan. I don't know if you remember the Lions lost in Detroit last year at home to the Packers, in large part because they called a fake punt in their own end late in the game that the Packers stopped and then scored on a short field and won. And so when the Lions went for that fourth and one and didn't get it in the Packers and then took advantage, I guarantee you there were a lot of Lions fans were like, oh, this is
exactly like last year. The difference tonight being all night Jared Goff and the Lions offense responded right away anytime when he had the turnover, when they gave up a touchdown, they responded right away with a really cold, calculated drive. And that's what great teams do. What a what a freaking to use your man, I'm now sounding like you just being around here. What a freaking cool rivalry this is Lions Packers. I hope we see a third one in the playoffs this year.
Yeah. Also, something I noticed that's really cool. Are you did you wear a shacket underneath your giant jacket? Oh?
Yeah, I was going three layers this guy.
Oh yeah, just just checking.
Okay, let's let's take a quick break. We will be back. There's so much to get to with this great game. We've talked about.
The Lions so much in this podcast. Let's give some love to our guy, Jordan. Let's go, cow man, let's go. Let's go to his.
Touchdown to Tucker Craft in the first half. This was a big play in the game, loving.
The shotgun with the set back to his right.
Third down and Tan, here's a snap lit on Zuke Tucker Crap touchco touchdown, Green Bay Packers.
There you go.
Oh a tracer, A tracer from Jordan.
Love and they beat Carlton Davis.
Wow, great call there by Wayne Lairvie on W R ANDW. Just to correct myself, that was early in the third quarter.
Second half.
Get on the board and yeah to make it seventeen fourteen, and that was a drive where Love made.
A couple of beautiful throws.
Really throughout the second half, he was absolutely nails.
Yeah, and his player showed up for him. You know, there was a fumble earlier. That was Watson, right, who fumbled that earlier in the game, and he ended up making like one of the more I mean, the throw itself was just filthy, sick, right, but then like the catch that he made because the dB had like two fingers on it, right, and the focus to kind of catch it against his face mask a little bit down the field. I think that was a twenty six yarder.
That fifty nine.
Too, Yeah, and the twenty nine yarder with the focus on the catch then, and I want, I just want to hear you go full Greg on this next one. The throw he made to Wix. I have it in my notes as the insane QB Island throw pocket collapsing in all cats. And then I have in parentheses, let Greg cook.
Right, why let me cook anyway?
Cause you were so excited about it. I loved I loved it. It was fantastic.
That's everything, that's everything you want in a quarterback right there, it's it's the pocket movement, it's the quick pressure by the Lions on a blitz on a play Jacobs did not pick up the blitz, and that's a play the defensive coordinator one. And that's what separates the very good quarterbacks from the great ones. Where he just can overcome a great defensive play call and a failure by his
running back. He picked up his running back to slide in the pocket and then all getting hit while moving left as a right handed quarterback and put that thing on the money to Watson. It was a great catch. There was no room to put that throw. And it couldn't be no offense to her cousins. It couldn't be one of those like layered throws like you're kind of throwing it.
It's a touch pass.
That is a very difficult intermediate throw where you have to put some of that tracer on it too. And Love is as physically gifted, I think it's fair to say as any quarterback. I don't know if you want to say someone is more or not, but as a thrower of the football, he is so gifted. And Watson came through four for one fourteen. He's playing really well lately.
And that's that's just a special play. And that's why all three of us, me, you and Steve were texting at that point and I was like, Okay, he made us proud.
We made the right decision.
Any dude making that freaking play needs to be on QB Island.
Yeah, and we'll just glass right over the fact that we need to hold you to task for breaking the rules of the rip tid card. But we'll get to that in another time. The Jordan love I also what I really appreciated watching from him. They would cut to him on the sideline a lot. They would cut to him, close ups of him underneath even his face masks, helmet. He was so calm. I mean, he's fired up when they would make a play, but he was so calm.
They got after him early, like Aaron Glenn dialed up some nasty pressure against him, understanding that he entered the game with some of the worst stats against the Blitz in the league. They were improving over the last couple of weeks, but that was his resume to this point, and it worked and they got after him. It was two passes of five dropbacks that came against the Blitz for twenty three yards, like I said earlier, and they were the quick little dump off you know, throws, and
he finished. The Lions still blitzed him at a sixty three percent rate throughout the entire course of the game, which is insane. Like the league average is what like twenty eight percent, twenty six percent, ohly a.
Couple teams are over forty and it's so that's an insane number.
That is insane right then, And he finished nine for fourteen, So this is inclusive to the struggle that he started with. But he finished nine for fourteen with a touchdown specifically against the blitz he settled. And that's again, that's a quarterback who and Dan Campbell knew this. We circle back to it. He knew this when he was going for that fourth down call to ic the game out with
the field goal. Is when Jordan Love heats up, good luck stopping him because he's going to make play after play after play and you are in danger against that man.
And I do get a little worried about this Lion's secondary, even though they've been great all year and josephin Brand showed up at different moments tonight, Terry Arnold has a couple plays every game that rookie plays very handsy, big penalty, gives up a big play and it's tough. You don't they actually at the first half of this game, because of the blitz and because of the scheme, I'm like, man, they're past rush is better than when they had Aiden Hutchinson.
They were kind of struggling earlier this year. Now I know they weren't blitzing like that, but they were making it happen. But they were victimized by the end of this game. And the margins they're just so small, and I just was thinking, maybe the Packers next year at this time, it's such a young team, are just a little more ready. And all it comes down to is, you know, each team had a turnover, Each team went up and down the field. They were pretty good in
the red zone. The Packers punted three times, the Lions punted twice. And the reason the Lions only punted twice,
in part is because they went for those fourth downs. Now, one of those that they didn't punt, they handed it right over, but they another fourth down decision that was key was on their own forty nine to set up another fourth down, you know, touchdown on the goal line, like they kept possession, that one little extra possession and then the penalty on the Packers when they were potentially
going in with under five minutes to go. It was a good call, just it was a pass interference on the offense and that backed them up and they weren't able to overcome that big penalty quite as easily as as the Lions were able to overcome a couple bigger penalties. But it's it's just small, small margins and the fact that only one team has pena Sewell Offensive Player of the Year candidate MVP candidate, Just give me some Sewell nerd them before we get out of here.
Oh, I mean when Tim Patrick scores his second touchdown of the night, or no, excuse me, right before Tim Patrick scored a second touchdown of the night and pena Sewell is lead blocking for Aman Ross Saint Brown. I mean talk about like just like two just like football dudes doing football. You can bleet me, I'm sorry, but like Panay, Sewell is just hauling, just grading every road.
It reminds me. It just reminds me of like you know, when you get the rainbow little you hit the rainbow car when you're playing Mario Kart and all of a sudden, you're like this unstoppable force and you could just drive through people and just bounce them out of your way, Like that's Pine Sewel and I love that.
Yeah, he was great. He was great on the screens.
As you mentioned, shout out to Jamison Williams just for going five for eighty. It's such a difference. He just didn't used to run normal routes. Frankly until like the very end of last year. He just had sort of Jamison and Williams routes, kind of the stuff you see with Xavier Worthy now in Kansas City or Mkole Hardman. It's like they're not really real wide receivers, and Jamison Williams is a big time real wide receiver. Laporta active in this game. He's picked it up a little lately.
Just one last play that I wanted to point out. It doesn't have to be the last play. We can talk more, but the play where Tucker Kraft got walloped. I think it was from by Joseph and Arnold I can't even remember. It was two players by the Lions going down into the red zone and I was just like, oh, that was a hit. I mean, this whole game, they were physical. Both teams were so physical. It's awesome to watch.
And then what do you call it that that Craft did to get off two hundred and sixty pounds man?
Tucker Craft weighs two hundred and sixty pounds, probably closer to two eighty and a full helmet in pads, and he is literally down after getting absolutely shmacked by two defenders on that catch. He's down for like less than half a second before he does a kip up, which is basically an arch backward and you push up with your hands and your shoulders and you flip yourself up to a fully standing position. His knees didn't even buckle on that thing, man Like, he was just standing straight
up from that kip up. I was like, that's absurd, that's egregious, that accut because.
It couldn't have the whole game couldn't have been more like football guys as you say, and doing football things and hitting, but then also like incredible appeah, like.
The most extraordinary athletes.
Yeah, it's crazy when you when you think back to how good that tight end class was a year ago.
I mean, Craft is right there with.
Laport and Laporte is awesome, but Craft is really come into his own in his second year. He showed flashes at the end of last year. But this young group for them is special.
Tight Ends night it was a big night for the tight ends. They made some clutch plays. They were using them all across the blocking service. Both teams were both teams had tight ends that made crucial, crucial plays catches or sprang open blocks for them. I just thought it was super fun. This is like, this is like peak, Like this division is just going to be like this for a minute. And I love that and this kind of put it all on display everything it's capable of right now.
Yeah, and we'll get some more big games in this division, including the Vikings, you know, playing both these teams. We're not going to see these two teams play each other again. But huge win for the Lions. You get to twelve and one. I oh, man, man, I don't want to just say football is back, but you know, like when you get to see records, like wow, a team in the NFL is twelve wins.
Now, like you know it. We're we're getting late in the year.
But it was so important Jordan because they get a little extra rest Detroit. Just to spin it forward, a little bit, little extra rest before a game against the Bills next week.
The Bills will be flying back.
From Los Angeles on Sunday night or Monday morning to Buffalo and then have to come back to Detroit. So that's a that's a nice advantage and helps them maybe heal up just a little bit, maybe get some of those defensive linemen like Pascal or on Wuzueriki back. But you know what's crazy about that game, Jordan. It's a four to twenty five game. Okay, that makes sense, but it's the only week of the season where both networks have a double header. Shout out to Jimmy Traina on
SI dot Com who pointed this out. I wouldn't have known it only week of the season where both teams have both networks have a double header. So we have I have Steelers Eagles, which is a great Week fifteen game opposite Bills and Lions ones on Fox, ones on CBS. That right there is actually your best three hours of intense football. I think all season to have those two games opposite each other. So I'm looking forward to that this season, and I love that the Lions held on
to the one seed. Well, they're gonna have to earn it if they're gonna hold it all the way to the end, because they still have the Bills and the Vikings on their schedule.
It's all fun as crap from here, Greg. It just is it freaking is to quote me quoting Dan Campbell, Okay.
We did it.
You joined me Jordan for the very first Thursday night football game of the season kickoff. You know, between the Ravens and the Chiefs.
We got fun game. I like that. We only give you the.
I only throw heat, Greg, I only throw.
Heat, only the best for Jordan. Let's get out of here, Let's get in a sleep. She's got rams practice to get to in the morning. Awesome game. Only three Thursday night football games left, Jordan.
That's crazy, oh man.
When we've got Jordan's last t NF game of the year with us, you know, football is back.
We'll be back for the picks on Friday. See you then,