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The Detroit Free Press
Detroit Lions vs Los Angeles Rams game recap: Lions escape, 26-20, on David Montgomery OT TD
By Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press,
1 days ago
The Detroit Lions had to battle back in the dying moments to walk out of Ford Field with a game-winning touchdown from David Montgomery in overtime.
The Lions exit the hotly-contested battle with the Los Angeles Rams 1-0 with the 26-20 overtime win. Detroit entered the fourth quarter leading 17-10 but gave up 10 unanswered points to fall behind. But, the Lions closed regulation with a tying field goal then scored a touchdown on the only overtime drive to win.
The Rams had revenge on their minds after being bounced by the Lions in the playoffs in January, but could not prevail despite a strong performance from Matthew Stafford.
It was close, but the Lions prevailed. Detroit won the overtime cointoss and marched right down the field and punched it into the end zone with a 2-yard run from David Montgomery. The drive started with an 11-yard reverse by Kalif Raymond, followed by a 21-yard Montgomery run, a 10-yard Gibbs run, two more runs for nine yards to reach the goal line. Montgomery punched it in on an off-tackle run to the right, following a massive gap created by Penei Sewell.
We are going to get free football on the first day back. What a treat.
The Lions were able to move the ball down to the Rams' 15 yard-line before getting stopped and settled for a field goal from Jake Bates to knot the game at 20 with seconds left. The Lions moved into Rams' territory on an 18-yard completion to Sam LaPorta where a personal foul was tacked on at the end. Jared Goff missed on three straight passes, forcing Detroit to settle for the field goal.
The Lions' offense went three-and-out after the touchdown. The Rams had a chance to ice the game away but could not pick up a second first down to keep burning the clock after a stop by the secondary on third down. Kalif Raymond took the ensuing punt to the Lions' 31, meaning the Lions have to get into Jake Bates' range to at least force overtime or go 69 yards for the touchdown to win.
The Rams took the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a touchdown drive following the interception. Stafford completed all eight passes on the drive to methodically move the Rams down the field. He only completed one pass of 20 yards and mainly attacked in the flats and short over the middle. On the touchdown, he faked a handoff then flipped it out to Kupp, who was in the flat after going in a pre-snap motion, and he was uncovered and walked into the endzone.
The Lions gave the ball back to LA after reaching scoring position. Goff followed up a few nice plays to move the offense down the field with a dangerous pass over the middle intended for Amon-Ra St. Brown. The pass was just far ahead of St. Brown and Johnson collapsed from the middle of the field to make a diving interception. The Rams took over at their own 25 with a chance to take a lead this possession.
Earlier in the drive, Goff picked up a third down conversion with a rare scramble, then followed that play by taking a big hit while delivering a pass to Jameson Williams over the middle for a 27-yard gain. But, those positives were wiped out with the turnover.
The Rams immediately broke a big play to reach Lions territory. Stafford hit Tyler Johnson on a short crossing route and he stopped on a dime to fake out Carlton Davis and Brian Branch, then raced 63 yards down the field to put L.A. in scoring position instantly. The Rams moved into the red zone on the next play, then reached the Lions' 2 after Terrion Arnold committed his second pass interference penalty in the end zone in as many drives.
However, the Rams couldn't punch it in this time. Aidan Hutchinson and Branch stood up Kyren Williams at the goal line on first-and-goal, then the Rams committed two holding penalties that pushed them back and forced them to settle for a 26-yard field goal from Joshua Karty.
The Rams answered with their first touchdown of the game to keep the deficit to one possession. LA took seven minutes off the clock on the 11-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Williams punching in a touchdown from the 2-yard line after Terrion Arnold was flagged for pass interference in the end zone. Arnold briefly left the game for an apparent lower body injury, missed a few plays, then came back in and committed the penalty on his first snap.
The Rams had three passes go for 10 yards or more on the drive to move the sticks and keep the drive alive. Stafford has completed 22 of 33 attempts for 165 yards against the Lions secondary.
Jameson Williams is delivering on the offseason hype. The speedster fought through an illegal contact penalty from Tre'Davious White in one-on-one coverage to break as wide open as possible. Goff went through his progressions then fired a looping pass down the left sideline slightly behind Williams, who was so wide open he had plenty of time to turn, make the catch and get into the end zone. Williams has three catches for 89 yards, good for a 29.7-yard average per touch.
The Lions will have a touchdown lead heading into the break thanks to an interception in the end zone by Kerby Joseph as the Rams were threatening. The Rams had it at Detroit's 8-yard line looking to equalize, but Stafford rushed a throw off his backfoot trying to find Tyler Johnson in the back of the end zone. The pass fluttered on him and floated into Joseph's hands as he cut in front of the route.
The Rams picked up two first downs on the drives thanks to the Lions' penalties. The first was an offsides penalty against Marcus Davenport and the second was a roughing the passer penalty on Aidan Hutchinson because he hit Stafford low as he threw the ball.
The Lions scored the first touchdown after the turnover on downs with a nine-play, 77-yard drive that ended with Gibbs powering through a pile of Rams defenders on the goal line. The Lions ran a power left and Gibbs cut up inside the right side of the offensive line and stretched out over the goal line. He was initially ruled down at the 1-yard line, but a review determined he broke the goal line.
The drive started with a 36-yard completion to Jameson Williams on a deep crosser and run after the catch down the left sideline. The Lions picked up 27 more yards on a pair of screens to Gibbs and Williams on the next two plays, then got inside the 10-yard line on an 8-yard Gibbs run. He punched it in three plays later from the 1.
Carlton Davis has been solid in his first career Lions game, mainly matching up with Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua on the sideline. He had the biggest play of the first half so far when he worked around Kupp and knocked a pass out of his hands on 4th down from the Lions' 29-yard line. The Lions were struggling to stop the Rams' rushing attack, but came up with two pass deflections inside their own 30 to get the stop. Brian Branch made a full-diving deflection on first down to stop another potential Kupp completion.
The Lions had a 15-play, 63-yard drive that ended with a successful 25-yard field goal by Jake Bates. It is the first career field goal and NFL points for Bates. The Lions took 7:33 off the clock with a powerful running game powered primarily by David Montgomery. Montgomery had eight runs for 33 yards on the drive and picked up multiple first downs in third-and-short situations.
The Lions moved the ball inside the Rams' 10-yard line, but couldn't break into the end zone. A completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown moved the ball to the 4-yard line, but Montgomery was stuffed on the next play and Goff missed LaPorta in the end zone on third down.
The Rams' second drive ended with a field goal from 41 yards out. Los Angeles ran 13 plays on the drive with 11 passes and were able to move the ball by stretching the Lions' defense wide with short passes. Colby Parkinson and Cooper Kupp were Stafford's favorite targets on the drive.
The Rams seemed prime to put together a touchdown drive, but Levi Onwuzurike and Marcus Davenport beat the left side of the Rams' offensive line on second down from the Detroit 19 and pulled Stafford down for a sack that ultimately killed the drive.
Both high-powered offenses started with three plays and a punt. The Rams got the ball first, but did not move the ball at all. Alex Anzalone picked up a pair of tackles at the line of scrimmage to stop a running back dump-off and wide receiver screen.
The Lions returned the favor by picking up six yards on a David Montgomery run followed by a short completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown, but Jared Goff was sacked on third down. Rams edge rusher Byron beat Kevin Zeitler to the inside on a stunt.
The Lions' quarterback was greeted with a king's welcome as he and the offense ran onto the field for warmups. Goff led the team out to a resounding cheer that slowly morphed into 'JA-RED GOFF' chants that lasted for a few moments.
Minutes later, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense were treated with a wall of boos from early arriving fans.
Defensive tackle D.J. Reader is inactive for the Lions' season opener Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams after spending all offseason. Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, defensive end James Houston, safety Loren Strickland, linebacker Trevor Nowaske, guard Colby Sorsdal and offensive tackle Gio Manu also are inactive for the Lions.
The Detroit Lions have arrived and are going through initial warmups two hours before kickoff. Of course, the Lions' social media team of how the team showed up.
Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez broke out a Lions poncho to make a case for outfit of the night.
It's no surprise Lions fans were partying well in advance of the 8:20 p.m. kickoff, with tailgaters venturing into Detroit early and from hours away to pack the city.
Fans filled the streets and parking lots at Eastern Market by early afternoon, sporting Honolulu Blue and white Lions hats and shirts, while Lions flags from motor vehicles filled the Motor City streets.
Pregame notes
The Lions return nine starters on offense and eight on defense from last season's squad that finished 12-5, won the NFC North and won two playoff games before blowing a 24-7 halftime lead to San Francisco in the NFC championship game.
The main place the team looks different is in the secondary by trading for Carlton Davis, signing Amik Robertson, and then drafting Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. with their top two picks. They also signed defensive tackle D.J. Reader and edge rusher Marcus Davenport to strengthen the pass rush.
The Lions will have their hands full with the Rams offense led by Stafford and the star wide receiving duo of Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. The Rams lost future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald to retirement, and but have other tough pass rushers led by Kobie Turner , who will be up against veteran right guard Kevin Zeitler, making his Lions debut .
Melifonwu came on late last season and is slated to be a starter. Reader was a free-agent addition who is expected to plug the middle, but is recovering from a season-ending torn quad suffered with Cincinnati. Strickland, an undrafted rookie out of Ball State, earned a job as a reserve after impressing in this summer.
Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press covering the city's professional teams, the state's two flagship universities and more. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22 , and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.
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