DETROIT — It felt like a feeding frenzy, at times, inside Ford Field.
A season-best crowd of 66,374 was roaring even before kickoff on Sunday, as the Lions played host to the NFC-North leading Minnesota Vikings.
And it didn’t take long before the fans had something to feast on, after a fourth-down stop by Detroit’s defense gave Jared Goff & Co. the ball back near midfield less than 4 minutes into the game.
Two plays later, you could hardly hear the skeptics think, as Goff faked a handoff, dropped back in the pocket and then waited a moment before launching a deep ball to rookie receiver Jameson Williams, who’d gotten behind the Vikings’ defense on a blown coverage.
Williams hauled in Goff’s pass and jogged into the end zone, where he stood with his arms raised, soaking in the noise as the crowd erupted. Then he raced over to the Lions’ sideline to include his family in the celebration, handing the football to his father leaning over the railing in the front row of the stands.
“It's just electric, man,” Williams said of the reception he received after his first NFL catch went for a 41-yard touchdown. “I love it."
And if you’re a fan of the Lions, what’s not to love about the way this team is playing right now? The Lions have won five of their last six to surge into the playoff picture with a young defense starting to cut its teeth and an offense that now looks and feels — and sounds — as dynamic as any in the NFL.
Plenty of choices
Sunday’s offensive outburst was just the latest in a growing rumble, as the Lions tied franchise records with their fifth consecutive game of 25 points or more and their seventh with 30 or more this season.
And in watching Goff light up a suspect Vikings secondary, what stood out most was the variety of ways in which this offense can attack opposing defenses. Now that the Lions have a pair of healthy downfield weapons in DJ Chark, who missed most of October and November with an ankle injury, and Williams, the first-round pick coming off a long ACL rehab, they feel like they’re firing on all cylinders.
“It changes our offense entirely,” said Goff, who connected with Chark on a 48-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter to give the Lions a lead they’d never relinquish. “(It changes) our whole way of doing things and the whole thought process when you have two guys like that who are legit vertical home-run threats. And we were able show ’em both off today.
“It’s a lot of fun as a quarterback when you have guys that are getting healthy at receiver and you have guys that are explosive like that and can make those splash plays.”
Those are the plays general manager Brad Holmes had in mind when made a minor splash in free agency, signing Chark on a one-year, $10 million deal, and then a much bigger one in the NFL Draft by trading up — with the Vikings, no less — to grab Williams with the 12th overall pick.
And the fact that those two offseason additions jump-started Sunday’s huge win over the Vikings had to feel particularly gratifying for the Lions’ front office and scouts. Because even after trading tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings six weeks ago, it sure looks like they have everything they need in the pass game now.
Goff, who finished the day 27-of-39 for 330 yards and three touchdowns, completed throws to nine different targets Sunday, including that game-clinching, third-down conversion after the 2-minute warning on a toss to right tackle Penei Sewell, of all people. But Detroit’s wide receivers alone combined for 20 catches and 273 yards, which was more than enough to offset Justin Jefferson’s franchise-record performance (11 catches, 223 yards) for the Vikings.
“I mean, I would hate to be a defensive coordinator trying to gameplan against us because we’ve got so many different wideouts that do so many different things,” said Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is starting to draw some double teams amid a Pro Bowl-caliber season that’s on pace for over 100 catches and nearly 1,200 yards. “You’ve got DJ, you’ve got me, you’ve got Josh (Reynolds), you’ve got Jamo who’s coming back healthy now, you’ve got Kalif (Raymond). …
“Shoot, if I’m not eating, I know someone else is. If they’re not eating, someone else is. And you saw that today. We all had our fair share, and that’s how it should be.”
Becoming 'explosive'
That’s how it has to be, too, for a team that’s still going to give up its share of points defensively, despite the Lions’ second-half improvements in that area. Aaron Glenn’s group managed to bottle up Dalvin Cook (15 carries, 23 yards), including a key fourth-down stop early and a fumble recovery just before halftime. But Kirk Cousins still passed for 425 yards without an interception Sunday.
Campbell wasn’t thrilled with the Lions’ run-game efficiency, either, as their trio of running backs — D’Andre Swift, Jamaal Williams and Justin Jackson — combined for just 77 yards on 26 carries.
“It can be better, and it should be better,” the Lions’ head coach said. “But, man, you can make up for things if you’re able to get the explosive passes, which we got. I mean, hell, two of those were for two touchdowns, you know?
“So to be able to deliver that element to our offense is huge. Because I feel like with that, we’re pretty well balanced. We can kind of play any type of game we need to offensively. And that’s a good thing.”
The offensive line deserves a good chunk of the credit, as Goff was hit just three times (no sacks) in 41 dropbacks Sunday.
“We’re able to do a lot of things offensively that not many teams can do because of how good they are,” said Goff, who hasn’t thrown an interception in his last 181 attempts going back to a Week 9 win over Green Bay.
But so does the coordinator, Ben Johnson, a creative play-caller who now appears to have the full playbook at his disposal. As Williams explained of his opening touchdown waltz, "If they do this, we are going to do that. If they do that, we do this.”
And as the Lions head into the final month, that sort of versatility opens up all kinds of possibilities. With a passing attack that’s arguably one of the best handful in the NFL right now, who knows where this late-season run will end up?
“When we’re all healthy,” St. Brown said, nodding, “we’re pretty hard to stop.”
